I've got a cake request. This cake is stunning and I'm not sure I can pull it off. She wants butter cream so I've explained the difference in the look. Any ideas?

https://picasaweb.google.com/104565330918225564909/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCJGh66epxN2w4gE#5729539056338711458

I swear I saw a thread on this very cake about a month or so ago, but for the life of me I can't find it now. Sorry I can't be of more help, but I know there is another thread about this cake on here somewhere...

that is a stunning cake!!!
if that was me doing the cake I would cover the whole cake in chocolate paste and do the drizzles in royal icing. the white fondant would be placed on later and the drapes will hide the seam.

There is no way I would do this in buttercream, you would get a totally different look! I have found that explaining the differences doesnt help with most brides, they still have the original picture in their minds and if the cake is vastly different they complain and moan and you end up giving a refund!

My advise would be that if is she is absolutely against fondant get her to pick a cake that is done in buttercream.

Well, you COULD do it in buttercream, but what a pain in the ass to do.

I've actually put regular white buttercream over chocolate buttercream for color purposes and it's doable, but this also has ganache dripping. If I were compelled to do this cake (and i'm glad it's you and not me), I would either try and do a half and half chocolate side and Vanilla side and separate them by a strip of draped fondant...OR ice the cakes in all chocolate BC and then put the white BC over the chocolate areas you want covered...again it will have to have a strip of draped fondant to divide the look...and just put the ganache on the chocolate side. Your bride will just have to deal with the strip of fondant.

I hope you're getting paid handsomely for such a labor intensive project! Good luck!

I'm not sure why you think it would look so different in buttercream. You could definitely do this in buttercream and it would look just as pretty, but you would need to keep the fondant drape at the seams. Doing two different colors smoothly on the cake is always a PITA, but since the drape is wide you don't have to worry about getting the seams perfectly even. Just ice half in chocolate, half in white BC, do the ganache drizzle, then drape at the seams.

Wow, that cake is amazing but it does look like a total PITA.
I think this cake could be done in all buttercream, but it will be a very labor intensive project. Honestly, I think it'd be labor intensive, no matter if it's BC or fondant.
I've looked at your pics and have no doubt that you can do it.

It was this thread ('Replicating this wedding cake?'):

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-739109.html