I have a fondant cake order next weekend. I also have 3 more orders that weekend and this cake is going to be an x-box 360 so it shouldn't be too complicated, but I just don't work with fondant hardly ever! I've purchased Satin Ice to cover the cake with.
My questions:
1. How early can I make this cake if it is due Saturday? I was really hoping to make it Wednesday, but I don't want it to taste old.
2. Can I refridgerate the cake after it's done and covered with the fondant?
3. Lastly, does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the controller?
THANKS!!!

Believe it or not I've covered cakes with fondant up to a week before their due date and the cake still tasted great. I don't recommend letting it go that long. I've done the basic fondant cover and refrigerated with no issues and then added the details a day or so before. Some people don't recommend refrigerating fondant covered cakes but I've never had an issue with it. For the controller, you may want to consider covering rice cripsy treats with fondant. They shape really well. (I may not know what you mean by controller!)

i am anxiously awaiting to hear the answer to this too....

Hi!
You can make the cake on Wednesday, and it won't taste old, trust me! I don't personally refrigerate fondant, but there are those who do with no problems, they say just let any condensation that forms when you take it out; let it go away on its own......sorry, can't help you with the controller...........
Hope this helps!

bettinashoe - just a follow up question. Once I take it out of the fridge to decorate it, do I just leave it out or put it back in the fridge? I really appreciate everyones help! I'm so scared I'll mess this cake up so your suggestions have been great!

I would leave it out. I had one cake that was white and the darker colors ran a little (condensation) when I stored them in the fridge. Just my recommendation. The fondant really does seal your cake and helps it retain moisture so a day or two won't be an issue. If you have any real concerns you might want to use and smple syrup on the cake before icing it.

Bettinashoe mentioned to put simple syrup (?) on the cake before icing it. I saw the video posted over the weekend of the foreign lady putting what looked like water over her cake before icing it. Was she putting water or a light syrup over it? As simple as this may sound, was that purposeful just to keep the cake moist or for the ease in icing as well? How much are you supposed to use?

Thanks for everyone's help.... I'm learning so much!!

I have heard people baking on the food network say they use a brush to brush simple syrup on the cake to make it more moist, because home made are not usually as moist as box cakes this helps them. I never have done it for fear it would be sickeniing sweet.
I would never serve myy family a cake two weeks old LOL but then thats me....yuck haha

This is just in response to the simple syrup, I love adding it. Im still pretty new with cakes, and my father gave my sylvia weinstock's sensational cakes book. She has recipes in the back that are amazing, but she swears the only way to acheive a truly perfect cake is lightly spray or brush on a simple syrup. And she has about 10 different kinds she uses depending on the cake. Hope this helps.

I usually bake on Wed, fill/crumb coat Thur and Finish on Fri for a Sat cake. I also use simple syrup (50/50 water sugar mix) brushed on the top of the cakes. You can impart flavor by adding a liquor to this or lemon juice or leave as is. Helps give a super moist, favorful cake. I always do it. I never refrigerate my fondant cakes. Just keep them in a cool place and they are fine to sit. For small parts of a cake with intricate designs, rice krispies covered with fondant are the way to go.

i usually bake my cake on a wednesday to ice on the thursday for pick up or delivery on the friday... and have had no probs it still stays fresh.. in some cases depending on amount of cakes i have on in one week or weekend i start baking on the tuesday. I rarely put them in the fridge once i have put fondant on them due to the sweating affect when they come out but have done now and again but only for a short time.

as for the sugar syrup thing i only put that on fruit cake to help stick the almond icing to the fruit cake then i use water for the rest. good luck hope all this helps

ohhh and i am a scratch baker i dont believe in using the box cakes i infact find alot of them to be dry i dont even use box cake when making the wasc cake.

There are a couple of good photos of xbox cakes on the internet. This is one I had saved as a bookmark, for future use. It shows a close up of the controller. Looks like they carved it from cake and covered it with fondant. I think the rice krispy treat ideas is fabulous!

http://www.jennyonthespot.com/2009/02/an-xbox-cake/

I agree with bettinashoe and SweetHeather about making the controller with Rice Krispie treats and covering it with fondant. I know what the controller looks like and RKTs were the first thing that popped into my mind when I read DevineDessert's question. I think it will look great if you do it this way, although I'm sure there are other good ways to do it -- if you have a cake that sculpts well, you could make it from that and cover it with fondant, but I'd go for the RKTs. Good luck and be sure to post us a photo when all is said and done! Oh, by the way, I've kept fondant covered cakes outside the fridge for as many as five days with no problem (I live in a fairly cool, dry climate), but I'm going to look into this syrup idea myself.

I made a playstation with a controller and made the controller out of rice cereal treats. Once you shape it, paint it with melted chocolate and allow it to harden. This will make it easier when covering the controller in fondant. It will not want to lose it's shape.

We use simple syrup on every layer of every cake we make, except for sculpted cakes. We stack and ice our cakes on Wednesday, refrigerate overnight and then cover in fondant on Thursday. Decorate on Thursday and Friday for delivery on Friday or Saturday. We never refrigerate our cakes once they have been covered in fondant. The fondant seals the cake and keeps them moist.

The simple syrup will not only add moisture to your cakes but will also enhance the flavor and aroma of your cake. The simple syrup recipe that works the best for us is 1 cup of light corn syrup, 1 cup of water and 1 pound of confectioners sugar. Wisk ingredients and microwave for 15 minutes (that is in a very small, low power microwave, so adjust the time if your microwave is stronger). Add 1 teaspoon of whatever flavoring you like. We usually use mexican vanilla and then will add a few drops of extract of whatever flavor the cake is to enhance the flavor.

If you use simple syrup, do make sure you bring the water/sugar mixture to a boil and then let it cool before applying it to the cake. I use a 50/50 ratio of water and sugar and then add any flavorings I want. If you are adding alcohol based flavorings, let the syrup cool before adding. You don't need a lot of simple syrup, just brush it over the cake. Good luck!

do you brush the syrup over the whole cake or just on top of the cake..? sorry silly question and do you do it between each layer also?

Not a silly question at all. I brush each layer all over before I stack them. Well kind of all over. I don't brush the bottom of the cake nor do I brush the bottom of the upper layers (come to think about it). So, my answer would be kind of all over!