My work just asked me to make a cake for 150 people. My wife and I are super excited because it's our first cake to be displayed outside of family. The problem is the cake is going to be outside! Forecast is 95 degrees. What should I do? HELP!

As for design, it's wide open. They just want a cake.

Congrats on the cake - 95 is really warm!!!
I would make sure it's under cover and here are a my thoughts.
Does it have to be on display a long time? Can you (keeping it in cool place until presentation) bring it out and present it proudly giving enough time for oooos and ahhhhs and then the cutting of the cake? That way the cake stays in tact and you look like a super star! Being this is your first cake for a group - you should make it a grand entrance instead of leaving it to melt. Hope this lightens your spirits, answers your problem, and gets you pumped for your big debute!

Good ideas BJ and thanks! I'm super excited and scared. I can keep it covered until it's time (noon) and then it can stay shaded until it's all done (1:30) so just under 2 hours in the heat.

I would still keep an eye on it - that's enough time to breakdown the icing. Is there a way you can display it with ice around it? that would be a creative display and help keep the cake cool. Just throwing thoughts out there.....

I hope your choose a full sheet cake + 1/2 sheet cake. A tiered cake doesn't have a chance in 95 degree temps because the icing breaks down at 80-85 degrees. Hopefully, you'll have a tent or some cover from direct sun.

Use my icing ... http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-6992-0-Indydebis-Crisco-Based-Buttercream-Icing.html ... it will hold up fine. Really. It will.

Ok, we've chosen to go simple. I talked to the person organizing things and we've decided 80 servings will be plenty. So, we've decided we are going to use a buttercream icing my wife is familiar with making and probably Wilton fondant. We're doing 2- 10" 2 layer cakes, 1 will be lemon and the other will be WASC. We're doing fondant letters on top that say "THANK YOU" and on the front of them will be our company logo. I've decided to follow the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) idea. It's for a customer appreciation lunch and the lunch is bbq so I think simple fits well and I'm less likely to screw something up last minute.

I'm definitely open for critiquing our ideas though.

Absoutly try indydebi's recipe for buttercream icing besides holding up well it tastes great too. I just did a cake for a graduation party last weekend. It was almost 90, the cake sat in the sun for atleast 4 hours before it cut and served and then another hour or two before being taken inside and It looked just as good when it was put away as when I delivered it

I really want to try it so we just might do that. I'm just nervous to try a new one.

You don't say where you are from, but my guess is that you will have to deal with a humidity issue. I agree with the other person's reply, but I would say that out of two choices that I am aware of I think that fondant would hold up longer if you couldn't do as they suggested. I would sure see if I couldn't insist on it being kept in a cooler location until presentation. Let's say that presentation time was 10 min tops and then they would start cutting and serving. You could give yourself an edge and make it with something that the people in charge would agree that it needed to be kept cool until presentation time. Say for example that you were to tell the person in charge that the cake would need to be in a fridge or at the very least airconditioned(very cool) room until presentation and that it would need to be cut and served immediately after. YOu get their reaction and go from there. If there is no problem with that you make whatever you are most comfortable with. If that person was to say that that wasn't possible you ask why if they don't come forth with the reason. If it is just because they want it on presentation the whole time, but not because refrigeration isn't possible or airconditioned environment then put some ingredients in it that have to be kept cool and just tell them that the ingredients in the cake demand to be kept cool I.E. for food safety reasons. Like for example you could use some kind of whipping cream as the filling between layers or cream cheese, but if it had to be outside for even 10 minutes I am not sure that you would want to use a whipping cream based icing and decorations.

I hope that I am not insulting your intelligence because I don't mean to I am just trying to help you get around a problem in a way that might insure your being able to keep it cool until presentation. If there is not going to be any way to do that then I would say that you need to find a way to do the cake at least 24 hours in advance of when you are going to move it to that location and keep all parts a cold as possible and if possible move the cake in individual pieces and keep very cold until you have to put it together. Maybe there would be a way that a vehicular refrigerator could be borrowed or a refrigerator be rented for that time. I have heard that they really aren't that unreasonable to rent. Maybe the company would swing for that?

Definitely not insulting my intelligence. I enjoy learning and am always open for suggestions and ideas. I'm going to see tomorrow exactly how long it HAS to be out. Pretty sure tomorrow night will be a long night. We just finished baking the 2nd 2- 10" layers and are going to bed shortly.

The only thing I can say I wish was different, is time. I wish I could have been given more than 2 days notice. If it wasn't for work and a wonderful opportunity to get my name in front of numerous people and numerous companies, I probably would have said no.

You would have a better chance of it holding up in the heat with fondant. the problem you run into with fondant if it's been in the fridge and then brought out into the heat it is going to sweat and all of your colors will run. If you keep it in a cool spot inside ... cool A/C it will be fine. just make sure that if you decide to do a stacked design that you dowel it well.

must you use WILTON fondant? i would think that might spoil your chances for more orders of fondant covered cakes.... if you do use it, please add some flavouring to it!

No, I take that back. My wife is going to some store she heard about that has another brand of fondant that is not Wilton. Not sure what it is but the person said it definitely is not Wilton. We're giving whatever it is a try.

Indy...do you use reg. milk in your recipe? or whipped, creamer??? I live in Texas and we've been hitting 101 with heat index of 105. Not that Im going to leave a cake out in the heat, but heat is heat...comes in at times buildings get warm.

Also on that cake being outside...how about if you rig a box decorated and inside that box put some dry ice? so that it radiates up towards the cake that would be sitting on top of the ice (box)...just an idea.

I've used everything from skim to whole milk .... don't notice a difference no matter what I use.

No idea. But remember that heat rises and cold air falls (which is why your attic is hot and your basement is cool).

I don't think you need the dry ice thing. If you have time, make a small cake and sit it on your patio table for a couple of hours to see how it holds up, but I really think you'll be fine. Cakes/foods should be under a tent anyway.

Please take indydebi's advice, she knows what she is talking about.

It's too late to use indydebi's recipe although I'm going to try it in the very near future. My wife already made her bc and crumb coated while I'm at work. She also picked up the mystery fondant which turns out to be Satin Ice! I'm so excited about that. I feel bad that I probably should have went with indydebi's and am hoping this doesn't become a lesson learned and moved to the cake disasters section, but we already went and bought the other ingredients before reading her suggestion and the budget is tight. We're literally not making anything on this cake, it's more of a PR move on my part to get our name out.

On a side note, tiggy2, that's a cute bishon in your avatar! We've got a bishon as well, her name is Lilly.

Ok, for what it's worth, we completed the cakes. I'm trying to get pictures up so you can see them but they're on my phone since the camera battery is dead and the phone is not transferring pictures for me right now. I'm not too excited about it, but they turned out ok. Tomorrow is the big day so let's hope for the best! I'll let everyone know how it holds up. The forecast tonight said 98 degrees with 89% humidity.

It was a huge hit! Everyone loved the cake!!!!! Thought at first that people were just coming by as a courtesy thing, but even people I don't know were coming by to say it was great! One guy was caught putting some in a bag to take home. The event ended up being in a building where heat wasn't as big of an issue. Probably about 90 degrees instead of the full 98 haha.