AHi there, I have a situation that I could really use some expert advice on. I am getting remarried in a week and we have decided to do everything for the wedding ourselves. We are combining children from our two sides and everyone wants a part in making the special day happen. We have decided to tackle one of the toughest jobs for the wedding and that is, baking the wedding cake.

My stepdaughter-to-be loves baking and really wants to make the cakes. We are thrilled to let her do this and each trial run has turned out very well. Our issue is that we have no experience in cake decorating. Actually, I take that back, my fiancé took some Wilton classes with his ex years ago so he knows a little something. :)

We want the cake to be covered in fondant and have experimented with the marshmallow recipe which turned out fine. I need expert advice from you all on what type of icing to use on our pound cakes (store bought buttercream is awful) and how would you recommend that we assemble, transport and reassemble this 3 tiered cake (12, 10, 8 inches) at our beach destination 3.5 hours away from my home. We will have a beach house with a full kitchen so we can assemble the cake there and roll out the fondant at that time.

To make this less confusing, my questions are: 1. What is a good icing to use on the almond flavor pound cake? 2. Would you share some recipes for that icing? Nothing too sweet 3. Should we bake the cakes ahead of time and freeze them so that they are moist? 4. What is the best way to store the cakes? 5. Should we transport the cakes in coolers iced or without icing? 6. How far in advance before the reception should we assemble the cake and cover with fondant? 7. Is it ok to leave pound cake, icing and fondant out without refrigeration after assembled? The cake doesn't contain sour cream or cream cheese.

I have so much respect for all of you who do this for a living. I knew it would be a big undertaking to do this, but its only for 35 people and I really want to support my stepdaughter in her love of baking and her excitement for this. Any advice and step by step time lines that you all can offer would be so greatly appreciated!!

Thanks so much!

Hi, Friday is crazy time in cake world so you may have to wait a while to get more answers.  Couple of suggestions  - you've obviously already bought the pans, but unless you must have 3 tiers and you want a lot of cake, you could just do the 8 and 10.  The other suggestion is that you start baking today and freeze them. 

if you do a search on this site, there are tons of threads to answer all of your questions.

Quote:

To make this less confusing, my questions are:
1. What is a good icing to use on the almond flavor pound cake? any of the buttercreams, but for beginners, probably an American BC is safe
2. Would you share some recipes for that icing? Nothing too sweet- search this site for Buttercream Icing
3. Should we bake the cakes ahead of time and freeze them so that they are moist?- Yes- wrap them in 2 layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil and when you defrost, them take off just the foil and let them defrost in the plastic wrap
4. What is the best way to store the cakes?- Once decorated, it depends on your climate- plenty of threads about this
5. Should we transport the cakes in coolers iced or without icing? How far are you traveling>
6. How far in advance before the reception should we assemble the cake and cover with fondant? - lots of threads about this
7. Is it ok to leave pound cake, icing and fondant out without refrigeration after assembled? The cake doesn't contain sour cream or cream cheese.- If there is nothing perishable in the filling you can leave at room temp.
 

On the size, as cheeseball said, 8,10,12 is much too big for just 35 people.  That size will actually feed 118 people.  If you really want a 3 tier I would do 6,8,10 which feeds 74 people but much better then the bigger size.  Also, unless I really have to I don't like doing the top tier bigger then a 6" just for looks.  The first thing to do is bake the cakes now or in the next few days.  You can freeze them until you need them and it actually makes the cakes a bit more moist in doing so and it helps in prep time.  I am not sure how much time you have when you get to your beach house before the wedding but if you get there a day or two before then I would do everything at the beach house.  If you only have a short time before the wedding at the house then I would fill, crumb coat and cover each tier before you leave and assemble at the location.  Just box each tier up separately and keep your a/c on high the whole way and you will be fine.  Don't forget to use cake boards for each tier and either dowels or some other type of support structure.  HTH

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttercream-Icing/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=buttercream&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

   I use the buttercream recipe in the link and add a pinch of salt so then it isn't super sweet. I wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze them a few days before I do the actual decorating. There are syrups that can be poured over top of the cake layers before they're frozen to help it stay moist too.

Hope this helps