I want to blow my mom away with a cake for her birthday. She requested that I do it, but I have no ideas. I was thinking of doing a topsy-turvy cake, but I've never done one before and won't ahve time to practice before I head to AZ. I want something fun. My mom is a nut and she really deserves something over the top, if you know what I mean. Any ideas?

. . . how about a Pinata . . . with your papier mache background this should be easy for you . . . bright fabulous colors . . . certainly says "FUN" to me . . . (the ultimate "smash" cake ) . . . http://www.pinatas.com/v/vspfiles/photos/PL190-2T.jpg . . .and maybe the little burro could be "packing" her birthday numbers . . . 7 on one side and 5 on the other???

Thanks, but not exactly what I'm looking for. I've been racking my brains trying to think of what she likes to do, then it hit.

How about a stacked cake (3 cakes)? We are Italian, lived in Niagara Falls and then moved to AZ. So I was thinking I could do the top cake decorated with the Italian Flag, but how? I'd really like to stick to using buttercream. I've never done fondant and suppose I could try it. This would represent her Italian heritage.

Then the middle cake I would decorate with a Niagara Falls theme. I'm thinking of having a portion of the cake have a waterfalls coming down onto the bottom cake. I think tinted gel would work best for that. Thoughts? What else could I use for decorations around this tier?

Then the bottom cake would represent AZ. I would do a desert theme with cactus and such.

We are only having about 30 people, but we LOVE leftovers. What size cakes should I do. I've never done staked cakes before, but am dying to try it.