My Wedding Cake Vs. August Heat

Decorating By rbarraco Updated 29 Jun 2013 , 12:31pm by Chellescakes

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rbarraco Posted 28 Jun 2013 , 4:42pm
post #1 of 6

Hi everyone!

 

I'm getting married this august and I've decided to make my own cake for about 125 people. Our reception is outside and the last thing I want is for my cake to slide/ melt.

 

I haven't completely decided on the cake flavors yet but I'm thinking of doing four tiers - a couple of berry cakes (maybe strawberry, blueberry, etc.), a chocolate tier, and either a vanilla or honey tier. So, I was going to coat the outside of the cake in the sugarshack recipe for buttercream (or something similar) but I'm not sure what would be stable for the fillings. Does anyone have any ideas? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

5 replies
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CWR41 Posted 28 Jun 2013 , 8:13pm
post #2 of 6
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbarraco 
Our reception is outside and the last thing I want is for my cake to slide/ melt.

 

So, I was going to coat the outside of the cake in the sugarshack recipe for buttercream (or something similar)

Buttercream starts to breakdown around 85 degrees.  How will you prevent it from melting outside in August?

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tesso Posted 28 Jun 2013 , 10:13pm
post #3 of 6

lets start with the positives, congrats on the wedding.

 

now the realities... you don't list if you are experienced in cake decorating, so a little advice here. as a bride you have a lot of stress ahead of you, if you haven't done cakes before you may be setting yourself up for a very stressful time. cakes take practice and enough knowledge to prepare, prevent and respond to all cake emergencies and they always pop up in some way or form from making to transporting to surviving the weather. you all ready have the weather thing against you. I would suggest using American  buttercream since it uses something like Crisco or sweetex to make and holds up pretty well under heat and humidity. the humidity is going to play a very important roll in decorating. you may want to look into using fondant if the temp is over 85.

 

I am not trying to discourage you from making your own cake, it's just a reality that if you don't make the right decisions and practice a lot before hand you will stress yourself crazy. Make sure you make a complete test wedding cake weeks before the wedding so that if it is more than you can handle you can make arrangements to have one made and wont have to deal with the excess stress of finding a cake maker who is available to make a cake in a short time. It is your wedding you should be stress free and happy. Have fun practicing and I hope all works out well. Just remember we are here if you need help.icon_smile.gif

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AZCouture Posted 28 Jun 2013 , 10:48pm
post #4 of 6
Quote:
Originally Posted by tesso 

lets start with the positives, congrats on the wedding.

 

now the realities... you don't list if you are experienced in cake decorating, so a little advice here. as a bride you have a lot of stress ahead of you, if you haven't done cakes before you may be setting yourself up for a very stressful time. cakes take practice and enough knowledge to prepare, prevent and respond to all cake emergencies and they always pop up in some way or form from making to transporting to surviving the weather. you all ready have the weather thing against you. I would suggest using American  buttercream since it uses something like Crisco or sweetex to make and holds up pretty well under heat and humidity. the humidity is going to play a very important roll in decorating. you may want to look into using fondant if the temp is over 85.

 

I am not trying to discourage you from making your own cake, it's just a reality that if you don't make the right decisions and practice a lot before hand you will stress yourself crazy. Make sure you make a complete test wedding cake weeks before the wedding so that if it is more than you can handle you can make arrangements to have one made and wont have to deal with the excess stress of finding a cake maker who is available to make a cake in a short time. It is your wedding you should be stress free and happy. Have fun practicing and I hope all works out well. Just remember we are here if you need help.icon_smile.gif

Yes this. Congratulations, and make sure you're really up to this challenge. What about your guests though? What's going to keep them from melting? :(

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rbarraco Posted 29 Jun 2013 , 4:15am
post #5 of 6

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

 

Well, I have a cupcake business..i've made lots and lots of cupcakes - I have some experience with cakes. But, my fiance's mom and dad owned a bakery and a close friends mom also owns a bakery - they'll all be at the wedding so, if something goes wrong - I'm really not too worried. Plus, it's my wedding so no big deal. It's not like I'll have a crazy bride to deal with.

 

Anyway, I am fully prepared for what I'm getting myself into. My plan is to bake and freeze the cake layers a few days before and then frost the day of. And I probably wont be displaying the cake until right before we cut it. So just between transport and maybe 30 minutes of sitting in the heat I'm concerned about.

 

Is buttercream a good idea? (I'll probably be using the sugarshack buttercream which uses shortening) I've never used fondant and I really don't want to use it on my cake. And if I do use buttercream, what types of fillings would be logical to use?

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Chellescakes Posted 29 Jun 2013 , 12:31pm
post #6 of 6

I'd be doing a dummy cake that you can have completed weeks in advance and then serve kitchen cakes that way they can stay refrigerated until you need them. 

 

Frosting your own wedding cake on the day of a wedding is really pushing things and added stress that you really don't need. 

 

Oh and congratulations on your pending nuptials . 

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