I just recieved an order about doing a tiered cake mind you I have never done one before in my life! I told my friend that I was able to do it. The occasion is her mother 50 birthday on july 9th and the colors she want is black ,silver and white plus the number of people attending is 150 people. I told her I will call back for pricing but how much do I charge for this and what size pans should I get have. She also wants a vanilla cake with vanilla custard and fondant

I'm nervous and excited at the same time I think I can do this. Please help!!!

Tiered cakes aren't that difficult. Do you have any pictures to show us? It's more difficult to advise, if we don't know what you have made before

As far as the color combo goes, check out some of the cakes in kwebbeltje gallery. ( Just go to the tab for photos and then click on the search link there and type in her username where it says to find photos by a specific member.) She does some beautiful work with that color combination. As for learning to stack the tiers, there are tons of how-to videos on youtube. I would recommend the one by tonedna1, she is awesome and really explains things very well. And, as for choosing the size of the layers, you can do a search on "cutting a wedding cake" here on CC and that should pull up a cutting guide that will show you how large the tiers should be and how many you will need, etc Hope that helps you!! Good luck. . . BTW, since this will obviously be an important cake for your friend, I would definitely recommend practicing--especially the stacking part. Again, good luck!!

I don't have any pix at the moment but I have done regular cakes in buttercream and cupcakes. u can advise me please!!

In that case start practising covering a cake in fondant first, also practise the silve tier especially. It is very difficult to get the silver right, unless you have an airbrush.

Proper supports are really important, and they need to be level. Stack on site unless using SPS and bring supplies just in case you muck up the fondant while stacking

with fillings, don't overfill and use a thick icing dam
cake board under each layer
insert the right height of dowels but not sompletely, leave them sticking out about an inch, so that you have room to withdraw your fingers from under the upper cake. The weight of the cake will push the dowels into the cake. Insert the dowels straight not an an angle, don't use too many, might split the cake. Make sure the cake table is decorated and stable and even

With the silver I'd try and persuade her to limit that for fondant ribbons on the base of each tier. that would also tie in nicely with black and white tiers. A streaky silve tier would not look nice, plus you'd need a lot of that

thanks guys but how much should I charge her?

i am also new to the tiered cake..my best friend is turning 22 this friday and im making her a surprise 2 tiered cake..good luck to both of us!
now for pricing, i am a beginning culinary student in patisserie and baking at le cordon bleu, and we did learn the proper way to price a cake/dessert and its such a hassle (business type)..so my best bet, and the one method i use is the price per slice..
one way to do pricing:
first step would be finding out how many servings each tier offers, then you would price each serving(slice). on average each slice is $1.50-$5.00 depending on fondant, fillings, details and bread. price it what u believe is fair for your work and to make profit.
example: if my 6 in round cake feeds 6 people..1 inch slices for each and my price is $2.00 a slice (cause its a simple buttercream cake) then my total for that cake is $12.00 dollars for that 6 in tier..and so on with the rest of the sizes.
also! google...'cake serving charts/price charts'! hope this helps a tiny bit!! good look hun!!!!! <3

http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm

As I don't know, what you pay for the ingredients in the States, i can't advise you there

Calculate how much supplies you need, include the cost of colours, boards, ingredients, fillings, fondant etc, add on top electricity (gas) and water cost

Then think about how long you will need to bake, decorate and deliver the cake and add in that cost

When you have all that, then you can calculate your per serving price. It's no use to just take the price of someone else, if your initial costs are higher than theirs. Then it also depends on your skill level, any extras you might make as deco. If you've never worked with fondant before, I'd definately try out some cakes before commiting to such a large and important order. Covering a large tier can be a pain

Thank you guys sooo much. I have worked with fondant before but I will definitely practice and share with you guys my progress

Look forward to seeing some pictures, please share

I got the sizes togther I'm doing a 16,12 and 8 but how much fondant do I need to cover this cake? I am gonna use satin ice, I know satin comes in 2, 5 and 20 buckets sizes. which size bucket fit best plus decorations?