Well, I am beginning to think I am just asking to be punished. Kinda long but here goes. My DH's nephew is getting married next month. His future bride and I had a well let's just say disagreement and we no longer speak. My DH's sister called and told me the date her son was getting married. Then she went on to tell me that the bride to be who has had issues with DH's whole family wanted to quit all the "foolishness" and be a part of the family again. Well, I have already forgiven her for what she said to me and I told SIL if she really wanted to try to get along with everyone that I would make their wedding cake since they are a little strapped for cash. Have you seen my photos? I am so not talented in this area. I just think it is a great stress reliever. I am desperate for a recipe for a great wedding cake and BC icing. I am so counting on you folks to help me out. I really need to knock their socks off. Her family seems to really hold grudges and I am afraid even if it were to be the greatest cake ever they would dog it. Please help me out, I so appreciate it. TIA

HI

I USE THE DUNCAN HINES MIXES AND USE THE OILS BY LORAINNE. MY PERSONAL FAVORITES ARE CHAMPAGNE AND AMARETTO. SO SIMPLE AND PEOPLE GO CRAZY FOR THEM. IF YOU LIKE CHOCOLATE, MAKE A DEVIL FOOD MIX AND ADD 1 TBSP OF CINNIMON PER BOX FOR A FANTASTIC MEXICAN CHOCOLATE. MY BRIDES ARE GOING CRAZY FOR THESE RIGHT NOW.

MY ICING IS THE BASIC WILTON RECIPIE BUT I USE HALF BUTTER AND SHORTENING. AND I ONLY USE THE BUTTER VANILLA FLAVORS.

GOOD LUCK
DAWN

I think it is very kind of you to offer to make the cake. However, just remember that some folks are never satified and will complain even when something is done for free and in the spirit of goodwill. That said, I posted a White Almond Sour Cream Cake in the recipe section and it is really a good cake. It is a doctored cake mix, you might want to check it out. Then I would check out the fillings section and pick out something that you think would be yummy to fill between the layers.

Since you are fairly new to decorating, I would do a half butter, half shorting buttercream and use the Viva papertowel method to get a smooth finish. There are instructions under the articles section on how to do it It will give you a very smooth finish on your cake. Hope that is helpful and I wish you the best in this undertaking.

Cindy

Thank you both so much. I really do appreciate it. I know I will stress over making this cake but I too really want to "bury the hatchet" so to speak. Family means everything to me and I hate having someone be mad at me at any given time. Again, Thanks

I know what you mean. Why not make a little trial run and make a couple of different cakes so you can decide what you think is best and maybe try a couple of different fillings, that way you will have a game plan.....Also, look in the gallery at the wedding cakes and if you don't already have a design in mind you can surely find something there. There are so many beautiful cakes there and they range from beginner to "out of this world"!!! Good luck again and keep us posted.

Dordee--
Good for you but do remember that if these people don't appreciate what you are offering, that's their problem. That out of the way, sometimes the most elegant cakes are the simplest cakes.

My absolute favorite cake that I have done is BC French vanilla cake with a strawberry syrup brushed over the layers and all shortening BC with butter flavoring (stands up really well in the heat). Stacked and with Viva smoothed sides. Ribbon in a color that matches the bride's colors and real roses in the other color chosen by the bride. I think there is one like that in my photos. If there isn't, I can email you a copy.

It's there. On the last page of my photos, close to the bottom titiled "Ribboned cake with Roses".

Mac,
That is a really beautiful cake but turns out they have changed their minds and are wanting something much bigger and more detailed than I could ever do so I am kinda glad. The best thing about it is my DH's nephew came to see me this morning and he said that his futrue bride wants to talk things through. YIPEE, I am so glad. I have prayed about this for a while now. I hope we can put all this trash behind us and move on. Everybody that responded to this plea, I truly thank you. I have realized that I have become to rely on CC for more than recipes and ideas. Thanks again!!

Well, gang this story isn't over. The bride-to-be called me this afternoon and we talked things through and she said she would be very grateful if I would make their cake. They are strapped for cash right now and I am glad to help. She asked me if I could do a 4 tier and I said I thought I could Like I said earlier I still think I am just asking to be punished. I am very nervous about setting up the cake as I have never stacked a cake before. I think she wants the cake layers on pillars with fresh flowers between each cake and she has her topper already picked out. Please, Please help me out on this one and I will be forever grateful. To be continued...............

They probably talked to a bakery and found out how much a wedding cake runs. They are really expensive for a big one. My only suggestion is to be really honest with her and tell her that you have never done a wedding cake and be sure she realizes you will do the best you can. I went through some of the wilton wedding cake books with my now SIL several years back and she (fortunately) picked a really simple 3 tiered stacked cake with drop flowers. I (personally) don't care for the look of drop flowers, so I made them on a flower nail instead in 3 sizes. She wanted yellow centers instead of white as it was in the yearbook, which was easy enough to do. Once I got it all assembled, it looked awesome, and honestly, I put less work into that then most of my kids birthday cakes. My youngest brother's exclamation of "Holy S....! You made that!?" pretty much told me it was better than they expected (photo is in my photos for reference). It's a great feeling when it's all done, but I'd try not to do more than your skill level and give her a reason to be upset. Good luck!

here is apicture I found on the internet, i'm not sure what sight, as i've had it saved a long time. I posted it in a forum awhile back. It's beautiful & i'm sure it can be made into a 4 tier.

Dordee--

Thank goodness, she wants each layer on pillars. THat will be much easier for you to decorate and transport. The stacked cakes look beautiful but can be tough to transport then set-up at the reception site and correct mistakes.

The quilted pattern makes a beautiful cake as does the basketweave. Simple and with the flowers in between will be stunning. Random dots would also look nice. Good luck and we're here for you!

Bird Lady, I have heard of these oils by lorraine but where do you buy them and do give you recipes to doctor up basic cake mixes?

If you are going to try some flavors out in advance, you may want to have the bride and groom over to see which they want - hopefully that way they will be less likely to be unhappy with the final product.

Good luck! [Also, I get paranoid as I am not a proffessional, and would make an exta flat cake for serving, just in case...]

Partsgirl25, That is a really pretty cake. I'm going to start practicing this weekend and I might try that one out. Thanks for posting it.

Coffeecake, Good idea about the flat cake. I will most definately do that in case I fall flat on my face with this cake, no pun intended.

I also wanted to ask anyone a question about baking in advance. The wedding is on a Thursday so if I bake the cakes Tuesday will I have to put them into the fridge or freezer overnight. I was going to start icing and decorating Wednesday morning and after the cakes are decorated can I leave them out on the counter in their boxes so I can then transport them Thursday? Any suggestions AT ALL about transporting will be welcome. Thanks all I really appreciate it!!

You can bake on tues., wrap them in saran wrap very well and decorate on wed. They will be fine.

You can leave them out as long as you've used a crusting bc...they will be fine. If you're using a filling that needs to be refrigerated, then yuo must refrigerate, but otherwise, they will be fine.

I use non skid mats to transport cakes. They work great!

Just go slow, take your time and GOOD LUCK!

On the Better Homes and Gardens web site they have some really beautiful wedding cakes listed with full instructions.Might take a look.

that is a very good idea, I always forget about them. Thanks

I think Cornelli Lace technique is pretty simple and you just can't mess it up! It's pretty elegant on wedding cakes. If you did the CL you could add swags or Fleur de Lis around the top edges and it would look beautiful.

Good luck!

Dordee, I looked at your photos and I thought your cakes were very nice. I think we all are so hyper-aware of the imperfections in our cakes. No one is going to notice a minor 'wrinkle' or two in your cake (except, maybe, another cake decorator, but we all know how hard it is). Also, I think SheilaF is right, those smaller cakes with all the icing flowers and molded figures take a lot more skill than a simple cake on tiers. I'm sure your cake will be wonderful.

Here's another idea. I was at a wedding Saturday where they had a four tier cake, but only the top layer was real. The rest were dummies. Then they had two large sheet cakes that we actually ate. The sheet cakes had lines of piped shells to divide the tops into serving sized pieces with forget-me-nots in the wedding colors inside each square. Very simple, but beautiful.

Dordee, the best advice I can give you is to stick to what you know. Any time I've thought I'd try something new for an important cake it came back to bite me. Good luck, you'll do great.

PS. I think you're cakes are lovely, and I'm not just saying that.

Four Tiers holy smokes. I've only done 3 and it was a big to-do. Good Luck. You're a very brave woman.