I just found out that the lady that wanted the Valentine Cake actually wants 5 Cakes!!! Considering this is going to be my very first cake order ever, I don't have a clue what I should do first. It was easy when I thought it was one cake LOL Should I take one day to just bake all the layers (she wants them double layered) and then decorate them the next day or what do y'all do? Then I am going to have to try to transport them to work for her to pick them up. I think I need to get some cake boxes. Where can I get some of those? Should I have them on wrapped boards to match the cakes? Does that look best?
I also have 2 Birthday cakes to make... Plus I was going to make my own birthday cake but I don't think thats going to happen! LOL

Starting to feel a little overwhelmed but I can handle it if y'all help me! PLEASE!!!!

Thanks,
Lazy_Susan

OK Susan, take a deep breath......release! Ha ha. For me, I would go ahead and bake anything that I could, let them cool completely and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil. I bake in advance whenever I can and freeze my cakes. Make a plan for yourself. When it's closer to the delivery date, wrap your cake boards (yes it looks nicer to wrap in something within the theme of the cake). Prepare your buttercream maybe the day before and color any icing that will need color.

When you're ready to decorate, make sure the cakes are thawed and I like to work in an assembly line method when I have several to do like this. I'll ice one cake, then go to the next and so forth. By the time I'm done icing the last one, the first should be crusted and ready to smooth. This method also works great if you are decorating all of the cakes alike, just do each one then go back to the first for the next step. Flowers, writing, borders, etc....

As for cake boxes, check to see if there's a cake decorating store in your area that sells boxes. Some of the Michael's stores carry the wilton boxes, but I find that they are more expensive.

Don't let it overwhelm you, just one step at a time. This from a person who's overbooked herself this week, HA! I have 6 cakes to do between Thurs and Friday and have none of them baked yet!!! YIKES. While at work tonight, I've made myself a plan and I think that will help me to stay organized. Best of luck and let us know how they turn out!

Thanks. That's good advice. I've got butterflies in my tummy. I hope they go away! LOL I'm sure they will

VACakelady--GREAT advice! I have 16 cakes to do for Valentines day also and will be implementing basically the same plan.

The first thing I did (which started out as an order for 3 cakes, LOL) was to sit down and make a list of everything I will need--ingredients, boxes, cake boards, etc...

I've already started baking (and freezing) and will do the assembly line technique. I will make and color the icing the night before I start decorating as well, all of this the same as VACakelady described.

Just start with your list--and go over it several times because the assembly line method only works if you have everything you need at your fingertips! Don't forget to calculate how much batter, filling and frosting you'll need so you have the right amount of ingredients. You may also want to consider investing in more pans to speed up the process.

Oh, and sketch out your cake so you really have a workable design and thus plan icing amounts accordingly.

Good luck! It will be fun! Don't forget to take pictures--I always forget with these big orders and then the minute they leave my house I'm kicking myself.

Speaking of cake boards. What should I get? The cakes will be the 8 in. heart cakes in the pans from Target (if you know which ones I am talking about).

Lotsoftots: Wow, that's a lot of cakes. For some reason, I have not gotten any orders for Valentines day for the last 2-3 years. Seems strange to me.

Susan: The butterflies don't go away until after the cakes are delivered or picked up... just wait until you get a wedding cake!!!

An 8" heart might fit on a 10" cake board, perhaps you could take your pan with you when you check on boards to see if it will fit.

Then you are definitely covered. Just hold your pan up to one and see which will look better.

Also, if you are making any kind of flowers, especailly royal icing.fondant or gumpaste, you can make them WAY ahead of time and just have them handy. I have a 'supply' of royal icing roses that I keep on hand for cakes..

I agree with everyone else, I bake my cakes ahead of time...I have two cakes this week, and will bake them on thursday night and decorate friday night.

Congrats on your big order!!

VaCakeLady has the right idea. Bake ahead and assembly-line decorate.

Because of my work/homeschool schedule, I have to fit the cake decorating around my out-of-the-house days. I bake on Mondays or Wednesdays, as time allows and the quantity of cake I need dictates. I freeze everything, wrapped up like a mummy in Saran wrap. Thursday afternoons I thaw and decorate if the cake is for Friday. If it's for Saturday, I make the icing on Thursdays (or at least I try to) and stay up late to decorate on Friday night.

You can make your icing up ahead of time and not have that to worry with when the time comes to decorate. I have one of those really huge Tupperware bowls that will hold four double batches, and I fill that up sometimes and put it in the fridge.

You're going to do fine. And just think, the next order you get will be easier to do because the chances are, the next person will only want one cake at a time!

Deanna

Good for you! (On getting an order for 5 cakes) With a little preparation, you'll do fine.

I also always bake and freeze mine ahead of time - up to 2 weeks. People's opinions vary on this, but I actually find that if I ice my cakes while they are still somewhat frozen, it is much easier to do a good job as there are no crumbs to deal with. I never do the crumb coat method as it takes too much time.

With that size cake circle, I'd probably just get doilies to go over the boards instead of trying to wrap the boards. That'll save time as well.

Deanna mentioned the huge tubberware bowls. Those are the BEST for storing icing (which you can make a couple of days ahead) I can get 5 (2 lb.) batches in that bowl.

If you are sure you want to start doing this for profit; you might consider looking in the yellow pages for a wholesale paper company in your area. This is where I get my boxes/boards. Some sell to individuals and although you won't get the discounted rate a business might get, it's still in the long run a lot cheaper than buying boxes at a place like WalMart or Michael's.

Good Luck!

I use the pink cake boxes and buy them on line from Paper Mart. I found them to be very affordable and they also carry a number of items that I use such as ribbon and they have a wide variety of colors.

Also, the butterflies never leave. I get them every time I see a customer's face light up! Enjoy them or use them!

AlamoSweets