I have a two tier cake to make for a birthday party on Saturday at 11am. I definitely want to have it fully decorated by Friday night before I go to bed. Is Thursday too soon to bake and ice the cakes??? Then decorate Friday?

Also, I would like opinions on things to use for cake support on a two tier cake.. It'll be 10 inch two layer and 8 inch two layer!

And I would like to know if you stack the cakes before you go to the party..such as on Friday..What do you cover it with so it doesn't dry out?

Thank you for any help!!
Sincerely - The Newbie!!!!

Hi! I'm a hobby baker, and that is the timeline that I would follow. I don't freeze cakes, so therefore I like to make things as close to the event as possible. For support I use Cake Jacks. As for the stacking, as long as it they are indeed stacked tiers (one on top of the other, no pillars, etc.), you can stack ahead of time. Best of luck with your project!

Oh! One thing though! I would carefully plan making the decorations! If you're using gumpaste, fondant, royal icing and such, you can do those way ahead of time so they're set, dry, color-dusted, steamed, etc. and ready to go on the cake Friday!

Hi....I'm a newbie also!
I just did 2 cakes (a 3 Tier and a 2 Tier) this past weekend...one of which was the same size as your 10" & 8"....i used the "Wilton Plastic Dowels" for support and it worked just fine!
HTH


Also, regarding baking time.....as long as you let the cake settle before you put it together...you should be fine!

Best Wishes

I mean to let the cake sit for awhile...( I let mine sit for at least 24hrs) so that the natural compression can occur....it makes it easier to level and fill so that your cake won't crack or bulge.

Welcome newbie. I always use a 3 day rule (and many other cakies do too). Day one: bake and crumbcoat (or take out of freezer and crumbcoat while frozen). Set a heavy tile or anything weighted on top of a cake round. This will help the cake settle so you don't get any shifting around after you've iced them. It's the only way I stopped getting cake bulges. Day two: Ice and start decorating. Day three: Finish decorating and deliver.

Your cakes won't get dried out by sitting on your counter as long as the cake itself is covered with icing. The only time I ever heard of problems was from someone who put their cake in the cake caddy and it molded. Cake needs to breathe, and won't go bad in a few days.

If I'm going to do fondant cutouts or something that needs to mold to the shape of the cake, I would do those right before you plan on putting them on the cake. If you're going to do fondant / gumpaste that will be dry, than you can do those days and days ahead.

Hope all that made sense

Letting the cakes settle just means filling each tier, then letting the tier sit for a while so that the weight of the top lay can push out any air that might be in the filling. The tile trick is a good one.If you don't do this, the air that may be inbetween the layers will cause your buttercream or fondant to bubble.

Also, for a two tier cake like yours, there is no need to assemble on site. The simplest way is to get some cake dowels, stick one in the center of the cake and mark where it meets the top of the cakeby holding my finger there or using a pencil to make a small mark. Then, cut 4 or 5 more dowls to the same length as the first. Stick the original down back in the center and the remaining dowls in a circle around it (the size of the circle depends on the size of the cake that will be sitting on it.) Put a little bit of extra icing on top to help the 2nd tier stick.

Place the other cake (w/ a cak board or cake plate under it) on the dowels and Viola!

Hi andyneal331 ~ Mug-a-Bug answered the question you left for me!

I dont know that you have the time to get an SPS, but the next time you have a stacked cake, USE SPS!!!!! Easiest way to do a stacked cake.

I dont know that you have the time to get an SPS, but the next time you have a stacked cake, USE SPS!!!!! Easiest way to do a stacked cake.

Single Plate Seperator, use it to stack cakes. Very stable, very easy to use. Go to the How-To forum and there is a sticky on it.

I put my cakes in a upside down rubbermaid container (Lid on the bottom, cake on the lid, container snapped down on top) I have never had a cake mold like this. And if you get little plier snip thingys from the hardware store it makes cutting your wooden dowls really easy.

you don't have to use a tile to help the cake settle, but it's a good tool to help "squish" the air out of the cake.

I crumb coat my cakes and leave them on the counter. The thin layer of icing seals the cake, preventing air from getting to the cake and preventing moisture from escaping from the cake. I let the cakes sit overnight to settle, or at least 6 hours.

If you bake ahead of time and freeze the cakes (when slightly warm or totally cooled, wrap cakes in saran and put in freezer), you will find the cakes are moister. Freezing adds moisture to the cakes. The secret is properly freezing and thawing.

I have used drinking straws before......put one down in the center of the bottom layer and pull it out (using thumbnail and index finger placed at the frosting level) cut it off with scissors and then cut 3 or 4 more to the same length and space them out within the area of the top layer........very stable and cheap!

I never had success just letting my cakes settle. Once I started putting a tile on top to 'squish' it down, I finally stopped getting bulges. I crumbcoat the sides, but not the top. Then I place a plastic cake round on top of the cake and put a regular tile on top to weight it down. You don't have to use a tile, you can use anything that's not too heavy. The crumbcoat seals in the cake, moisture and all!! HTH

I bake professionally and I use 3 days. I do freeze my cakes as I think they are more moist by doing so. My cakes are made from scratch and I'm usually doing 3 tiers or more.

Day 1: frost (includes making the buttercream)
Day 2: cover with fondant
Day 3: decorate

When I have 2 large wedding cakes for Saturday, I'll start on Tuesday with the first cake. My cakes are still fresh and moist by Saturday. I also refrigerate all of my cakes after decorating.