I'm new to this site and cake baking in general. I am needing to make a 21st birthday cake for my boyfriend in less than two weeks! Ive found a few images of beer cans and poker tables i would like to try out. I usually bake a cake from BC cake mix and use store bought frosting : ( boring i know, so this time i want to do something fun and special and something that will turn heads! However, i am totally lost! I dont know how to make my cake mixes more moist. Will substituting milk for water help? Or should i just do it all from scratch? I am more worried about the icing though, i've read alot about people using buttercream. Is there a certain recipe best for decorating? Can i get away with not using fondant? Whats the best method for piping? I need alot of help! Please!!
I am fairly new to decorating myself--however, I think I might be able to help you out a little. In the recipe section there are recipes for "cake extenders" which are items you can just add to cake mixes to make them go further and also make them more moist. I prefer the one with the yogurt--but that's just me. There are also numerous recipes for buttercream icing. I have tried the buttercream dream and it worked well for me and tasted good. As far as piping and decorating goes--it depends on exactly which cake you decide to go with. There are many brillant decorators on here and everyone is very helpful. Good luck and Welcome!!!
This is very basic for you to add to a cake mix. You could not believe how many complements. For every box of cake mix add 1/2 cup each of sugar, flour, sour cream hop this helps 
If you want a box mix, the White Almond Sour Cream cake is good and there are also variations for other flavors. http://www.recipezaar.com/69630
If you want scratch I suggest the Whimsical Bakehouse White Butter Cake http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-4493-2-WBH-White-cake.html
For icing, I use buttercream dream. It's easy and yummy. http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2123-Buttercream-Dream.html
Hope this helps some. 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%