On the cake attached, how does a person get the balls all the same size? Do you make them out of fondant? Is there another option...candy?

They are needing enough cake to feed about 65 people. Would you do a 6-8-10 or 8-10-12? They are aware that this cake is going to be expensive and will feed a lot of people. I am wondering with the stars and the balls if doing the bigger one would be better so it would be portional with the stars, etc. (If I calculate correctly...the bigger cake is the one that they would need since the other cake is too close to 65....)

Then on the bottom layer...I would frost it in buttercream frosting and then lay on strips of black fondant?

Thanks for your help in advance!

I don't know how other people do it, but you can buy a bead maker in the clay isle at Michaels or AC Moore.
its 2 peices of plastic that you can use to roll out fondant "beads" in the correct size you need

For the beads to be the same size, you can roll logs of fondant and cut uniform slices to make the beads. If the slices are the same, the beads should be the same size.

GL.

..moving to Cake Ideas.

size: 6/8/10 = 74 servings by the Wilton chart. Plenty of cake

balls: roll out the fondant and use a round cutter to cut circles. Then roll them into balls.

bottom tier: I'd do just as you described...buttercream with fondant strips.

Thanks jammjenks!

Sorry JanH. I really thought I put this in the "How do I" category.

I have used gumballs for a border and they looked really nice and were super easy!
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I wouldn't use gumballs unless it's a candy themed cake where people will expect stuff like that. Otherwise, I imagine people will be unpleasantly surprised to have a mouth full of cake and gum.

The only way around that is to let everyone know not to eat them in advance. But who wants to run around a party telling 65 people, "I made the cake...but don't eat such & such part of it." It's really not that difficult to just roll them yourself.

I saw buddy doing this on his cake show and he rolled out the fondant quite thick and then used a small round cutter and cut out each circle and then rolled each on into a ball.

You can use a large circle icing tip to cut out circles from rolled out fondant. Just make sure you fondant is the same thickness and cut away and roll.

As far as saying that they know this cake will be expensive... I would make sure they have a price up front so there are no surprises. What they might consider expensive for a cake and what you think is expensive is probably two different things.

I always roll to the same thickness and use the circle cutter, then roll into balls! Just ensure to do a few at a time as I do find that after cutting them into circles the fondant sometimes gets a bit crusty, and harder to roll. (More so with my home made fondant than if I use Wilton's fondant for figures and such).

I agree that you should give them the price now, a customer should always know what they are paying, and there would be a price difference between those two size options that they may not want to pay! For my customers, if they send me a picture, I always give a couple size options. So in my response it would be like this:

Option 1) A 3 tiered cake with double layered cakes of diameter 10, 8 and 6 inches would serve XX-YY number of people and would cost $$.

Option 2) A 3 tiered cake with double layer cakes of diameters 12, 10 and 8 inches would serve XX-YY number of people and would cost $$.

Please let me know which option you prefer so that we can arrange for your 50% deposit!

Yes, the balls are definitely much easier if you use a round cutter or the large side of an icing tip (though for tiny ones I'll use the small side!). Just try a couple to see what size works for you!

Just wanted to point out that you don't have to cut out the fondant with a ROUND cutter. Any size or shape will do as long as it gives you the amount of fondant you want for the balls.