Okay so let me start by saying what I am making and throwing in random questions as I remember all of them! Thanks for bearing with me! My daugther is turning one on the 30th of August (yeah not leaving myself much time!). I bought her this dress that has a two tiered cake on the front with a big one on top, so it made me think, I can make that! So what I want to make is a two tiered (did i say that right?) cake. I want it to be pink and I want it to have some sort of decoration on the edges, how does that stay and not fall down. Just like little dots or something. What kind of frosting do i use? Can my bottom layer and my top layer be different? I know that wedding cakes sometimes have different flavors. I was thinking chocolate on bottom and carrot on top. Would the pink frosting cover up the dark cake underneath? Umm Oh yeah do I have to use those dowel things to support it if its only 2 tiers? I have only bought the tint to make the frosting the colors that i want. and I of course have my cake pans 9 inches (or is it 10) and a 6 inch. Is that an okay ratio? I need room on the top, but not much. I was thinking of writing happy birthday on the bottom layer around the edge (where the top cake doesnt cover). If there is anything else that I have forgotten or any other tips that anyone has please feel free to share! This is my first adventure in actually making a pretty cake. I have made cake from scratch and frosting from scratch, but never have i felt so much pressure to have a pretty and picture perfect cake! Please Help!! THANKS!!

Yes, dowel to support your top teir. Your sizes sound great. Whatever icing you like can be used. Some crust and you can smooth it after it crusts wtih a viva paper towel or a piece of printer paper or a high density foam paint roller. Sure your top and bottom layers can be different. The decor on the edges will stick in two ways: 1)put it on before your icing crusts (if its a crusting recipe) or 2)"glue" them on with piping gel, royal icing or a little more buttercream. Here's another tip for really smooth icing-use the upside down technique found in the articles. You'll have smooth sides, a level top and crisp edges. Good luck!! Did I miss anything?

Don't forget to make a little smash cake just for her!

My Suggestions:

1) Put enough cake batter in so the cakes rise above the pans, that way when they come out you can take a larger serrated knife and cut it off even with the top of the pan.

2) Make your frosting. (Be sure and leave some off to the side before you tint it pink, unless all of your decorations will be the same color as the rest of the cake) Frost each tier separately, starting with a "crumb coat" (a light smearing of frosting around the entire cake, you will still see the cake though the frosting) Pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

3) Then get one of your layers out and pile a bunch of frosting (Buttercream Dream is very very nice frosting to work with )on the top of the cake, using a large cake spatula work the frosting back and forth never, ever touching the cake, only the frosting, working from the middle out. Before you dip back in for more frosting always clean you spatula off on the side of a bowl to get the crumbs off.

4) Then glob some more on the sides, also being careful not to touch the cake. When you have the entire cake covered you can use the cake spatula or a large drywall spatula (from the hardware store) to smooth out the sides and then pull the extra frostong that has "lipped" around the top of the cake over the edge towards the middle and smooth the top.

5) Put that one aside and get out the other tier and repeat steps 3 and 4. You should not see any cake showing through your frosting when you are done.

6) If they arent as smooth as you would like then you can put them in the fridge/freezer for a couple of minutes and then use the Melvira Method or the Viva method (which you can find on this site)...if you are happy with the way it looks then you can use the rest of your frosting to decorate the top and sides of the cake with.

7) The "dots" you want to put on can be made from the same frosting you used to decorate the cake, and they shouldn't fall off at all, even if the cake is crusted I personally have never had any of my decorations fall off the cake using BC. If the frosting seems a little too soft you can add some PS a very little at a time until it become a little stiffer, which I find is perfect for piping decs on a cake. If you aren't sure how you want to decorate the tiers, flip over your pans you baked the cakes in so they are upside down and practice on the pans to see what kind of design you like.

Last but not least...RELAX AND HAVE FUN!!!!

I would crumb coat both cakes. Apply a thin layer of icing to cover the outside of each cake and let sit until it crusts (or refrigerate). Then use the rest of your icing to ice the cakes. This should keep the crumbs from showing up in your icing on your finished cake.

Sorry, I just saw that hmarie_73 already suggested the crumb coat.

If you can add a shell border to the bottom, that will give just about any cake a polished look.

Good luck!!

Thank you all so much! I am feeling slightly more confident now. I promise to post a picture after the party!

You'll do great! It'll be beautiful. Happy First Birthday to your little one! I remember that well!


My biggest mistake when I was starting out was that my frosting was too thick, which made it hard to ice the cake nice and smooth. Thin down your frosting that you are going to use to ice the cake with milk or whatever liquid you choose. It should be easy to smooth. I take a glob of icing and do a few swipes on the inside wall of the bowl with my small offset spatula as a test. If it glides smooth and easy, it's ready! (I use a crusting butter/crisco/powdered sugar buttercream)