I am a new cake baker in need of some help from veterans!

I've done several wedding cakes, but this one is presenting me with some real challenges.  It will likely be four tiers, and will definitely have buttercream frosting.  The problem is that it is a 6 p.m. outdoor wedding on August 13 in Kentucky.  The weather could easily be 90 degrees or higher.  

I will have no access to an airconditioned building in order to keep the cake prior to the reception.  I am not a professional, so I don't have a refrigerated truck to store and stack the cake.

We will be using fresh flowers to decorate the cake, so doing that at the last minute isn't a real issue.  But I do have some questions:

1.  Can I frost the layers and freeze them so that all I have to do is assemble them and pipe a border between each layer?

2.  If I freeze the layers (the bottom will be 14" or perhaps even 16"), how long will it take them to thaw (1) frosted or (2) unfrosted?

3.  If I do something like ruffles on the layers, will it just absolutely MELT in the heat and be a pointless effort?

Has anyone else out there dealt with these "less-than-ideal" circumstances? Might you have some suggestions for me?

sure -- I wouldn't recommend ruffles -- why tempt fate right -- I would use a high humidity icing -- to your regular buttercream recipe, one normal batch size -- add a quarter cup cake or wondra flour -- wondra is a special 'non-lumping' flour made especially for gravy -- available at most larger grocery stores -- might be in a small box -- sometimes a little round container -- blue box --

or check out recipes for high humidity/high heat icings --

if you box up a cold cake and seal it up in corrugated cardboard moving boxes it will hold well under those circumstances especially if you add in some freezer packs* -- but the cake has to already be cold not frozen -- if it's frozen going into the box it could sweat --

 the bride looses most of the factor of the cake being the focal point for the reception -- but that's the trade off when you're doing an outside event -- her choice -- right?

so you just leave the cake sealed up in the boxes until picture & serving time which are one right after the other

I have all my fillings, simple syrup splash, and enough icing ready -- then I bake and assemble tiers the same day and freeze these uniced tiers all filled & happy -- I ice them a few days before the event (I ice them frozen) I hold them in the fridge after this and pull them in & out to decorate --

it does't take long to defrost cake -- yes larger cakes take longer and if they are all stacked up longer still -- I defrost my cakes long before delivery in the fridge -- it takes overnight usually -- there's just so many variables

That cake is going to melt no matter what you do. The question is how fast will it melt, or will the icing just soften up and not slide off the cake? If you freeze it, transport to the site unassembled and pipe borders there that could slow the process but you'll also run the risk of more condensation on the cake. That isn't a big deal if you're not going to be handling it or if there isn't a lot of detail on the cake, but you should just be prepared for it. I've heard a lot of horror stories about cakes with icing just sliding off them in the heat to know that it's better to not do buttercream outside in that kind of heat at all, so my best advice would be to tell the bride that fondant would be a better choice.

Maybe  things are much different with high humidity but my experience with dry heat was that the cake/frosting does NOT MELT but dries out. (Where I live temps often are over 100 in the summer) I would not be afraid to display my cakes in those conditions.  Well, let me backtrack a bit......if it's much over 90 I might.  

These are decisions the bride has to make.....does she want a nice cake displayed or just out long enough for pix and serving?   With temps as you stated I would guess a fzn cake would defrost within an hour or two.  The inner most core of a 16" might still be fzn even after that but will defrost on the pl,ate quickly.  

[postimage id="4423" thumb="900"]Having the cake outside to me sounds like asking for trouble in high humidity heat and I wouldn't do it with buttercream and even fondant would make me nervous. But I'm a nervous person when it comes to humidity lol. I've seen what it can do on my own wedding cake (we didn't make our own cake either) and it was not pretty :( I'll put a close up picture for you to show you what buttercream will do in a room that is 75 degrees with August  humidity in central Illinois. Our reception was in the church we got married in and it did not sit out long at all.

I also commented to ask are you able to freeze a 14" or 16" cake as most standard freezers won't accommodate a cake that size unless you have a separate freezer. I found that out the hard way on a sheet cake we made last year for church that it wouldn't fit in our fridge to chill prior to delivering it. So just wanted to ask :) 

best thing for you to do, maryannarogers, is test it -- test the high humidity icing recipe on some cake in a box and see how it does for you -- i've used it a couple times and it's plenty steamy in memphis and it worked great for me -- but if you can talk her into fondant -- go for it --

the icing will have a little drag down the back of the throat if you take a taste without cake -- when you eat it with cake you don't notice --

i have a secret for you about the freezers -- i've fit 16" cakes into every freezer i've ever had -- in a regular size home fridge/freezer combo -- freezer on top or bottom --

secret is it fits just above the rounded edges and moldings -- put a layer of smaller tiers in the bottom of the freezer -- let them freeze and put the 16" cake on top of that -- or for half sheets and commercial size cookie sheets -- stack up some frozen foods in there and set it on there -- always worked/s for me -- gotta forfeit shelves and ice bins though

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and advice!

I am definitely going to test different things; a high-humidity recipe for the buttercream, freezing/thawing, etc.

The bride has her heart set on my cake, which has a raspberry filling and buttercream icing.  I will also do a layer with just a buttercream filling, and maybe even lemon.

I didn't mention that the bride is my niece, so I'm going to make every effort to give her what she wants.

Your comments are SO very helpful.  Thanks again!  And wish me luck!

Mary Anna