Hi everyone, this is my first post in this forum. I have been reading a lot over the past several days, and I'm so happy to have found this informative site.

Anyways, I am making my very first tiered, fondant cake for my son's upcoming birthday party. I would like to know what a reasonable action plan should be in preparation for the birthday.

Here is what I would like to make:

I will be using a doctored cake mix to make a total of four cakes (each tier will be composed of 2 layers).

I would like to make buttercream to completely cover each tier, as well as use the BC as the filling for each tier.

I would like to make Marshmallow fondant to completely cover the cake. From my batch of MM fondant, I will be coloring some of it so that I can make circle cutouts of differing colors (red, yellow, orange, green and blue). These cutouts will be the decoration on the cake.

From the batch of MM fondant, I will also color some brown since I would like to make a larger-sized teddy bear figure that will be the cake topper.

So, I would like to know from the experienced cake makers out there what my plan of attack should be. When should I make the cakes? When should I make the buttercream? When should I ice the cakes? When should I make the fondant? When should I decorate the cake? When should I make the fondant teddy bear figure?

I plan on making this cake for Saturday July 11th. Since I have 2 small children, I would ideally like to have the cake completed on Friday night.

Any insight would be appreciated.

TIA!

For this being your first cake, give yourself lots of time. I am the queen of make ahead stuff-it makes your life easier! Go head and bake and frost your cake Wednesday and let it chill in the fridge. On Thursday, make all the little details that will go on the cake that can go on ahead of time, like the teddy bear. You could also try to cover the cake this day. However, I think I would try to not stack it until Friday. And then I would finish decorating it on Friday.

Good luck!

Thanks for your reply!

So, I should bake the cakes and make the buttercream on Wednesday.

Then I should cover the cake with fondant and make the teddy bear on Thursday.

So when should I make the fondant? Should I make it on Thursday? Will it keep in the fridge until I'm ready to use it, if I decide to make it on Wednesday also?

Thanks!

Hi, as you are using just buttercream, you can make it and store it in the fridge ahead of time. Maybe on tuesday. And you also can make the fondant same day and colour some of it for the circles and for the teddy bear. I would add a bit of CMC/Tylose or gumtrex to the fondant for the teddy bear, so you can make it and leave it to dry. I wouldn't personaly make it with just fondant.

You can bake and fill them on wednesday night and crumbcoat and ice on thursday and decorate on friday.

HTH.

Depending on how large the teddy bear will be, it might be a good idea to make it ahead of time. It can take a while for MMF to harden.

Fondant will keep in the fridge for a long time. Let it come to room temp before you use it.

You could make the fondant on Tuesday. It will be fine to start working with it a few days later. MMF can sit for at least a month. I put saran wrap on it, then I put it in a ziplock bag. Then I put it in a bucket that seals. When you come back to it, it's ready to go. I have never put it in the fridge though, so I don't know how that will work.

It will depend on how much time you have.

I will make the cake not more than a week before and then freeze it (some people freeze it for longer than that).

I'll make the buttercream 3 days before decorating and refirgerate it (just my personal preference). Let it come to room temperature before using.

I'll start to decorate 2 days before the even (depending on the complexity of the cake)

I don't make MMF fondant so I have no tips for that.

Good luck

This is how I'd do it:

1. Make MM fondant first - any time - and give it plenty of time to let the colors darken if you're using brown or other dark colors - red, blue, black, etc. You can take some of your MMF and add some cocoa powder to get brown, then add some food coloring if needed. MMF will last a good long time so you can actually make it now.

Make the teddy bear as soon as your fondant is the brown you want. This will last forever so it'll be fine until the day of the party. I'd add some GumTex or tylose to make it firm up after formed, otherwise it might be too soft to stay together.

2. Make the buttercream on Tuesday or Wednesday.

3. Bake cakes on Thursday and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil.

4. Decorate all on Friday. All will be ready to just pull out for the party on Saturday.

5. Post pictures so we can all see your cake when it's done!!

Good luck!