So, obviously I'm new here. Hi everyone!

I've been reading the forums for awhile, and i think i can definitely trust everyone's opinion on here. I can't tell you how many times i've been reading a topic, and have to google what something was. Haha.

Anyways, I made my first tiered cake for my parents anniversary...Hellllloooo not good. I suck. First time using Gum Paste, and my first time using Fondant. Both store bought. (I ended up having a lot of flowers, and it wasn't as tall as previously planned..So I just stuck them in to cover as much of the bad fondant job as possible! haha)

My main question, though, was about the cake itself. I used red velvet box cake, and while it was pretty and tasted good, I felt that it was just too moist to handle properly. It fell apart on me and just couldn't be handled like I had hoped.

What are some of yall's favorite recipes to use for tiered cakes? (p.s. ... I don't know if i'm spelling tiered right. haha.)

I think that for a first shot at fondant and gumpaste.. it really isn't all that bad! I especially can't seem to do fondant roses to save my life, never mind as many as you made.

I recently tried the WASC recipe on here, which I'm sure many will reccomend. I found it to be about the same sturdiness as a box mix-- dare I say even crumblier when the cake was cut?

Anywho I'm still on the quest for the perfect one myself. Here's a bump as I'm also interested and I hope someone has an answer!

Your roses are beautiful! Your fondant looks good too...it's not easy to cover a square cake.

Here's a link to a bunch of cake recipes from ladies on CC... http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df4f9hbq_46cs9f28fs They all start with cake mixes. The ones I have tried taste wonderful. There's a red velvet recipe there too.

I use the WASC recipe (original version) and find it holds up really well (tastes great too) and I haven't had problems with too many crumbs either.

BTW, I think you did a great job (especially considering it was your first time). Your off to a great start!

ETA:

You should try making some MFF fondant (Michele Foster's Fondant). It tastes good and it's easy to make. P.S. You can use milk or cream for the liquid and I recall reading a thread somewhere where Michele said she put water and no flavouring when she was making it to cover a dummy cake for a competition.

Those are some seriously good flowers!! I don't know what to tell you about the cake part. I only use cake mix that I "doctor" up. As for the fondant....it just takes practice, and more practice. Try the Marshmallow fondant recipe. It's really easy to make, and much cheaper!
Welcome!

AverageMom: Thank you!

xstitcher: I've been thinking about the WASC recipe, I see many people on here raving about it. Do you use regular BC with WASC, or does a certain flavor go better? And as far as the MMF fondant...I don't have a stand mixer, only a hand mixer. Will that create a problem for me?

Texas_Rose: Thank you for the link! That's helpful.

cupcakeco: I actually made the roses out of gumpaste. I learned off of a youtube video. haha. They looked a little different, because i couldn't find a five petal cutter, only a six. So I had to make due! I'm planning on trying a bunch of different cake recipes this week, we'll see what I come up with! haha.

You can make MMF by hand. Don't use your hand mixer for it, it won't work. But it's not any more work than kneading bread dough to do it by hand.

WASC goes well with any buttercream. I usually flavor the buttercream to match the cake...for example I made a cake that had Princess emulsion and creme brulee coffee creamer in it, so I added the princess emulsion to my buttercream and then replaced the milk with the coffee creamer.

Ditto to what Texas Rose said. I have used various kinds of buttercream icings with my WASC and various flavours (both for the WASC and the bc). For the fondant you do not want to use a hand mixer (I like using my KA because I have a lot of problems with pains in my hands lately and the less work I have to do with them the better ). The hand mixer would burn out. I know mine burnt out the first time I ever made Royal Icing (this was last year when I was just starting out) so I went out and bought myself a KA. I think it's been one of my best investments to date. When I did make MMF it was always by hand, I now make MFF and since I started having issues with my hands I left my KA do most of the work.

There are a several youtube video's showing you how to make it as well as a tutorial with pics in the articles section. Here are just some of the links from youtube:

Welcome to CC, I think your cake looks very good for a first timer, and your roses are beautiful Use that link that you got from Texas_Rose the recipes are great I have tried a lot of them and they are very yummy