First Timer On A Tiered Cake, I'm Lost!
Decorating By sweetjessica Updated 7 Sep 2007 , 6:42am by JanH
OK... I am making a 25 year anniversary cake for my mother and father in law . It is not till November, but i am still just trying to decide if i can make a cake or if i should get help.
The whole thing is going to be a surprise for them and so i can do what i want with the cake. I am envisioning a 3 tiered round cake decorated in fondant, i know how i want it to look but just need some help with a few things.
It will have to feed 80-100 people and i don't know if 3 tiers are to much, not enough, what size should i make the cakes and what kind i should make. So really any help with any of this would be much appreciated.
http://www.wilton.com/wedding/cakeinfo/cakedata.cfm
I use the wilton wedding cake chart (above). There is another one, Earline's, that is also used .... her servings are slightly larger than Wilton.
on here there is an article that contains the serving chart just type it into the search and something should come up , but I thikn 3 tiers probably 8-10-12 should be good. GL
Do you plan to stack the tiers, or separate them on plates/pillars tiers?
I suggest you try the WASC Cake (White Almond Sour Cream) recipe here on CC. It is an extended cake mix recipe and is perfect for tiered and carved cakes. Make a test batch to see how you like it. Half recipe uses 1 cake mix. It calls for white cake mix, but I used yellow and it was wonderful. You can adjust the flavorings to be all vanilla (or something else) if you or your family does not care for almond. Here is the recipe link:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2322-0-White-Almond-Sour-Cream-Cake.html
I used 3 full batches (6 cake mixes) for an 8/10/12 2-layer (4 layers torted) square wedding cake which served 98 party size (1.5x2x4) servings. It was presented as separate tiers on the Wilton Garden Stand.
There are several fillings recipes, if you want to used something besides buttercream. Here is an example which can be used with different berries:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-4963-1-Raspberry-Mousse-Filling.html
OK... I am making a 25 year anniversary cake for my mother and father in law . It is not till November, but i am still just trying to decide if i can make a cake or if i should get help.
The whole thing is going to be a surprise for them and so i can do what i want with the cake. I am envisioning a 3 tiered round cake decorated in fondant, i know how i want it to look but just need some help with a few things.
It will have to feed 80-100 people and i don't know if 3 tiers are to much, not enough, what size should i make the cakes and what kind i should make. So really any help with any of this would be much appreciated.
Three tiers should be plenty! You can do 6-10-14 at 90-ish servings, not counting the top tier. If you want to be extra sure, stash an additional 8" cake or 10" cake in the kitchen, just in case! If it's not eaten, send it home with the anniversary couple to share with out of town guests!
Fail-proof cake: to each box of cake mix, add 1 3.4 oz box of coordinating instant pudding mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup of milk or coffee or other compatible liquid, 1 stick of butter, melted. Mix according to the package instructions, no more, no less! Two boxes will do a 12 and 6" layer, 2 cups of batter into the 6" pan, and the rest into the 12" pan. One package of cake mix for each 10" layer. Bake at 325 with bake-even strips around the pans. You'll need a total of 6 boxes of cake mix for the main cake.
Definitely practice a fondant covered cake or two in the design you are choosing to make sure all of the bugs are worked out! Assuming a Friday event, bake on Tuesday, refrigerate cakes wrapped in cellophane under foil. Mix fillings and frostings on Wednesday, fill tiers and crumb coat on Thursday. Ice and decorate on Friday, deliver on Saturday. Plan on taking twice as long as you think you'll need for each step. Give yourself the gift of time!
Make a detailed checklist of things you'll need to buy, make and do and tape it to your fridge to make sure you don't miss anything! Having a helper to wash dishes, be an extra set of hands, etc is very much worth it. A teen family member will do this for less than minimum wage, maybe even for cake balls! 
If you are stacking the cakes, use smooth-edged plates with trimmable pillars for the most secure stack. The plate should rest on the cake below it without putting any weight onto the cake. Center, cut and place pillars and plates before delivey, then all you have to do is stack and bottom border at the site on delivery day.
HTH!
Hi and Welcome, sweetjessica. 
Here's a list of CC acronyms:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926-.html
Agree with Anna, the WASC cake is awesome! As a doctored cake, it has the reliability of a mix with a more homemade taste.
The recipe (made with DH white cake mix) also makes a tad over 14 cups - so it's great when making bigger or multiple cakes.
Here's an expanded flavors version that uses lemon or berry juices, white chocolate, strawberries or raspberries, liquor or liqueur, any flavor cake mix and different extracts:
http://tinyurl.com/2cu8s4
Also here's a link to all four of Wilton's cake preparation and serving guides:
http://www.wilton.com/cake/cakeprep/baking/times/index.cfm
These charts give party and wedding size servings by pan size (2 & 3" deep) as well as batter requirement, serving time & temps....
How to Make a Stacked/Tiered Cake:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-592731-.html
(Disregard whimsical parts... Has baking & decorating help and tips, mmf tutorial, fillings, and
so much more.)
Here's a handy way to cut and serve your cake:
(So much easier and neater than Wilton's method.)
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-56739-.html
If you need even more help, here's a link to Sarah Phillips (baking911.com) wedding cake (tiered/stacked cakes) info:
http://tinyurl.com/y2kcl8
HTH
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