HELP!! I'm making the cake for my niece's baby shower. I am very new to cake decorating and am completely self taught. I need help planning this out. up until now i've made small layer cakes or sheet cakes. Now I'm planning a two or three tiered cake with fondant. how far in advance can i start? Should I freeze? before or after icing/fondant? my problem is I have small windows of time - i work all night shifts as a nurse and of course i've been scheduled to work the nights right before and right up to the shower. I've done fondant before, and I have a fairly simple design planned. I'm making a practice cake now, but I'm worried about planning the actual cake the week of the shower. What should I be planning?

Hi there, as you are working in the night, I think your best option is to freeze the cakes in advance. If you are going to do the cake for a saturday, take the cakes out from the freezer on wednesday night and put them in the fridge. When you come home the next day take them out from the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Then you torte them and fill. I do this during the night and let it settle overnight. So you can leave it thursday night. Friday crumbcoat and cover them with fondant and decorate. If you have any figures or toys made out gumpaste going on the cake, make them a week ahead.

You have to wrap the cakes in saran wrap really well. And then in foil and put them in freezer bags. Thaw them in the wrappings.

This is how I would do. There will be different opinions. But do what's best for you.

HTH.

And put in your order for SPS today!

Thanks!! that sounds good. The more I look at my schedule, I am off the thursday before the party, and don't work until 11pm on Friday so i might have more time to work with than i thought - I don't know yet if the party is saturday or sunday. does it sound reasonable and will the cake still be fresh if i bake it thursday and have all the icing and fondant, even the fondant cut outs and stuff made on thursday and assemble it friday? will it still be fresh the weekend? and should i wrap it or chill it once it's decorated until the party?