Timeline For Finishing And Storing A Wedding Cake
Decorating By Antgirl Updated 8 Oct 2007 , 2:40pm by MessiET
I have a 3-tier cake to make for a wedding that is due for a 4:30 pm ceremony on Sunday. The bride's mother wants to add a fresh flower cascade herself, and still have time to be with her daughter before the ceremony. The cake is marble butter cake, filled with mocha mousse and frosted with Italian buttercream. I made the cakes last weekend and froze them. I pulled them out of the freezer to thaw last night. I made the mousse this morning. My question is when should I assemble the cakes and ice them? I was thinking I would assemble (torte, fill and crumb coat) them Saturday afternoon and finish coat the icing and decorate Sunday morning. Does that sound right? (I have a baby and a toddler so I can't leave it all til the last minute.)
As this is my first wedding cake, I am nervous about the assembly and want to leave myself plenty of time to assemble the cake on site and decorate around the bottoms of the tiers to hide whatever I mess up in the transferring process. But...I don't want the cakes to be out too long either. We are in Vermont and it's fall, so the temperature is supposed to be in the high 60s and melting buttercream shouldn't be an issue. Does 2 or 2:30 pm sound reasonable for me to get to the site to assemble the cake (10, 8, and 6" tiers)?
Lastly, how would you store them now that they're thawed? I had one undecorated layer in my fridge for a couple of days wrapped in plastic wrap and it really dried out. When I did a practice cake a couple of weeks ago it was in the fridge overnight already assembled and decorated and tasted fine. But the wedding is now two days away and I don't want the cakes to be dry.
Please send your experienced ideas! Thanks so much,
Susan
As for setting the cake out, I'd be afraid of the mousse. I've never used it before but I think it needs to be refrigerated or it will melt and your cakes will shift. (At least, that's what I've heard). Correct me, guys, if I'm wrong.
I would go ahead and frost everything today and place in the fridge since you've already thawed the cakes. I wouldn't have thawed them until tonight but oh well. Once the icing is on it you're cake won't get dry.
I would have thawed them today, too, but it should be alright.
I keep my cakes in the fridge for a couple of days wrapped in plastic wrap, but use a simple syrup after I tort (applying to all cut surfaces) and around the outside and top before I frost. Keeps the cake very moist and I have never had a problem with them being dry. You could also use the syrup before you wrap them, but I tend to do it before I frost. Once they are frosted you shouldn't have to worry about the cake drying out in the fridge.
I wouldn't overdo the filling in case it does cause the layers to shift during transport. Or you may use something to make the mousse consistency thicker (mix with some buttercream or heavy whipped cream). I think they should be okay as far as shifting as long as the filling isn't too loose.
As far as decorating, I would try to get the tiers frosted tomorrow, and depending on how you are decorating the tiers, get at least the bottom tier decorated tomorrow night so you aren't running ragged on Sunday and you will only have 2 tiers left to decorate.
It's hard with timing on delivering the cake since the mother wants to do the flowers, it will be up to her timeline. It won't take long to get the 3 tiers put together so I would allow 30 minutes before her mother wants to get the flowers on to make sure you get it all set for her.
Good luck and I'm sure you will do fine!
i think as long as your mousse filling is not too thick between layers you should be fine on the shifting aspect....i would torte, fill and crumb coat tonight.....
frost and decorate as much as you can tomorrow...keeping in fridge overnight....that way all you have to do is assemble and pipe boarder at the event!!!! 2-2:30 arrival with the cake should give you more than enough time to assemble and take care of any problems that may occur!!! as far as the cake being out...it should totally be fine....i have had no problems before....i would just make sure it is not in the direct sunlight....Good luck and take pictures!!!!
Hello everyone,
Thanks so much for your advice. I torted, brushed with flavored sugar syrup, filled with mousse and crumb coated the cakes on Saturday (and then refrigerated). I also decorated the bottom tier Saturday night. On Sunday I decorated the top two tiers and doweled them, took them to the site and assembled them. It worked out nicely. I should have filled the space between the tiers more thoroughly with icing, but other than that I was satisfied with the outcome, at least for my first try. The clients were so pleased that they decided to forego the red roses they were going to add as a cascade down the cake. The groom's grandmother had made some pastry calla lilies that set off the cake beautifully, with its ivory icing and the green cloth I displayed it on. I posted photos in the gallery but don't know how to direct you to them, so I'll repost them in this message. Thanks again for all your help!
Oh -- the mocha mousse turned out beautifully. The recipe is from a cookbook called "Death by Chocolate" by Marcel Desaulier (I am butchering that spelling, I am sure. He's the exec chef at the Trellis in Williamsburg, VA), in a cake he calls "Chocolate Transportation," so named for its ability to travel well. It's about the same density as slightly thickened buttercream, so it holds up well between the layers.
You did a great job on your first wedding cake!! Love the scroll work.
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