CAKE NATION | How To Create a Birch Wood Effect On A Wedding Cake

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a Birch Wood effect on a cake. This looks great on its own or part of a tiered cake. Check out my Rose Tutorial for some statement flowers to add to this design.
If there is anything else you would like me to do a tutorial on please comment below =)
Tools and products used in this video:
Renshaws Fondant - goo.gl/BsuTPb
Sugarflair Dark Brown - goo.gl/y92roY
Sugarflair Honey Gold - goo.gl/Pab7tE
Sugarflair Spruce Green - goo.gl/LAAvmW
Paint Brush 002 - goo.gl/BUQGMx
Large Paint Brush - goo.gl/rK1Woc
Cutting Mat - goo.gl/YGiiB4
Craft Knife - goo.gl/5puih9
Sugarflair Brown - goo.gl/DVzd1Z
Sugarflair Black - goo.gl/AtJZXz
If you would like to ask any questions or need any help with anything you have seen please visit my pages below:
Facebook - / cakenationyorkshire
Instagram - / cakenationyorkshire
Vanilla Cake Recipe
250g butter
250g caster sugar
4 eggs
Vanilla extract
250g self raising flour
4 tablespoons of milk
Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in 2 eggs at a time and mix until combined. Add the vanilla extract. Sift flour and add to mix 1/4 at a time folding gently. Finally add the milk and combine. Bake at 160 degrees for 45 mins until a knife comes out clean.
Buttercream
500g icing sugar
250g butter
Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoons of milk
mix ingredients until light and fluffy.

[@fAnGeDkOrNfAn]

!!! FINALLY !!! A full tutorial for the exact type of birch cake I’ve been wanting for my wedding. ❤️ Thank You SOOO Much ❤️

[@CakeNation]

Thanks so much! Glad you found it useful. Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with x

[@TheMoosepainter]

Just finished my son's wedding cake, using this tutorial and I must say, it's a blazing success!! Absolutely loved the video, and I most certainly will be watching more of your videos in the future! Thank you for sharing your skills with us and helping us make amazing cakes!!

[@KimiKo25392]

Thank you, thank you, thank you 😊 you nailed it!

[@CakeNation]

Thanks x

[@agreenerdemeanor9831]

I like the bark pieces coming out. Very Nice effect!

[@ashmatheson234]

Thank you sooooooo much for this tutorial. You saved my booty as I couldn't figure out how to simulate birch wood for a cake. I'm doing my own wedding cake and this is the best tutorial I found that made this look so much easier than some I found that required years of experience that I don't have. Thank you again

[@CakeNation]

So glad you like it. Can’t wait to see the cake! X

[@cynthiavisagie5763]

Hi, I am from South Africa and no professional. Your tutorial were perfectly spot on for what I planned for my daughter's wedding cake, I've done for her in July. I had so many wonderful comments, people thought it was real pieces of wood. Thank you for this detailed tutorial.

[@CakeNation]

Hey cynthia, i am so glad you found the tutorial useful...I bet it looked amazing xx

[@courtneyp.simpson8332]

Do you have pictures you can link us to see it?!?!!?

[@magdaengelbrecht9513]

Hey Cynthia, also from South Africa, what colour brand and colours did you use, as I can't find sugarflair where I am?

[@megandickerson886]

Thank you so much for this interactive tutorial on birch tree technique! I just completed my clients cake and she absolutely LOVED it. Of all the the tutorials I watched...this was the BEST and gave the most realistic look😊

[@CakeNation]

Awh thank you Megan...glad you found it useful x

[@Elizec1]

Wow! Awesome! Spectacular!

[@CakeNation]

Thanks x

[@leawofford8992]

Awesome tutorial, very easy to follow and understand. Thank you!!

[@CakeNation]

glad you found use for it x

[@divanijaslife326]

No words needed!!! Just wooooww!!! I will try it tomorrow for an wedding cake 😍 and I think I will get it because you described it great!!!!! Thanks a lot

[@CakeNation]

Can’t wait to see it! Good luck x

[@laurenp7331]

This tutorial was perfect! I watched it one time, and the directions were so clear that I was able to repeat the steps from memory and create an amazing cake that wowed the customer, thank you for taking the time to do this!

[@CakeNation]

Glad you found it useful x

[@joannevargas9638]

So realistic!!! Amazing artwork!

[@CakeNation]

Thank you so much 😀

[@stellabrookes2476]

Thank you so much for this tutorial! I managed to make my sister's wedding cake and it looked so much better than I could have hoped for!

[@CakeNation]

I'm so glad! x

[@katewakeford976]

Amazing! Great job! I’m going to try and do it for my school cake comp. I’m going to have edible flowers at the bottom to make it sort of look like an enchanted forest.

[@CakeNation]

oh i bet that will look lovely! s x

[@WoodsBrandy]

This is awesome!

[@CakeNation]

Thank you x

[@brittanyp5909]

Ive watched this 4 times now..lol And I'm attempting to recreate this cake following your video step by step! Just about to start with the color 😍😍 Thank you so much for this amazing video!

[@CakeNation]

Can’t wait to see, let me know how it turns out x

[@hannahmota9661]

Amazing ❤ thank you for sharing!

[@CakeNation]

Thanks for watching x

[@abigailmakela3540]

So cute!!!

[@CakeNation]

Thanks x

[@clarissasanchez5031]

Such stunning work , truly gifted ☺

[@CakeNation]

thank you x

[@clarissasanchez5031]

@@CakeNation of course✌☺

[@terezabil6232]

Amazing video! Thanks for your help ❤️

[@CakeNation]

You’re welcome x

[@kittycakesbykitty7275]

Amazing tutorial, very helpful❤

[@CakeNation]

Glad it was helpful!

[@andreaelliott5142]

Amazing! I am an armature cake maker and I feel I can do this! Maybe I'm crazy, but my son is getting married in 9 days only an intimate wedding of approx 15-20 people. They asked me to make their cake and this is the theme they want. Omg! I'm going to try to do this. Thank you for making it look easy. We will have to see how mine turns out. Thank you for a great video and without annoying music.

[@CakeNation]

awh thanks andrea. it really is a easy technique to do. Feel free to let me know how you get on. Or if you get stuck pop over to my facebook page and drop me a message and I will help the best I can x

[@andreaelliott5142]

Thank you very much. I'm making cake and buttercream frosting on Friday and will assemble it on Saturday. Decorate Saturday and wedding is on Sunday May 27th. Do you think 10" cake will be enough to serve approx 20 people? How many cups of batter should I use in a 10 x 3" round? I will be adding a 3-5" round top cake also. This will be for their use on their 1 year anniversary. Should I use dowels to hold this onto of cake? If so, what size " diameter rod and how many should I use? I will place it of center.

[@andreaelliott5142]

I am on Northeastern U. S. A time. What are you? Right now it's 8:17 pm my time.

[@CakeNation]

I am based in the UK. So bit of a time difference. I get notifications on my facebook a lot quicker than here. (Im stephanie would on facebook) a 10" is definitely enough to feed 20. We dont work in cups here but I usually do a 1kg mix for a 10" but I like mine to be around 4" deep if not more. So that would be 1kg of flour, 1kg of sugar, butter etc...I would dowel yes. Once the cake is decorated you would need to dowel and then trim to size. I use Jumbo straws for my dowels...s x

[@andreaelliott5142]

Cake Nation thank you.

[@marimaribelmarimaribel2984]

Beautiful job!

[@CakeNation]

thank you x

[@f1r3p4w]

Thank you for the tutorial! Going to try to recreate this for my mother's wedding this summer. On my way to pick up some supplies for a practice round.

[@CakeNation]

I can't wait to see it, i bet it will look amazing x

[@another5968]

Fabulous

[@CakeNation]

thank you x

[@gabrielarodriguez5171]

Eres una gran artista. Hermoso trabajo

[@CakeNation]

thank you x

[@carolmillett4677]

I am making a wedding cake for my son's wedding and this is a great Tutorial for me .Thank you for sharing it

[@CakeNation]

hey carol, glad you found use for it. can't wait to see your creation x

[@kitasofia]

So?... how did it turn out!?

[@rickgeist8359]

You did a beautiful job, I have a wedding coming up that once a cake like this but they want the gray luck with black what colors should I use to get that lock, and would you do the top brown like yours thank you

[@CakeNation]

I would use sugarflair shadow grey and sugarflair liquorice. I would be tempted to maybe do the top a little paler than what I’ve done for this video. Maybe mix a bit of grey in with the honey gold to tone it down a little. Good luck x

[@sarahlittle3385]

An amazing cake🙂What colours would you suggest for paints and powders for a silver birch effect Thank you

[@CakeNation]

for silver birch i would likely use the shadow grey from sugarflair...s x

[@3decsonnyboy]

i want to try and make a silver birch looking cake so when i make fondant do i add a silver grey colouring to it or can you recommend one please

[@CakeNation]

for silver birch i would colour the fondant a really really pale grey, then instead of using browns to paint, use different shades of grey x

[@PamelaFlater]

one more question :) if you were going to make this into a two tier cake instead of a 3 tier, what sizes would you use? pls and ty

[@CakeNation]

I guess it would depend on how many guests the cake needs to serve. 8”/6” or 9”/7” would look good. Anything over those sizes I tend to go for 3 tier as it can look really big and bulky just with say 10”/8”. It makes it look unfinished x

[@jeanevans1272]

Hi I know you made this awesome cake quite a few ago, I need to make a wedding cake the same size as yours and I'm addicted to watching how you nail it!! My question is, what type of paint brush do you use? the link you have put on is unfortunately unavailable. What size to you use and how thick is the brush head? xx

[@CakeNation]

Hey, thank you! I used just normal brushes really. Fan brushes are really good for using when you’re spreading the colour with the water! X

[@rebeccasmith7525]

I'm making a cake hopefully similar to this one for a friends wedding(I am not a professional). When using a cake base not a fake base, how would you keep the cakes cooled? refrigerator or freezer? I"m asking due to it being fondant not buttercream only.

[@CakeNation]

Hey Rebecca, I don't freeze or refrigerate my cakes. Doing either of these can cause the fondant to sweat. The cake will be fine at room temperature once covered in fondant as it provides an airtight seal. If you use ganache underneath the fondant it gives it more stability...x

[@emilyjones8200]

I loved this tutorial. You explained everything very thorougly. Can you use vodka instead of water? Using water makes me a little nervouse. Does it make it super sticky? I don't know if I will have time to let it dry overnight.

[@CakeNation]

You can use vodka if you wanted. The water makes it sticky but after an hour it’s dry xx

[@martinbeck2575]

Can I also use Airbrush colore for this?

[@CakeNation]

hey martin, yeah you can use any kind of colours for this x

[@ruthmitchell4335]

Hi Stephanie. Great tutorial and congrats on your success at CI. Could I ask why you used water rather than alchol? Doesn't the water make the fondant too sticky?

[@CakeNation]

Hey Ruth, I use water over alcohol as the water doesnt dry as quick so it allows you to work with it longer. It does leave the fondant sticky for a while but then once dry its totally dry...s x

[@curtisrichbethan]

Is there a way to dry the fondant quicker?

[@CakeNation]

to dry it from the water? not really no. although once the cake is painted you dont need to leave it to dry really before you add anything else. If you're on about letting it dry with the cuts made you dont have to leave that to dry either i would just be extra careful around that space and pull it straight out if its pushed down...s x

[@25angelicca]

Cake Nation thank you!!🤔😉

[@courtneyp.simpson8332]

@@curtisrichbethan I have a dehumidifier and that helps a ton

[@dwolfenstein953]

I don't like the taste of fondant. Can this be done in a buttercream frosting? Your cake is beautiful and your tutorial is very thorough.

[@CakeNation]

I think you would struggle to get the detail with buttercream. You could put lines of brown on it and then scrape to smooth it. x

[@imaginejade]

Where do you store your cake overnight? I heard if you put fondant in the fridge, it might get wet from the condensation...is that true?

[@CakeNation]

I leave them out at room temp. If you put in the fridge when the cake comes out and the fondant is coming to room temp it sweats and gets very sticky. It will eventually dry out but it goes through a really horrible stage of looking a mess...it can also cause the fondant to slip down the cake too...x

[@sarahkonsker7786]

Wow that was amazing. Looks so real. So much work. How long did it take you to actually decorate the whole cake? How much can you charge for it? I'm amazed at how realistic it looks!!

[@CakeNation]

Hey Sarah, Thank you. To be honest these cakes take very little time once you get going. I think I did the wood effect on all 3 tiers in about 2 hours. The cake in this one was a 10"/8"/6" and you can charge upwards of £500 for something like this...x

[@sarahkonsker7786]

@@CakeNation thank you so much for responding. I just have to figure out how to convert £500 to $. Anyway. Your cake design is breathtaking.

[@CakeNation]

about $650 upwards x

[@sarahkonsker7786]

You're so sweet for following up. Thank you. When I looked it up $800 was the figure that came up. But both sound just.

[@PamelaFlater]

what size cakes did you use?

[@CakeNation]

hey pamela, i did 10", then double 8", and then 6" x

[@rhi-ennendewey9417]

Are you using food coloring to paint?

[@CakeNation]

I'm using sugar flair gel colours...x

[@rhi-ennendewey9417]

Cake Nation awesome thank you!!

[@ramsaymo]

I did day 1 so far, a bit frustrated. My peeling bark was a melty mess and not nice at all. I have too much yellow from the brown, perhaps i should add some black to my brown? Think i need more water with my gel and less water on the brush, it was quite drippy, after it gelled up a bit, was easier to get some color off while wiping nice lines.

[@CakeNation]

did you leave it to dry over night? the fondant? s x

[@ramsaymo]

@@CakeNation i did after the melty mess of peeling bark and drippy water. I put in fridge over night, came back today, and found it was easier to cut some peeling bark - easier, cleaner,sharper peeling pieces. So i think when i do the real cake next week, i will lay thicker fondant (seeing styrofoam as i cut peeling pieces), use more water in color, way less on the brush (like hardly any at all?), and cut the peeling pieces after it sits overnight. The peeling pieces just did not stand up to brushing color on day 1. Wish i could put up a pic here. Otherwise really cool cake, love the line techniques. I think we're going for a whiter cake than what i did, hopefully it looks ok not spreading color on every bit, i suppose if at least water is spread on all parts, at least it will b glossy all around. This was definitely some new stuff for me in cake making, glad i did a practice!!!! Thanks for the tutorial!! Free wedding cake for my cousin. Too bad I'M the cake maker and theres no one to make ME a free cake for my wedding lol ughhh. Amazing how no one ever thinks to order me a nicely decorated cake in return for one of my birthdays or whatever 🤐

[@CakeNation]

if you ever needed help - quicker than on here - or wanted to share pics etc you can find me on facebook/insta - @cakenationyorkshire or you can message me on my personal account which is - Stephanie Would. It is a shame no one ever thinks to get us a cake! its my birthday soon and i doubt i will get anything unless i make it myself lol x

[@ramsaymo]

@@CakeNation sent a message to your name on facebook. Itll say josie baran, but im monica.

[@rachelraker8133]

Why water and not vodka or everclear?

[@CakeNation]

I prefer water as it doesn’t dry as quick as vodka and I find it easy to remove excess colour. Also by not using alcohol it means it’s halal x

[@brendamitton623]

I presume you have to use fondant not buttercream

[@CakeNation]

yes this is fondant x

[@wildkatbrat]

I did this & it was an epic fail!

[@CakeNation]

oh no, what happened? x