Ahh, Need Help For Last-Minute Change!
Decorating By kkbritt8 Updated 30 Jun 2010 , 8:37pm by tinygoose
I am making a retirement cake for a gentleman at work (the request coming from his close friends, also my co-workers). I am a hobby home baker and am doing this for free. At the beginning I was told they needed a cake for around 45 people and was just given the ideas of bowling (it's a bowling party) or also his prior career in the air force. Then later the request changed and he wanted an all white "wedding" cake because he associates "wedding cakes" to white cake with white buttercream. I was also asked to make him a personalized cake decorated with sort of an in-house joke on it.
I had planned on starting the cake tonight (delivery is Thursday) and wasn't really worried about time since it seemed like it was going to be pretty easy. I was going to do a sheet cake with a bowling theme on it (previously ok'd by the requestor).
NOW I found out today she needs a cake for 75-100 people. That totally changes everything! This isn't a place where I can just bring in an extra sheet cake for serving so all the cakes I bring need to be decorated. Now I'm going to have to do a tiered cake, but I just don't know what to put together so quickly. I still work full time. Any ideas would be appreciated!
I don't know but maybe you can do all that they wanted. A tiered cake with bowling implicated on one tier and the air force theme on the other (nothing too elaborate due to short time spand). Then for the personalized inside joke cake, a small 6in cake just for him. Then u hv all bases covered.
On a large white sheet cake you could make a bowling ball (white) with the air force logo on it and bowling pins behind it. The stip of color on the pins could be the color one of the colors from the logo. White borders, message in logo colors.
Two tiered cake in white, white borders white bowling pins around sides, white bowling ball with air force logo as topper. Colors same as above.
6" seperate in-house joke cake.
For the sheet cake, something like this; I forgot to mention the floor, maybe you could do a white wood finish floor with fondant. The pins can be made from gumpaste.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1559652.html
Another 1/2 sheet...to make a 12x18 layer cake. Trim to 12x12. With the 6" trimmed off, create a mini tiered wedding cake...use pins as separators (lollipop sticks with pins formed around them...if you rest the upper tiers on foam core, little notches can be made to accomodate the lollipop sticks to secure the upper tiers on). Place the 'wedding' cake off centered on the 12" layer cake which is decorated like the bowling alley and has the writing on it. Around the side of the 12" can be AF wings/emblems/whatever. For the topper on the 'wedding cake'...the inside joke ...
You could do a full sheet, serves 100.
Is this expense all on you? If so....you do what you can do and they will like it or lump it!
No contribution....no opinion.
Exactly...When I do cakes for free, I ask what they like, but "I" dictate the design. If they double the guests, well then they had better figure out some way to serve them, because I agreed to 45 guests. Perhaps someone else could bring some side desserts and you can do the main cake as originally planned. If they want to switch it to a stacked cake, I would just decline. "Yeah a stacked cake for 100 would be cool, but I didn't schedule enough time for that kind of cake. Don't worry, he'll love the one I originally planned."
I have learned how to say no...or I'm willing to do this, but not that, over the years. You have to get control of the situation without being emotional about it (not that you're being emotional). Just say no.
lol...another great way to get out of it is by recruiting help.
"Oh a stacked cake for 100? Yeah, WE can do it, but I'm going to need some help. If you make the buttercream...don't worry I'll send you the recipe...it's easy. We'll need four maybe five batches. Come over to my house on Tuesday well torte, fill, stack, crumb coat. Come back again Wednesday night and we'll ice, and decorate. With two or more of us, we should be done by 1am."
Watch how fast they go back to 45 servings, unstacked.
Thank you all for the input. The cakes that were posted above were basically was I was originally planning on doing. However, I later learned he does not want any fondant only WHITE buttercream. I don't have an air brush (yet 
) so the floor would be hard with buttercream.
Since I don't get home from work until 6:00 and kids fed and off to bed (although this week I have been working on the decorations while they're playing), I only get to work from about 8:00 pm until I just can't keep my eyes open anymore.
I have decided to go with a stacked tiered cake using 12, 10 and 8 inch pans (I know this doesn't feed exactly 100 but I'm assuming some won't have cake - for free, right?). The easy part I guess is I won't have to make any flavored filling or deal with coloring anything since everything is supposed to be WHITE buttercream!
I've made bowling pins and a bowling ball out of RKT and covered with white modeling chocolate and will have them scattered around and on the cake. I'm sure it will all be ok, just a last-minute freak when the people count increased. People at work are still talking about my Starbucks cake I made for a friend at work (see my pics), so they're looking forward to this cake too. Thanks again!
I have decided to go with a stacked tiered cake using 12, 10 and 8 inch pans (I know this doesn't feed exactly 100 but I'm assuming some won't have cake - for free, right?).
Are you doing round 12, 10, and 8 (2 layers of each, each tier 4" high??) that serves 118. If you are doing a single layer of each it will serve 59.
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