We test Kate's wedding cake

The Evening Standard is the first to taste the wedding cake expected to be served to guests at Friday's Buckingham Palace reception.

The tiered fruit cake, by Fiona Cairns, will be officially released on the wedding day, but today the Standard was given a sample of one of the Leicestershire-based cake maker's trial runs.

The final version is set to be decorated in the four flowers of the home nations - English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh daffodil and Irish shamrock - and the couple's new cipher.

The cake, which contains a range of dried fruits including raisins, sultanas, cherries, grated oranges and lemons, also boasts walnuts and French brandy.

Our verdict: it is heavy to hold but light to taste with a nice rounded flavour.