Anyone have any help for me?? A girl wants this for her bridal shower cake. Minus the leaves, and Cherry blossoms instead. But she also needs it to feed 55-65 people. Also do you think I would be able to do it without having an airbrush?? I would do it in Fondant, can I add texture to it by smearing buttercream over top of the MMF?? Would it stick??
If this is someones cake on CC I am sorry I can't give you credit, the MOH just emailed me the pic.
Thanks
yes, can use buttercream for texture
or, just make texture the fondant directly (if it's put on over BC then can push in dent, squeeze to make ridges, etc. and even add logs/rolls of fondant on top and blend in)
and yes...have at it with a paint brush to apply colors
as for servings -- treat it like two 4in stacked tiers that just happen to be the same size around (the so-called Tall tier effect) 4-10 in cakes would do it.
and you could bake a 5th 10in to cut on the diagonal for the top and use the trimmings to build out the roots.
Thanks Doug!
A few more things... So using the 10" cake pan, how many actual cakes would I bake, and how high would they be?? Would I cut and fill them??
Also how would they go about cutting it and serving 65 slices?? Should i put a board in there so they can be separated?? Or put a piece of fondant so everyone gets a fondant top piece?? I am so lost. I think this cake might be beyond me.
Thanks again for your help.
i suggested 5 - 10in rounds
see sketch:
stack two layers (green and yellow)
then cakeboard w/ dowel support (thick black line between green and blue)
next two more layers (blue and red)
then the last layer split in half on diagonal to get the tilted top (turquoise).
and central dowel done through the whole thing
(just like doing any stacked tier cake except here the tiers are all the same size and frosted to look like one solid piece)
and remember to use the other half of the top most tier to build out the roots around the base.
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as for filling -- sure
as for torting -- well -- why not -- more sugar! 
as for cutting -- do indydeb's method: http://cateritsimple.com/_wsn/page19.html
Thanks Again Doug!! You are so much help!!
But now you have raised new questions for me. Sorry !
How do I get a Dowel throungh the cakes and the cakeboard?
Also how high should the individual cakes be???
Usually I just use one cake mix for a 10" round, would that be enough for the height of one of the cakes??
And the big one... How much would you charge for it? I am pretty new at the charging thing, and I don't want to undercharge, but I also don't want to scare the customer away.
Here's a suggestion as well. When I did my enchanted tree cake, to get the roots, I just rolled ropes that got skinnier at the end and then blended the skinny part into the tree. I let the fondant get that "crust" and then scored it with a sharp knife. And to get some texture, I diluted some brown icing color in almond flavoring and brushed it on. Make sure your brush isn't wet with your "paint" though, you want to dip it and then brush most of the liquid off (I do it all on a small plate). Good luck! Can't wait to see your results. Oh and to answer your question about the center dowel, sharpen one end of a dowel and then hammer it gently through the entire center of the cake.
And the big one... How much would you charge for it? I am pretty new at the charging thing, and I don't want to undercharge, but I also don't want to scare the customer away.
To misquote Debi, "paint is sold by the gallon, cake is sold by the slice." 
I think $4.50 a serving is reasonable for a fondant sculpted cake. Depending on where you live, that may even be a bargain! This is assuming the cherry blossoms will be GP or fondant, too.
Two ten-inch cakes = 60 servings (I use Earlene's chart,) = $270
How do I get a Dowel throungh the cakes and the cakeboard?
sharpen then dowel to a point like you would a pencil -- then place on top of cake point down and use a hammer to gently encourage it in. It will go through the cake very easily and only encounter resistance at the cake board. but if sharp enough, a gentle tap or two and it will cut right through
more info: http://www.cakecentral.com/article23-Teired-Stacked-Cake-Construction.html
Also how high should the individual cakes be???
Usually I just use one cake mix for a 10" round, would that be enough for the height of one of the cakes??
well, if using standard two inch pans, then each layer is 2 inches -- the standard height for one layer. Two layers stacked together will 4 inches -- which is standard tier height. (a tier being two full layers of cake w/ filling between the two full and frosting)
so 4 four of your 10" rounds will make the main body of the cake and then a fifth will get used to do the slanted top ...
this means the cake will be 10" around and stand 10" tall on the high side and 8 in tall on the short side.
And the big one... How much would you charge for it? I am pretty new at the charging thing, and I don't want to undercharge, but I also don't want to scare the customer away.
well, they are getting 65 servings -- so that is at least $130 (at $2/serving). with all the fondant work and the extra detailing that's a very fair price and I know there are those ready to bean me w/ a rolling pin for not suggesting at least $150
Duck Doug! I'm sure those rolling pins are flying!
I think $4.50 a serving is reasonable for a fondant sculpted cake. Depending on where you live, that may even be a bargain! This is assuming the cherry blossoms will be GP or fondant, too.
Two ten-inch cakes = 60 servings (I use Earlene's chart,) = $270
OH HOW I WISH!!!! I could charge that much a serving.
In this poor county I'm in (3rd "legally" poorest -- we won't talk about the drug trafficking! 
) $2 is considered high.
all goes to prove that old real estate maxim: Location, location, location!!
I wish I could charge $270 for the cake, but I don't think that my friend would pay that. I think I could get $130-150 like Doug had suggested, and I agree that it is really cheap, but I also want the business. And some money is better than no money. It would probably take $30 in materials, if that, so thats $100 in my pocket.
$100 for 1 hour of shopping for ingredients and supplies, 4 hours for baking of the cakes, 1 hour for stacking/assembling, 3 hours for decorations, 3 hours for making gumpaste flowers, and time and cost of delivery.
That's $100/12 hours=$8 an hour. If you are okay with that, then let her have it for $150.
The problem I ran into was that the first few cakes, I was just happy to do, so I charged very little. But as people requested more and more cakes, they expected the same prices! Don't start this vicious cycle!
At the very least, do what I have started doing. Create an invoice, microsoftoffice.com has templates you can customize, and write up the cake at the $4.50 per serving price. Then on the line where you put a discount, put the amount of discount so that the price you will actually do the cake for, will be reflected in the total.
The person will know that they have gotten a discounted cake, and others will know what to expect to charge for that cake without the discount.
And don't give them the impression that they will get a discount every time, either. Doing these things has helped me from getting out of my "I really resent doing this cake," rut.
Thank goodness for CC'ers, or I would have given up on doing cakes again. It may be just for hobby, but that doesn't mean they can walk all over me!
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