First off I would like to say hi,I have just found this site and it is wonderful...I am by no means a Baker per say, but I have recently started doing cakes.I am a very crafting person so I am now taking this on.

I have done regular cakes,but my daughters sweet 16 is this week and she wants a topsy turvy cake....OHHHHH i cant find a local bakery to do this so i am going to try it.

I have been doing a lot of research and have found different methods of stacking, i am terrified of the carving method but if necessary i will give it a try...any tips would be great

,and also how many days can i make my cakes? should i freeze the cakes before frosting and can the cake be assembled the night before.I also can use any tips on fondant since i have never used it....

I have been told it doesnt taste great any advice on flavoring the fondant or should i try and use buttercream?

Thanks in advance for any help...

methods - it is entirely personal choice. i think i prefer carving the hole, but if it scares you, then just stack the cake right on. if you do carve, remember not to leave the ring of cake too thin.

depends on the cake recipe as to how long it will last, mine are good for at least 5 days once iced. i think freezing is a personal preferance - it can make carving easier, as its more solid, you get less crumbs too. defrost before icing though or you could get air bubble problems. as long as your cake lasts (and doesnt need refridgerated, unless u have a big fridge!) yes, it can be assembled the day before. or more!

fondant does taste good, if you use the right one (ie: not wilton). some people dont like the taste so you can flavour it with oils to help, if they dont like the texture, they can pull it off the cake. a topsy turvey is a difficult shape to cover, especially if you taper it. so if you do go with fondant, you might want to practice, or at least leave plenty of time and have a back up plan. topsy turveys also look great in buttercream, and if you are more used to working with it, might be the safer option. but some people do pull off good firt time fondant cakes, so it depends what mood you are in!

good luck!
xx

I can't help with the assembly, but I use the MMF recipe from Edna's site, Design me a Cake. I've used it a couple of times, rolled really thin over buttercream, and everyone loves it. So if you are going to use fondant, I'd highly recommend that recipe, easy to make, and very tasty. Good luck!

thanks for the advice,I have never used fondant,but i am thinking of using the buttercream instead if i can figure out how to get it smooth enough, i have never made fondant so i purchased wiltons ready made, but i am afraid it wont be so tastey...i will do a little more research if any one has any more advice i would greatly appreciate any...thanks

Wilton isn't fit for human consumption (or any other consumption) . It's ok for modeling but not for eating.

who says it has to be perfect? remember, to her it will look amazing, even if all you see is bumpy icing, she knows mum spent days making her cake the way she wants!

theres some good bc smoothing methods on here, but i think a good plan is to use fondant accents, which will hide many imperfections!
xx

thanks i think that is the plan i will go with....i think i will use the buttercream with the fondant accents,and yes you are right she will think its perfect and i really want her sweet 16 to be great...shes almost grown and i really want her to remember it...thanks for all the advice...i just love this site...its great.....

watch this youtube video...it's wonderful...

i watched it 3 times and then made my first topsy turvy...it's in my pics...it's the one that is pink, green and white.

i use an easy marmallow fondant recipe:

1 packed cup of mini marshmallows
1 T water w/ a little clear vanilla extract added in
1 3/4-2 C powdered sugar

micro. marshmallows and water in big plastic bowl for 30 seconds...stir until completely smooth. dump in 1 1/2 cups of the powedered sugar and stir. grease up you hands and work surface really well. dump out mixture onto surface. then add more powdered sugar till it's not sicky at all and knead til perfect. it tastes good and is cheap! wrap in plastic wrap when not in use!

double or triple the recipe

thats a great video and your cake turned out beautifully....how much fondant does that recipe make?what size cake does it cover? thanks so much for your help....i have been in and out of my kitchen all day .....thanks you all are great!!!!

i have a question for you - what type of cake recipe did you use for your topsy turvy, it's seems it would need to be more dense - did you use a pound cake. I am about to make my first topsy turvy one - i always use "normal" cakes recipes, but i havent really stacked them too high before.
thanks in advance for your help!

thanks upat2am i just made 2 batches of fondant with your recipe and it is greeeeat!!!!!my daughter loves it thanks so much......one other question,can i assemble the cake the day before and if so does it need to be refridgerated? will the refridgeration bother the fondant?

upat2am, great video thanks! Now I just need an excuse to make a topsy turvy

deeann11 - i just used a normal victoria sponge recipe, and it worked, although yes, next time i will be going for a maderia or pound cake.
xx