Lots Of Help & Guidence Needed Please
Decorating By dianagreen Updated 18 Apr 2007 , 4:00pm by alibugs
Hi,
first to give some info on what im doing --
Im doing my first ever wedding cake for my cousin in late May - they want it to look like this one http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1073479302014386786EwOGsX with out the bow topper and all the layers will be round -14,10,6
now to my questions,
1. whats the best way to get crip clean edges when using buttercream?
2. whats the best way to stack a bc cake and not make a mess?
3. will i have to worry about the temp. in late may if the cake is inside?
4. would you use buttercream to make the large "beads" around the layers?
5. just to get an opinion, are the sizes they are wanting (14,10,6) going to look good, or should this be changed?
6. any over all pointers on doing a wedding cake?
Thank you in advance for any help, suggestions and or guidance
-Diana
Hi,
Just finished my first wedding cake. It went just perfect without a "hitch". Here are a few suggestions that helped me. I baked all cakes a week in advance and froze them. Made icing a couple of days in advance. Mine was fondant so I purchased vs. homemade a couple of weeks in advance. Have all your necessary ingredients and supplies readily available. For late May in Ohio the b/c should hold up well inside. Make your roses and decor in advance so all you do the day you are making your cake is constructing (plenty of dowels), icing the cake and finishing. Also, have a gameplan for transporting and know who is helping you and how. I smooth my b/c with the Viva method but use whatever works best for you. Re: your borders, my Wilton instructor suggested Royal icing beads for a smooth round look or I have also done them with fondant and dusted with luster dust for a shimmery look. B/C beads are fine as well but a little difficult to get a clean round shape. One thing I also do is clean as I go so that I always have a clean work area. That's a tip I learned from working in a bakery otherwise the risk is there to have b/c, crumbs and smudges smeared where you don't want them. Good luck and hope these tips help. The pic of the cake you're doing is beautiful. Take care.
I may be of some help with question #2. I just did my very first stacked cake over the weekend. I used the CC tutorial
http://www.cakecentral.com/article23-Teired-Stacked-Cake-Construction.html
but only up to Part 2, #2. It shows the cake being stacked using your hands, which would be sort of difficult with buttercream.
I used a cake spatula found at http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/mini.aspx?T=1&SubCatId=1577 (its my new best friend) I slid it underneath the cake about half way, lifted it up and set the cake down very gently on the bottom layer, keeping the spatula raised slightly on one edge (nearest to me), I used an angled spatula to slide the rest of the cake off the spatula. I was SO surprised that it worked! The buttercream stayed intact with no mess at all. Hope this helps!
1. whats the best way to get crip clean edges when using buttercream?
This really depends on what kind of buttercream you are using. Are you using the powdered sugar + crisco kind or the meringue based kind?
2. whats the best way to stack a bc cake and not make a mess?
Make sure you have supports in the tiers that are going to have another tier sitting ontop of them.
You can use wooden or plastic dowels cut to size.
I find that if the cakes are chilled, so that the fats in the buttercream get hard, it is easier to stack.
Each tier should be on their own cardboard round.
Set the tier ontop of the tier below it and then do the bottom border.
There are lots of tutorials on this site and at Wilton.com, read those first!
3. will i have to worry about the temp. in late may if the cake is inside?
Nope
4. would you use buttercream to make the large "beads" around the layers?
Yes, use a #10 round tip
5. just to get an opinion, are the sizes they are wanting (14,10,6) going to look good, or should this be changed?
All of the wedding cakes I have done for friends and family have been this size (just so happened that all 3 weddings were the same size). So this will definitely look good.
A 4 inch differential between tiers is the perfect ratio, IMHO.
Have you checked that this will serve the correct # of people? You may need to adjust your sizes based on the # of servings you will need.
6. any over all pointers on doing a wedding cake?
You may want to do a practice run to work out any kinks.
Have fun with it!
to answer the question about the buttercream - it will be the buttercream dream recp. from here butter, criso, pwdr sugar, vanilla and milk
for the serving amounts, there will be around 170- 200 people i am also making the grooms cake and 2 sheet cakes- the top 6in tier will be saved for the bride/groom for their 1yr anniv. ( i think i will have plenty of cake to go around)
I hope this gives more info now --
also many thanks to all of you who have answered my questions and more answers are welcome
bump..... bump.....any more helpful suggestions?
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