First of all, this site is amazing! I love gazing at all the wonderful cakes and cant wait to be able to put mine up there as well. My 12 yr old son and I love to watch Ace of Cakes, Food Net. Challenge or anything wedding related cause I know theres cakes! This past weekend I made m first 3 level stacked cake. Homemade mmf and bc frosting. Those turned out great! I bought wilton food colors and what a difference!
I did use a box cake mix and it was ok, but crumbled quite a bit when crumb coating~is that typical?

I was wondering what some really good scratch recipies would be. There are soo many to choose from, so its hard to know which to choose. Id like a chocolate and a butter for sure.

I havent purchased a whole lot yet and was wondering what you all would recommend as "got to have". As far as pans, mats, etc. Also any advice on getting started in the cake biz. Id like to be able to sell cakes as there is hardly any custom bakeries(might be 2) where I live and I love to bake and create.

Thanks in advance for any advice, it will be greatl appreciated!
Oh, any tips on keeping the kids away from your work? My 2 yr old crawled up on the table and helped herself to a bite, right in the center of the decoration. It was cute to come in and find a perfect little bite mark dead center in the fondant circle!! Thankfully I am still practicing and it was just for the family.

Thanks again, have a great day everyone!

Welcome to Cake Central. There is a lot of information already in threads and you can search for topics of interest.

As for crumb coating, you icing should probably be thinner/softer for the crumb coat. It will help reduce the crumbs. You can chill it for a short time to 'set' the crumb coat.

Many states require that baked goods for sale be prepared in a licensed commercial kitchen. You can check the thread in the business form that has a list of the states and some of their requirements. there are a few that will license a home kitchen, but not many.

for recipes, everyone can achieve different results with the same recipes. Select a book and try some for yourself. Also, the recipe section has some that people like.

have fun.

It sounds to me like your cake was a bit on the dry side.....maybe overbaked? Bake w/your nose -- when you smell it ck if it's done....usually less time than one would think. Also bake at a lower temp....
300 or 325 degrees F.
For crumb coating try this: take out about 1/3 cup and microwave it for about 10 seconds....usually you can watch it thru the window and *as soon!* as it starts to melt take it out; stir well and apply as quickly & thinly as possible. Just be sure you completely cover/seal the cake. It will dry almost instantly when applied It will be like the glaze on a glazed donut.
It cannot be re-heated or added back into your regular b'cream so use small amounts.

As for must haves: pans: *one (two would be better) each 6,8,10,12x2" deep round pans -- magic line pans are much better than Wilton.
*A small off-set metal spatula.
*A student pk (I think 8 piece) paste/gel color.
I prefere to use *pastry bags rather than parchment cones and certainly NOT disposable (clear plastic) bags! A couple of each size....8, 10, 12" and a 18" one.
*A quick icer tip....this is about 3" wide w/one side serated and one smooth; it goes into the 18" bag so you can apply icing to your cakes easily; then
*a bench scraper to smooth the icing onto the cake.
*a good, powerful mixer!
* Lots and lots of Betty Crocker cake mixes and my *original* WASC cake recipe