I have just fallen apart and my head is about to explode, please can someone get me back on track.

I'm doing my 1st wedding cake next week, due Fri 26th. I'm also a guest at this wedding I was doing fine feeling confident until tonight and I feel so overwhelmed all of a sudden I think I might cry.

So here's my dilemma, I had planned on doing 16, 12 and 9 rounds for approx 180 ( 200 invited but some not replied some not able to attend, friend still pinpointing exact numbers) but we pretty much agreed upon 180 servings. I have seen numerous sizing charts and now I have no idea if I actually have enough cake, now I'm thinking of adding a 6" to it to make it 4 tier and then if we use the 6" thats fine if not we can wrap it and save for anniversary (not originally planning on doing this) Do I need the 6" or is my original design of 16 12 and 9 enough?

2nd dilemma is I'm using pastry pride, I've only used it a few times but am confident enough to know I can ice a cake quite quickly with, I'm not doing any design work its going to be plain with a few sunflowers on the side and a ribbon wrapped, now can I ice it on Thursday night and it be ok for Friday as I have heard it forms a skin like crust as it dries out.


I think I have my planning planned out ok


Saturday start making gumpaste sunflowers and leaves

Monday start baking 9"
Tuesday bake 12"
Wednesday bake 16"
Thursday Fill Stack and crumb
Friday lunchtime ice the cakes
2.30- 3pm deliver set up, home by 4.30pm to get ready for 6.30pm wedding

I can move some stuff around and start baking sunday if I can ice on Thursday and move everything ahead one day.


Am I making sense or just rambling now, my head is spinning, I should go to bed a think again tomorrow with a clear head.

TIA for any help, guidance, smacks around the head to get me back in check

Personally, I think it would look better with the 6" on it, whether you need it or not. 9" seems really big for a top tier. I've never used Pastry Pride, so no help there, but I sure hope you can ice on Thursday. That would be a lot easier! Good luck!

Don't fret Dutchy. You sound like you have a good handle on things and know exactly what you need to do - you're just freaking yourself out right now.
If you go by the Wilton wedding cake servings chart, a 16-12-9 round 3 tier cake would serve 188. If 200 is the number of people invited, there will probably be a lot that don't come, and some that don't show. (eeek, one week before the wedding and no final head count?? That must be one lenient caterer) Of those that do come, some won't eat cake, some will leave before the cake is served, etc... I would just be sure to include a cake cutting guide so the person cutting/serving the cake knows that these are 1"x2"x4" serving sizes.

My only question is your timeline for preparing the cake. Gumpaste prep sounds good, as long as there is enough time to complete them all and allow for enough drying time. The baking seems like it's over the course of too many days though. I wouldn't personally bake one cake per day over the course of a week for a Friday wedding, but then again, I don't work outside the home so I can find the time to do more all at one time - I don't know what your situation is. Where do you plan to store the cakes for the week? Will they still be fresh/moist, etc... by Friday?

Pastry pride does tend to get funky after a short period of time. I'm not sure if it would do it as quickly as over night though.

Does ribbon bleed when placed directly on Pastry Pride? Just wondering.

DreaminCake11

I'm sorry but are you keeping the cake refrigerated? I don't think Pastry Pride will hold at all for that long. Unless of course its refrigerated.

I agree on adding a 6 in, it looks much better than a 9 in for top tier! Good Luck!

I've never used PP, but have used Bettercreme which I've heard is similar. I've made cakes the day before, boxed, and then put them in the fridge with no problems.

Aren't you worried your cake will dry out since you are baking on Monday?

If time is an issue have you ever thought of just baking everything on the weekend and then freezing until Thursday? You would save so much time and cleanup if you bake it all in one day.

Are you against freezing your cakes. I always do this and they are always moist. I bake all of my cakes1- 2 weeks ahead of time. Then I take my cakes out of the freezer on wednesday night before I go to bed. In the morning I level, fill and stack the cakes and crumb coat. I let the cakes sit, and settle, that way I don't get any bump on the sides. And then on friday I do the final coat of icing and decorate. There is so much less stress for me to do it this way, that way i'm not doing too many things at once. Not sure about baking the cakes so far ahead of time without freezing, so not sure about that, I have never done it that way so maybe someone else could tell you if they would be fresh enough. I have only ever used pasty pride for fillings, so not sure about that either.
Try not to stress too much, you'll be fine, that is another reason I like to bake ahead of time and freeze, i'm a planner and don't want anything unexpected to happen, so its comforting to me to know the cakes are baked double wrapped in plastic wrap and then in foil and frozen. Make sure you post your pictures, can't wait to see them.

I agree with the stuff that saffronica and dreamincakes11 have said..9" topper is too large...a 6" would look much better on top of the 9".
Secondly, baking cakes over 3 days is a bit long... however, if u still want to do it that way, I suggest you bake the biggest cake first...16" on Monday, 12"inch on Tuesday and 9" on Wednesday....smaller cakes dry out faster...also, larger cakes are the ones that need to be baked a day or two in advance so that they cool and set properly and do not crumble/fall apart when you fill them and move them around.

Hope this helps.

can you all hear the sigh of relief i just let out lol

Thank you thank you thank you for all your advise

I think the 6" will look better too, so thats sold me on that one


I do work full time, thats why I was going to do a bit each night. I've never frozen a cake before, I was taught that if each layer is wrapped correctly while still slightly warm refrigerating them for up to 5 days is ok, so far never had a problem with drying out. I usually wrap 4 times, twice in each direction so no little gaps.

So maybe I will bake all day Sunday and freeze them all that gives me the week to chill out a bit I guess.

The gumpaste flowers i'm doing are sunflowers, I've already practised a bit with them, I'm using the XL and the XXL PME cutters, for a total of 9 flowers maybe a few smaller ones now i'm adding a 6".

The Ribbon is being backed with a white ribbon so it shouldn't bleed through, but a test will be done ahead of time.


Now back to freezing. how long after coming out the oven should I wrap them and get them into the freezer? I read somewhere that its quite soon and that they haven't cooled down too much.


Thanks again for all the answers, feeling much clearer now



If someone has the answer to the PP question that would be great.

I have baked my cakes on Tuesday for a Saturday event, and not frozen them. I have baked on Tuesday, leveled, torted, and iced on Wed., Fondant on Thursday and Friday, deliver on Saturday. I have always had raves about how moist my cakes are. Now, I have frozen them also, I just don't have a big freezer to work with, so I usually go the other way. Definitely not againt baking in advance and freezing, if you can do it that way, great!!!!

I've been told cakes need to be COMPLETELY cooled before wrapping and freezing. Hmmm......

I would have thought the same dreamincake,if it's too warm surely the saran wrap would melt a little???

maybe someone can clarify for me before I ruin a whole batch of cakes lol

I freeze my cakes as well & once they come out of the oven I let it cool for about 10mins or so then I tightly wrap them & to the freezer they go.
My cakes are still a litle warm before I wrap & freeze them... Never had a problem with it...
HTH

thanks for the reply, is that 10mins on the rack or 10mins in the pan or a combo, then wrap?

Saran Wrap will not melt if you put it on a warm cake. I've frozen warm cakes and I've frozen cool cakes and never noticed a difference. I DO know that you'll be a very happy camper if you have all those cakes in the freezer a week in advance! On a simple cake like that you describe, the baking will be the most time-consuming part of the venture. Good luck! Sounds very pretty!

well I guess I have a busy weekend of baking ahead of me then lol

knowing that I can freeze like that makes me a very happy camper and ALOT less stressed.

I shall post pictures when it's done.

I should say thanks to cathy24 as it's her cake design that my friend fell in love with when we were looking at sunflower cakes online, hopefully mine turns out as nice as hers.

Thanks again to everyone, you really have made me much calmer.

.........keep....cake refrigerated?...don't think Pastry Pride will hold at all for that long..............

PP should keep at room temp for 3 days unless the company has changed their instructions from some yrs ago when I used it. SD is a cool area - not much heat but maybe humidity so room temp should be fine. I personally don't care for the mouth feel of PP if it sits overnight (on a cake). It gets funny - sort of marshmallow-ey & greasy.....
You should be able to bake the two 9"ers and 6"ers in the same batch unless you have a super small oven. If a 16 round fits, it should hold a 9 & 6 on one rack.
That's one day less of baking
Fzing: cool maybe 10 minutes in pan; turn out & cool just until you can hahdle it to wrap. The longer it cools the more it is drying out.

The ribbon will stick to the PP - come off on the ribbon when it is removed

Thanks for the info Kakeladi! Good to know!

thanks for the info there kakeladi I'm going to take the risk of icing it thursday night and boxing it.

I just enrolled my sister to come help me bake on Sunday so that will be a big help.

Will let you all know how it turns out next week, fingers crossed no more mini meltdowns haha

You guys are all life savers. this place is such an overwhelming pot of knowledge, you're all amazing.


I might be back in a bit I'm about to attempt to decorate a 9" into a coach purse for tomorrow for my best friends b-day. I'm sure I'll be hitting the wine before the nights end ( sometimes tea just doesn't cut it)


Thank you all again sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much

if I could hug you all I would


(hugs)

Information on pastry pride hope this helps , not something I would use on a wedding cake if left out it will crack.

Pastry Pride or Frostin' Pride is a non-dairy commercial product that comes in 1 quart and 1 gallon cartons.

2. Pastry Pride comes frozen and should be thawed in the refrigerator overnight. However, if you are desperate, you can thaw it for 1 minute in the microwave, shake, and then repeat for 1 more minute, then shake, and repeat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. It should still have some ice crystals inside. Another method of speedy thawing is to immerse the carton in large bowl of warm water. It will thaw in 1 - 2 hours this way.

3. Once thawed, un-whipped Pastry Pride will last 2 - 3 weeks in the refrigerator. After it is whipped, it will last 1 - 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Sometimes, if you have under-whipped it, as it sits, liquid will gather in the bottom. You can still use the Pastry Pride, you just need to re-whip it. Always use a WHIP, not a paddle on your mixer.

4. One quart of Pastry Pride is enough to ice and decorate an 8 inch round cake.
One quart of Pastry Pride is enough to ice and decorate a 1/4 sheet (8x12 or 9x13) cake.
One quart of Pastry Pride is enough to ice and border a 1/2 sheet cake.
One quart of Pastry Pride is barely enough to ice a full-sheet cake.

5. When working with Pastry or Frostin' Pride, you want to keep it cold. If you are spending a lot of time on the decoration; put the whipped Pastry Pride back in the refrigerator while you're working to keep it cold. It will breakdown and get mushy if you leave it out at room temperature for too long.

6. You can decorate and make roses with Pastry Pride, but you must work quickly - within 15 minutes.

7. You can also color Pastry Pride, but only light to medium colors - Americolor colors work the best. If you try to make very dark colors, they will bleed onto your cake and stain the teeth of the people eating the cake!

8. Pastry Pride/Frostin' Pride will form a "skin" after sitting out for a while. This is very difficult to smooth, but can be done carefully with the use of water for softening. Also, if you are putting an edible picture on your cake, you want to do it after the "skin" forms.

9. When you whip Pastry Pride, you can add flavoring, such as Creme Bouquet. Add NO flavoring to Frostin' Pride.

10. Pastry Pride takes 5 - 15 minutes to whip, per quart. This will vary depending on the type of mixer you have, and how cold the Pastry Pride is. The colder it is, the longer it will take to whip. However, if it is too warm, it will never whip. When it reaches room temperature (like if you leave it out on accident), it is usually runied.

11. I have found that if you ice a cake with Pastry Pride and let it sit for several hours before decorating it; piping gel or other brightly colored icing does not seem to bleed.

12. You can leave a cake iced with Pastry Pride out of the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Just remember, the longer it stays out the drier it becomes. Sometimes tiny cracks will also develop on the skin.

Thanks cakesondemand! I'm def. adding all of your info to my cake folder of knowledge. =)