Hi - my son wants me to make him a Mario Bros. cake for his birthday on Saturday. I've found some amazing pictures of cakes onliine and have some ideas. I'm new to making cakes but I thought I would cover the cake in buttercream first and then cut out the figures from pre-colored fondant I bought. I also bought some Mario bros figurines on ebay (hoping they get here in time!) I've never used fondant so any tips that would help make it easier? I am baking the cakes now (Tuesday) and the party's Saturday. I thought I would freeze the cakes just so I could get some if done ahead of time.

some basic questions:
should I ice it with the buttercream and then freeze the cake? or should I freeze them without icing?

I read that fondant shouldn't be refrigerated or frozen so I am guessing that I'll need to decorate that the night before - is that correct?

I also bought a package of gumpaste since some of the cakes I saw online used this to form different figures. Is this easy to work with and to dye different colors?

thanks,
Carrie

Make sure to do your figures now so they have time to dry/ harden before Saturday. I would not frost before freezing. Take your cake out and let it come to room temp, frost and then cover with the fondant. Doing it Friday would be fine as long as your figures are done ahead of time (if you are like me, they will probably take the longest to do ). Good luck and have fun. Make sure to post pics of your cake when you get it done!

as for freezing, i generally dont, but thats my personal thing. unless you have a big enough freezer to keep it safe, i wouldnt freeze with the finished coat of bc, just incase it gets damaged.

fondant can be refridgerated, but sometimes it does go wrong. depends on a lot - climate, your fridge, sheer luck. the main thing is if condensation does form, do not touch anything till it dries. my question would be why does the cake need refridgerated - if you are using regular bc it can sit on the counter, properly covered.

gumpaste dries faster, harder, and stronger than fondant. id say it depends what you want to do with it. although edible, it dries rock hard, so maybe not ideal for things likely to get eaten - tho i am happy to eat it, and kids love sugar!
very easy to dye, just like fondant. a lot of people like a 50/50 mix fondant and gumpaste, so you could add the precoloured fondant to it, give your self a head start. gives you a bit more time to work with it, still dries strong.

good luck - supermario cakes are awesome!
xx

The Mario cake in my pics was pretty easy to make. Good luck!

As you can see there are differing opinions of fzing a cake. If you have been buying cakes in a grocery store type bakery (and many 'priviat'(sp??) ones too) you probably have had a cake that was fzn That's really one of the ways many one=person bakeries can survive.
It can not harm the cake unless you fz it totally UNwrapped. By now you probably already have it in the fzr. Usually when I know it's just for a couple of days I pop the cake into a plastic bag and throw it in the fzr. It will be just as fresh as it was when you baked it.

Welcome to Cake Central, Diamond Mom!

A) I always freeze my cakes --even if it for only 24 hours. I wrap them in plastic wrap and allow them to freeze without the buttercream. The reason I say this is because upon thawing the bc softens back up and you have to allow it to set again which adds to timing of the process.

B) If you have ever worked with sculpy clay, etc., you will do fine with figures. I would suggest you mix the fondant and gumpaste at a 50/50 ratio to get optimum drying/hardening. Work in stages on figures. Build the trunk first and insert a toothpick or dry spaghetti through the center for support. Toothpicks are best, but if you think they will be eaten it's safer to go with spaghetti. Allow the support to stick out of the top of the trunk so you can attach a head. Use a glue consisting of gumpaste dissolved in warm water to attach parts. (You can speed up the dissolving time by placing the water and gumpaste in the microwave and zap it for about 45 seconds. You want a thickened mixture much like Elmers Glue so you will need to eyeball how much gumpaste to water you need.) If your figures will be standing, you will probably need a little support in their legs as well depending on how tall you want them. Shorter figures generally will stand on their own. You should have already started the figures by today (Wed.) for them to have time to set up and stay strong for Saturday.

C) Have fun and remember: it is just cake. Your son will love it and you for your efforts!