Hello all.

I have posted a few questions, I am new to CC and I have gotten back awesome feedback...Thanks.

However, I have been reading the cake disaster forum, just to make sure the cake I am making for my dad's 60th surprise party this Saturday does not suck! And maybe I should have not gone into that area of the forum because now I have scared the pants off myself.

I am planning on making a 3 tiered cake, possibly cutting it down to 2 tiers, covering it in fondant along with buttercream icing filling.

So here is my plan for timing:

Baking all the cakes Thursday afternoon/evening, then I work on Friday until about 3:00pm so from there I was going to fill the middle of the cakes with buttercream and do my crumb coating and then cover with the fondant. I have also read the people are having some issues with DH cake mix.....THAT IS WHAT I BOUGHT . I also am doctoring up the batches too. Is it one package of dry pudding mix for every package of cake mix?

Now, after the fondant is on the cakes do I have to let it set before I decorate it? I plan on using dowels and a middle wooden dowel also.

Oh I guess I should mention the sizes of cakes pans I'm using:
either 12", 10" and 8 or 10", 8" and 6" I have yet to decide.

I just really don't want any problems, so I could use some info on how others do their cakes ie: setting, resting etc. Oh jeez, I sound like a lunatic don't I??? I am a total perfectionist so I think this to death before actually starting it.

TIA

A lot of times what I do is bake on Thursday morning, fill Thursday night and wrap tightly in saran. Let them settle overnight so if you are going to get a bulge around the middle you can scrape it off Friday morning. (or whenever you go to ice them) Unwrap your cakes and let them sit for 30 minutes or so. You want any condensation to dry. Ice them. I put my iced cakes in the freezer for about 15 minutes while I'm rolling out my fondant. This firms up the icing a little bit and helps me to get a smoother look with the fondant. I don't worry about leaving my fondant covered cakes sit before I decorate them.

I use Duncan Hines cake mixes and don't really have problems with them. The white bakes perfectly for me with my recipe (I use Rebecca Sutterby's WASC). The chocolate will sometimes sink a little in the middle, but not always and not too badly.

Good luck with things! I'm sure you'll do great!

Hi there,

this site is great If you're baking thursday try to bake them early in the day so you can allow them to set. After baking them, I would cover them tightly with plastic wrap. I normally stack my cakes on top of each other. If I have more then 3 then I place a board in between the 3rd layer and place the remaining wrapped cakes on top. Normally, I place my cakes in the freezer overnight. So if I were you I would place them in the freezer after the cakes have set for about 4-5 hours. Come friday after work, come home and take your cakes out. Unwrap them, fill and stack them. Do any carvings NOW. Crumb coat it and place back in the freezer for about 5 hours. Then take it out smooth your crumb coat and coat again,very thin. Then you can go to work on your fondant. Now just FYI plastic dowels are much more effective then wooden dowels, especially when stacking 2-3 tiers. But since you already have the wooden ones, I wouldn't worry so much just place a lot in there that's all. I would stack them saturday. But remember everyone has different and effective methods that work for them. I haven't used DH but I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm going to message you in a minute k have fun

The best advice I can offer you is to leave yourself plenty of time, especially if you're not used to doing this. For a Saturday cake, I make any fondant/gumpaste decorations Monday and Tuesday so they can dry properly. I bake on Wednesday, then I level, torte and wrap the layers in plastic wrap to freeze Wednesday night. I thaw, fill, stack and crumbcoat the layers on Thursday morning early, so they can settle and I can take care of any bulges. I cover the tiers in fondant on Thursday evening and, if I need to, I finish any decorating on Friday. That way, if I run into trouble, I'm not rushed or panicked. Once the cake is crumbcoated and covered in fondant, it won't dry out, even if the cake is done two days ahead. Best of luck!

I agree, give yourself tons of time so that you are not so stressed. The best tip I ever got was ...for whatever day you need the cake for, have it done a whole 24 hours before JUST IN CASE! I live by this rule and have found it to be useful a couple of times. BULGES stink!
I would bake as soon as you can and freeze the cakes. They can be forzen 5 days ( most recipes say). Some people say longer and I have done longer and they turn out fab. I give myself 1 day for trim, fill and crumb, allow to sit overnite. fondant the next day and if the decorations are minimal I will do them that night. If the cake has to have alot of decorations and will have alot of weight I let the cake sit 24 hours then apply decorations. HTH! goodluck!