Hello everyone! I'm a newbie at this, although I did used to decorate cakes all of the time with my grandmother when I was younger, I just don't remember everything she did. My son will be one in about a week and his party is after that and I am making the cake. I have a few questions, but first the details.

It will be a two tier cake, covered in white marshmallow fondant, and adorned with a few figures in an underwater/sailor theme. I thought I might make the figures with a mixture of fondant and gum paste, because I've *heard* that is a good way to ensure they don't mess up.

I'm also covering a few Oreos with white chocolate, but I want to dye the chocolate...Is this possible? Would it be absolutely *necessary* to temper the chocolate if I use bakers chocolate? And I want to pipe little fish on them, what should I use? Can I do white chocolate again or ... royal icing? That is the first question.

The others:
1. How far in advance can I make the fondant, bake the cakes, etc, even make the figurines before his party on Sunday without it going bad?
2. Is marshmallow fondant effective/reliable for making figurines?
3. I will need wire for the cake I have in mind for a few accent pieces, is there any sort of special wire I need?
4. What is a good, tasty, easy cake recipe, reliable and durable for this kind of cake building?

I know I am new to this forum and probably don't understand the mechanics of how it's supposed to work so thank you for your patience in helping me out! If you see anything wrong with my plans please tell me! I just want my son's birthday to go smoothly.

Ok I can't answer all of your questions but I can answer a few. A good sturdy cake recipe is WASC (White Almond,Sour Cream). I think that is what is stands for. There is a whole thread on here about flavors and how to change them. There is also a thread on fillings (Bettercreme). Check in the recipe section. I know for a fact that you can not just stick wires in cakes. There is a sticky on here about sticking wires in cakes. I saw that Wilton makes wire especially for this purpost that is safe. I've made figures using Marshmellow fondant but I mixed it with gumpaste so it would harden. Just beware don't sit the fiqures in the sun bc they will fade. You can make the cake weeks in advance and freeze. Just cook as usually and when they cool wrap with saran wrap and then foil and place in freezer. When you thaw leave it wrapped. You can also make the figurines early they won't go bad. If you want the oreo's to be dipped in chocolate it may be a good idea to invest in Make and mold melting chocolate disc. They come in several colors and you can just dip them in it. I think you can pipe on them with royal icing but I'm not 100% sure. I hope I helped a little. I think I answered most of your questions.

Hello,

Will try and answer a few questions too.

Debbie brown has a good sturdy cake recipe on her website. Google her website.

I do not think marshmallow fondant will hold well with figurines ( personal experience). Figurines Can be made a month in advance if stored properly.

Floral wire is what you need to use wires in cake. You can get that from a craft shop or a florist, basically they are wires covered with floral tape which make it food safe.

Regarding Oreo dipped chocolates, look for mini round soap moulds or chocolate moulds. He is a link to one, (add www.) newdirectionsaromatics.com/soap-mini-soap-molds-c-6_141.html
You may be ok without tempering the chocolate if you are using a good quality one. I would decorate it with colored white chocolate on top. Yes, you can color chocolates using powder or gel based colors.

You can make the cake in advance or even make the batter and freeze it.

Cheers

What is the proper way to store the MMF and if I make the figures out of fondant/gum paste do I do half and half? And how do I store those? I'd love the details, I know nothing about this.

Answering the storing of figures: according to the OP you now have less than one week so don't worry about them going bad or something. Make the figures NOW, realizing that the gumpaste will be very hard when dry - these are not something anyone will want to eat - let them dry then put them in a container or ziplock bag. You don't absolutely have to have a mold for the Oreos if you don't have time to get one, but it is easier. You can make your layers now and freeze them, that way you can work around the little one's schedule in finishing.