Blackberry-Vanilla Wedding Cake

Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease bottoms and sides of 6-inch round pan, 8-inch round pan and 10-inch round pan with shortening. Place 6-inch, 8-inch and 10-inch round piece of waxed paper or cooking parchment paper in bottom of each pan; grease again and lightly flour.

Each tier is made up of 3 layers of cake. To make first set of 6-, 8- and 10-inch layers, in large bowl mix 2 cups of the flour, 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1 teaspoon of the baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon of the baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup of the buttermilk, 2 teaspoons of the vanilla and 3 of the eggs. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Spread about 3/4 cup batter in 6-inch pan, about 1 3/4 cups batter in 8-inch pan and about 2 1/2 cups batter in 10-inch pan.

Bake 6-inch cake 20 to 25 minutes, 8-inch cake 25 to 30 minutes and 10-inch cake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Remove parchment paper. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Repeat with batter and pans twice to make 3 layers of each size.

In very large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups butter and 2 tablespoons vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in 9 cups icing sugar, 1 cup at a time, and 4 to 5 tablespoons milk until frosting is spreadable consistency. Transfer frosting to another large bowl; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Repeat this step to make additional frosting.

Assemble and Decorate: Place about 1 tablespoon frosting on cake plate where first cake layer will be placed to keep cake from sliding on tray. Place one 10-inch layer, top side up, on tray. Spread top with thin layer of frosting. Place large round decorating tip in decorating bag; fill with frosting. Pipe around top inside edge of cake layer, forming thick frosting border about 3/4-inch high. Spread 1/4 cup blackberry preserves over top of cake inside frosting border. Top with second layer 10-inch cake layer, top side down. Spread with thin layer of frosting. Pipe border on inside edge of cake. Spread about another 1/4 cup blackberry preserves over top of cake. Top with third 10-inch cake layer, top side down.

For 6-inch and 8-inch tiers, make cardboard round to place cake tiers on by placing bottom of cake pans on cardboard; trace around pan edge. Cut out with scissors. For 6-inch tier, place small amount of frosting in center of 6-inch cardboard round to hold cake in place. Place one 6-inch cake layer, top side up, on cardboard. Spread top with thin layer of frosting. Pipe frosting border around top inside edge of cake. Spread about 2 tablespoons of preserves over top of cake inside border. Top with second 6-inch cake layer, top side down. Frost top with thin layer of frosting. Pipe border around top inside edge of cake. Spread about another 2 tablespoons of preserves over top of cake inside border. Top with remaining 6-inch cake layer, top side down. Repeat for 8-inch tier using 8-inch cardboard round, 8-inch cake layers and about 3 tablespoons preserves between layers.

Stir frosting adding additional milk if necessary for desired spreading consistency. Using large metal spatula, carefully spread thin layer of frosting over sides of cakes, then over tops. Using spatula to push frosting, never allowing spatula to touch cake. (The purpose of this technique is to seal cake crumbs to make frosting the cake easier.)

Apply a thicker layer of frosting to the 10-inch tier. To make the vertical striped appearance on the sides of the cake, using wide spatula start at the base of the tier pull spatula upward and over top edge of cake. If necessary, for smoother stripe dip spatula in hot water and run spatula over stripe. Make another vertical stripe using the same technique right next to the previous stripe. Continue around the cake tier. Smooth frosting on top of the cake tier.

For a stacked cake where tiers are placed directly on top of one another, each tier will need to be supported by several dowel rods. To mark where to place the 8-inch tier on top of the 10-inch tier, centre 8-inch cake pan, turned upside down, on top of 10-inch tier and gently press to make imprint; remove pan. Insert 1 dowel rod in centre of 10-inch tier, straight down to tray. Mark rod with exact height of tier; remove rod. Cut 7 more rods to marked length. Insert rods into 10-inch cake tier, spacing evenly 1 1/2 inches apart within imprinted outline on 10 inch tier. Place 8-inch tier on top of the 10-inch tier.

Frost 8-inch tier as directed in Step 8. Mark 8-inch tier with imprint of 6-inch cake pan; remove pan. Cut and insert 7 dowels for 8-inch tier as directed in Step 9. Top 8-inch tier with 6-inch tier. Frost 6-inch tier as directed in Step 8. Decorate with flowers, fruit and rosemary as desired.