I have a request for a wedding cake this September. A Sheet cake with a smaller cake on top? My mind is screaming NOOOOOO! I was looking forward to making another wedding cake, but now not so much. What do you do when your customer has an idea that you just don't think would look good???? Should I just do the sheet cake with the smaller cake on top, or try to persuade them to go a different way. It's really not any fun to make a cake that you don't like, but should I really care? I am being paid to make it after all. I just won't include it in my portfolio.

Depending on the sizes, I've done this and it's not as bad as you think! A 12"x18" with a 9"x13" sheet on top is a nice proportion and looks nice with a cascade of flowers, etc. It's definately not for the fancy wedding, but that can't all be money is no object receptions. Usually I get this kind of request when people are on a very tight budget or it's a very casual second wedding, etc. I've also done a double layer sheet cake decorated on the sides and everything just like a wedding cake with pillars in the center and a small round or heart cake on top and it's not bad either. It may not be your proudest cake, but when you start doing this for a business, you start doing whatever the customer asks for. Also, don't ever leave something out of your portfolio because you don't like it. As long as it's done well, it still shows your versatility and may be exactly what someone else needs too! -Lori

I agree with the above post. Do the best you can on the cake because they will love it. You may not, but they will. sometimes we have to do cakes we don't want to do, but those may lead to the orders that we do.

There is a really cute cake in a wilton book... it's a sheet cake and in the corner they have some pillars with a smaller cake that is a totally different shape it's really cute, and well that way you can feed a lot of people and still have a level to keep for the bride and groom. I know the wilton cake isn't a wedding cake... if i remember right it was a baptism cake or christening cake... it was pink and white had flowers on it, anyone else know the one i'm talking about?
Jen

Michelangelo and Leonardo did a bunch of art they weren't inspired by but today they are masterpieces.
Blessings!

Who knows? You might love the cake that you end up making. As long as you do your best (and you really should, surprise yourself by making this cake you're dreading be WONDERFUL!!), the cake should look good, REGARDLESS of the shape.
Good luck!

Here's some sheets-with-small-cakes-on-top that may inspire you and give you some ideas.....


http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=720733

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=229163

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=91444

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=64598

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=48902

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=4204

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=21408

I have done this several times for the bride on a strict budget. They have always turned out very pretty. As people have said you may not always want to do a certain project but if you are in business can you afford to say no? The finished cake may surprise you.

My first thought was that it wouldn't look good, then I saw the pics indydebi posted and thought it wasn't such a bad idea. Personally, I would do it just for the experience, my feeling is if you can take something your not really thrilled about and make it into something wonderful that would be all the fun. Besides its the brides choice and if she want's a sheet cake I'm sure you could make her one you would both be proud of.

Here's a pic of a wedding shower cake I did when I was first starting out, the small cake consisted of a 6", 4" & 2" single cakes.

I kinda like the concept after looking at the sites that Indydebi posted. I especially liked the last two. Think of how much easier it would be to cut the cake at the wedding! I could especially see this type of cake at a second wedding or a small "at home" wedding.

I'm sure you can come up with a beautiful cake to the bride's liking. Good luck!

Diane

it just goes to show you. You can make almost anything look good in cake!!!!

Here's one I did about 20 years ago. I like stacked sheet cakes. You have to look at each new cake as a challenge, not a bore. Take something you are unsure of and make it great!

After having been a bride whose cake ideas were crushed by every baker we met with (even though I KNEW my skill was such that I could do any one of the designs but I couldn't DIY and freeze it because I didn't have a licensed kitchen at the time), I have to say the motto I took when I started doing cakes professionally "Tis not for me to judge". Just because it isn't YOUR idea of the ideal wedding cake, maybe it is the bride's idea. Your idea versus the brides idea need to be weighed and the bride ultimately has to decide. Usually if they know they can have something nicer for the same price as the something they thought is within their budget, they go for the nicer option. HOWEVER, it's still their choice.

OTOH, if I get someone wanting to order a grocery store designed cake that I know they can get "balloons on a sheet" elsewhere, a cake like that isn't worth my time because I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my cakes. I think the decorators at the grocery stores and big box stores need customers too .. I'll do it, but it's the same price as if they had the cake specialy designed for the event and I make that fact known and once they know that they come around pretty quickly to the idea of having a personalized cake because there isn't any cost savings to them to go with a generic design. The other factor being a design that is not my specialty. If I get someone who wants what I call "Overpiping" my instinct is to refer them to another baker (and name names to the bride)because it's just not my skill level. Stacked, fondant, shaped cakes, no problem. A pillar and fountain cake, um, not so much...

I am sort of confused...if you are charging per serving, or they need a large amount of servings, how is making a stacked sheet cake going to be any cheaper then a regular tiered cake? Right now I am having trouble computing charges vs. servings so forgive me if I am missing something