Looking For Some Help

Decorating By whtrose02 Updated 9 Feb 2009 , 10:56pm by whtrose02

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whtrose02 Posted 8 Feb 2009 , 4:00am
post #1 of 15

i just got my 1st wedding cake order, and it's a doosey (at least i think so) .. these are the dimensions she wants.. 4 tiers .. the top 8'' diameter 6'' high, 2nd 12'' diameter and 9'' high, the 3rd 16'' diameter by 9'' high, and the bottom 20'' diameter by 12'' high.. totaling 3ft tall- which having that height is important to her. what do you guys think? we'll probably end up having the bottom tier dummy cake, since she's only serving 200. and probably part of the 3rd tier as well. i've been looking through the forums here to figure out the servings- let me know if i'm right- i kinda based it off being about 4'' high (each serving that is) the top- about 20- 30 (those would be 3'' high since it;s a 6" cake) the 2nd- 90, 3rd - 180, and is the bottom were cake- 435.. i'd really like to see a pic of a cake w/ these or similar dimensions- or maybe a simulation (i know graphics these days can do anything).. it will be fondant covered, pretty simple decor. I really just want any opinions and ideas- i know i'd have to internally support the tall tiers- i don't know her plans for the top tier yet- she wants almond flavored cake- i'll try to post the pics of what she wants later (i have them on my other computer) thanks in advance!!

14 replies
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something_sweet Posted 8 Feb 2009 , 4:09am
post #2 of 15

I can't give you advice on the construction of the cake, I have no experience with something like that. However I wanted to suggest the White Almond Sour Cream (WASC) Cake. It has a good sturdy texture for stacking cakes, and since she wanted almond cake, it would be perfect! Here is the recipe:
http://www.recipezaar.com/White-Almond-Sour-Cream-Wedding-Cake-69630

I use this for all my wedding cakes. There are variations that you can make for other flavors also. HTH

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whtrose02 Posted 8 Feb 2009 , 4:20am
post #3 of 15

thank you! I was hoping for a "wedding worthy" recipe

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kakeladi Posted 8 Feb 2009 , 2:58pm
post #4 of 15

My *original* WASC recipe is perfect for what you want to do.

Where in the world do these brides come up with these weird idea?? icon_sad.gif
There are *very!* few ovens what can accommodate a 20" pan - probably only in large commercial bakeries.
The plates most venues use for serving dessert are usually 5 or 6" in diameter. Every one of those tiers is going to need special handling for the cuttericon_sad.gif
Are these tiers round or sq or ? The # of servings will depend on that.
You are the 'professional'......you have to tell her these things are not possible. Yes, you can use styro but it costs more than real cake so be sure - EXTRA sure - you charge for *all* the servings represented even in the styro, which according to your figures would be 435 x $7 a serving.
Is she willing to pay for her dream??????

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whtrose02 Posted 8 Feb 2009 , 11:00pm
post #5 of 15

they will be round.. we found the 20'' dummies 3 of them- 4'' tall.. all together was about $30- dallas foam was the cheapest- so she's just buying those.. i've got access to a commercial oven if necessary for the others.. she knows she wants something really tall- she says she only NEEDS to serve 200, she says she's open to suggestions- would something skinnier look better for the height?

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MacsMom Posted 8 Feb 2009 , 11:09pm
post #6 of 15

PinkCakeBox.com has lots of tall cakes. You would charge the same whether it was real cake or dummy (you should, anyway), so it's up to her, but you will have to use for the 20" bottom.

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Ariginal Posted 8 Feb 2009 , 11:58pm
post #7 of 15

wow that is a monster of a cake .... here is was thinking my jan one was a monster well for me anyways.. it was a 14", 12" and 10" round cake and each tier was 4-5" high it was massive and HEAVY... looked great but so big so i dont know how i would cope with one like your order heheh.. good luck and cant wait to see apic of it.

oohhh yeah and i forgot to say... rolling out the fondant to go on those size tiers was really hard kept ripping and then with the humidity we are having at the mo didnt help... so yeah 20" i dont even want to ever go there i reckon

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prterrell Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 12:04am
post #8 of 15

With the different heights, that cake is gonna look...wierd.

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sillyjodes Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 12:06am
post #9 of 15

Hey, I've never done it myself, but was wondering if you couldn't just use dummies on the bottom of each tier. It would help achieve the height and keep the slices at 4"ish, so the servings are more normal sized. Just a thought.
Jodie

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KatieKake Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 12:13am
post #10 of 15

Remember when your costing this out that even if the bottom tier is a dummy, you still have to frost and decorate it. 20 x 12 is going to take one heck of a lot of frosting, to say nothing of the fondant you will be putting on top of the buttercream. Do you have a table that you can roll a piece of fondant out that is at least 44 inches in diameter. In reality it will probably have to be rolled out on a 60 round inch table. That tier alone will probably take a whole bucket of fondant. I think I would try to convince her to so something else, even if you have to go to the fountain to gain the height she wants. I wish you the very best of luck with this.

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whtrose02 Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 3:13am
post #11 of 15

Here is the picture she gave me- what would you guys suggest to make something like this into a 3 foot cake? I'm pretty sure she'd be willing to make some changed to the dimensions- that's why i was wondering if anyone could show me a pic of what that would look like- so if it is way weird- i can show her.
Thanks for the help guys! This is my 1st so having some good explains of how to make it look better to tell her helps me out in alot of ways! I appreciate it


by the way... the cake is just the 4 white teirs, it's base is covered w/ flowers and raised up- at 1st i thought that was cake too
LL

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prterrell Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 3:32am
post #12 of 15

Well, you could separate the tiers instead of stacking them on each other directly. Flowers can then be put in between the tiers. Like in this pic:
Image


The taller the base, the taller the cake itself is going to appear.


Make each tier of 2 cakes of the same size, separated by a cake board:

[cake]
------
[cake]
------
|| ||
[c a k e]
--------
[c a k e]
|| ||
[c a k e]
-----------
[c a k e]
-----------
|| ||
[c a k e]
-------------
[c a k e]
--------------
cake base

I hope these ideas help!

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Ariginal Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 3:51am
post #13 of 15

what a beautiful cake is a shame there are so many flowers etc around it as makes distracting from the cake itself... but i agree with prterrell by placing a cake board between each cake but in regards to the pillars i dont think they are in this pic or are there meant to be flowers between each layer have i missed something...

I also get the impression that the bottom tier isnt as deep as the other 3 tiers but that could be just the way it has been decorated and with all those flowers makes it hard to see where the ribbon is on the bottom cake

again good luck is gonna be a gorgeous cake.. what colour scheme is she wanting the same as that one?

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cakesdivine Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 3:53am
post #14 of 15

That cake looks like a 16" bottom tier, 12" 3rd tier, 10" 2nd tier, and 8" top tier. The 16" looks to be a typical 4" maybe 5" tall tier, with each of the tiers on top of it being at least 8" maybe 9" tall. The cake itself looks as though it is sitting on an elevated cake pedestal that is about 4" distance with flowers beneath then another larger pedestal with flowers between it and the first pedestal and the larger pedestal at least 10" off the table with a huge ring of flowers between it and the table.

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whtrose02 Posted 9 Feb 2009 , 10:56pm
post #15 of 15

i was planning on putting boards in between layers for each each tier.. her colors are ivory, dark brown, and pink .. i don't think she's going to be putting all those flowers all over the place on her display table

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