If you want to learn how to make a two tiered wedding cake, it’s as easy as four steps. We’ll provide a recipe for the cakes and buttercream frosting, then teach you how to decorate the wedding cake and stack the tiers.

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You will also know how to make a two-tiered wedding cake with fondant as it’s a popular choice for weddings because it lasts well regardless of the venue conditions. But for more tips regarding layered wedding cakes, please browse our guide for tutorials like how to stack a wedding cake.

How To Make A Two Tiered Wedding Cake For Beginners

For this two-tiered wedding cake with buttercream icing, you will use 6-inch and 9-inch cakes, so prepare three pans of each size. You’ll also need dowels for stacking, and don’t forget to preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 1. Make the cakes

Grease the bottom and sides of the cake pans with cooking spray
For the cake layers, you can follow the recipe of a cake mix; typically, you’ll need two boxes for the large pans and a single box for the smaller cake layers
Mix the cake ingredients in your stand mixer, starting at a low speed and then increasing until the batter reaches the ideal consistency
Pour the batter on the pans and bake for about 40 minutes
Check the cakes by inserting a toothpick in the center of the layer; it should come out clean
Let the cake layers cool over a wire rack before frosting

Step 2. Prepare the icing for the cake layers

The icing you’ll use on this two-tiered wedding cake is buttercream for a classic white wedding cake; feel free to use a flavor you want or pick a frosting that suits your wedding venue well
A basic buttercream recipe you can use to cover the two cake tiers is beating six sticks of unsalted butter until its fluffy
Add about 6 pounds of confectioner’s sugar and milk into the butter slowly, so the consistency remains lump-free; for every 2 cups of butter, you’ll use 2 tablespoons of milk
Add ¾ tablespoon of sea salt and 3 tablespoons of vanilla extract into the frosting and mix well
Transfer the buttercream icing into a piping bag

Step 3. Decorate the wedding cake

Once the two layers of the tiered DIY wedding cake are completely cool, you will start decorating and covering the layers with buttercream
Prepare one of the large cake layer over a cake cardboard and rotating cake stand
Pipe one and ½ cups of frosting on top and spread evenly with a spatula
Place the other large wedding cake layer on top of the covered cake and cover with frosting the same way
Put the last large cake layer over the top to finish the bottom tier of your wedding cake and cover with buttercream evenly
Create the top tier with the smaller cakes and chill both cake tiers inside the refrigerator for half an hour

Step 4. Stack the cake layers

After chilling the cake layers, it’s easy to make the wedding cake from here; you can stack it at the reception, or if you have a box for traveling you can bring the finished wedding cake to the reception
Prepare a piece of cardboard the same size and shape as the smaller wedding cake tier and press it into the larger cake tier
Remove the cardboard to find the outline and push one cake dowel within this mark
Mark the dowel to know the spot where the cakes hit it and then cut accordingly; do the same to the other dowels
Put four dowels within the base cake tier and place the smaller cake tier on top of them
Finish the two-tiered wedding cake by pushing one long dowel on both tiers
Cover the necessary spots with buttercream icing and decorate the edge of the cake

Read how to decorate a wedding cake to know what to do with his classic layered buttercream wedding cake. Keep your wedding theme in mind but remember that less is more with wedding cake decor.

How To Make A 2 Tier Cake With Fondant?

Prepare a white cake or pound cake mix; avoid light cakes like chiffon as it won’t hold the heavy fondant well
Bake the cakes and allow them to cool
Crumb coat the cakes, then spread a layer of icing over the coat before the fondant to ensure that it will adhere to your tiers perfectly
Prepare a basic marshmallow fondant or buy it from the store
Knead the fondant and add food coloring
Take the diameter and height of the cake and add them before multiplying twice to know how much fondant you’ll need
Dust your table with confectioner’s sugar and roll out the fondant until it’s ⅛ inches thick
Allow the fondant to touch the side of the cake board and drape the fondant towards you
Roll the fondant out with a fondant smoother by pulling and stretching the creases
Cover the other cake tier and stack using dowels

Conclusion

Was this guide helpful? You just learned how to make a two tiered wedding cake by making three cakes for each tier and then covering the two with buttercream.

Chill before stacking with dowels, and you’re done. Feel free to replace frosting with fondant, especially if your wedding is outdoors.

How To Make A Two Tiered Wedding Cake In 4 Steps