Hi All.
A newbie here....I have been baking regular cakes for several years now. I have baked large single cakes for birthday parties. A couple I know wants me to bake them a wedding cake.
The cake will be 4 tiers . Each tier will have 2 layers filled with fruit and cream cheese and frosted generoulsy with neo classic buttercream.
Covering each tier will be marshmallow fondant.
I am looking for any advice, suggestions.

Thanks.

what are you looking for advice on?
- timeline?
- stuctrual support?
- flavors?
- recipes for certain flavors?

there is a lot to a tiered cake, can you be more specific? and if you're looking for all of that information that's ok too, just want to make sure you get what you're looking for.

To be more specific, I guess I would like to know how structurally sound a tiered cake built on neo classic buttercream and marshamallow fondant would be? Would the buttercream cause the tiers to become unstable at room temperature? Would they slip and slide under the buttercream?

I am also planning on using syrup to make the baked layers moist. Is this advisable for tiered cakes? Would this affect their integrity?

About the fondant....I have heard that when MMF is exposed to air it dries out quickly. How do I keep this from happening once the fondant is on the cake and exposed?

Thanks.

The icing has nothing to do with the structural integrity of the cake. The cakes are held in place by your support system (wooden dowels, bubble straws, SPS system, etc.) So cross that one off of your "List of things to worry about!"

I've been a 30-year buttercream-only wedding caker and no tiers have ever slid off because of the icing.

I think as long as you bake your layers a day or so in advance, assemble your tiers, ice, fondant and let the cakes settle at least a day, you should have a pretty stable cake once you stack it. I'm not familiar with neo classic buttercream, so i don't know the consistency of it. Don't overdo the fruit filling (just a thin layer should do), so that your layers don't slide off of one another. Read up on SPS and structural supports for tiered cakes and decide what's best for you. Study Cake Central and you will learn more than you ever wanted to know.

Neoclassic buttercream(aka french meringue buttercream aka egg-yolk buttercream) is as reliable as any other buttercream I've made...that shouldn't be a problem at all ( I would recommend chilling it before covering with fondant (see tips in the forums about using fondant on IMBC or SMBC).

Brushing the layers with a syrup shouldn't cause you any heartache either unless you saturate them so much that they disintegrate.

The fondant will be fine...due to its' contact with the buttercream, it will remain moist underneath...the outside will dry but not like dry and crumbly type dry...just not be tacky...all while helping to keep your layers moist longer.

Like indydebi said, as long as your support system is good...you shouldn't have to worry about your cake going anywhere (unless you travel with it assembled, taking 50 mph corners without center staking it...)

Awesome advice! Thanks everyone. I'll be back with more questions once I make the test cake.

It looks to me like the bigger problem may be the fruit and cream cheese plus the addition of fondant. It sounds like it will have to be refrigerated and that may make the fondant sweat.

Yes, the filling and icing you have chosen BOTH require refrigeration.

You should check out the SPS for the internal support structure. It is very easy to use, inexpensive, and much more stable than dowels and cardboard rounds.

I have refridgerated MMF quite a few times without a problem. It won't sweat in the fridge, if it sweats it will be when you take it out and it is warming up. If it does sweat just make sure you don't touch it until it's dry (or the finger marks will stay on there) DON"T cover it up while it is warming up, it just makes the sweating worse, it needs the air so it can dry out.

Now, I have put satin ice in the fridge and have a 50/50 chance of it sweating, it has a lot to do with the temperature where it is warming up though. Not sure where you're at or what the weather is right now.

Frankly I'd really, really rethink the cream cheese int he filling ans the neo classical buttercream. Cakes that have to be refrigerated are problematic for wedding cakes. (95% of my business is wedding cakes.) Your cake can only be outside of refrigeration for four hours - and that includes mixing the filling and icing, decorating, display time and then serving. My bet is that the cake would technically have to be thrown out before it was even served.

Also, SPS is the way to go for a support system. You can totally take the cake assembled, (if you can lift it) drive at normal speeds and take corners as you normally do. It's not going anywhere. That whole center stake is false security.

I agree with Leah. My cakes are 99% weddings. Cakes with syrups can be stacked, but a cake with lots of
it can become really unstable.
Edna