The cake was designed to a clear brief: it was not to be ostentatious or grand, but romantic and informal in its structure. Firstly, the cake featured 17 flowers, chosen by the Duchess, which all have different meanings; for example, Lily of the Valley symbolises sweetness and humility. The four national flowers also feature on the cake; the Rose to symbolise England, the Daffodil for Wales, Thistle for Scotland and the Shamrock for Ireland. We loosely interpreted the Joseph Lambeth technique to create the piped details on the cake- such as the lattice, scroll and shell details. Lace details from the Duchess’s dress were also piped onto the cake.

Designing and constructing the cake was a real architectural project. It was over 1 metre tall and weighed 100kg. The bottom three tiers provided the stable base for the cake by creating 4 ‘corners’ and was made of twelve cakes. The cake was very carefully driven down the M1 to Buckingham Palace! We were given a room above the kitchens in Buckingham Palace to assemble the cakes. It took a team of 6 people three days to complete.

“Working with Fiona Cairns and her talented team at Buckingham Palace in 2011 when I held the position of Royal Pastry Chef to Her Majesty was a real privilege, the period of The Royal Wedding was incredibly hectic yet Fiona and I managed to enjoy the collaboration. It was an honour to be asked to make the lily of the valley which adorned the wedding cake, an experience to remember and a life long friend made”

Kathryn Cuthbertson MVO

After the wedding , the cake was reassembled and displayed at the Buckingham Palace Summer Exhibition between July and October 2011, along with the dress. As is tradition, the couple kept the top tiers of the wedding cake.