Hello Everyone-
Just wondering for those of you that do triered cakes alot. I have a friend that is getting married in June 06. She would like to have a two or three tiered cake. And sheet cakes. And She has asked me to do them. Im excited to do so, but nervous because it is a wedding. And you always want everything perfect for a wedding. And I dont want to disappoint her. I plan on practicing before hand. But thought with all the talented people there are on here maybe we could compile a list of thing that are good to know, things youve tried but didnt work, tips on making it as easy as possible, ect before trying your first tiered cake. Any advice you have would be appreciated. Thanks

The cakes we have been looking at are stacked directly on one another.

Any ideas on what to do for the sheet cakes for each piece. Doesnt want roses. I was thinking maybe hearts or monogram or bells.

Wedding is black and white


Mara

Mara,
I was wondering something before I put my 2 cents in----how many tiers will you have?? And how much decoration will be on each?? You will get many different opinions on whether to stack before or after delivery.

As far as the sheet cake goes, she wants the pieces marked? I think the monogram would be a cute idea but they would have to be awfully small! Maybe two interlocking hearts instead?

There is a beautiful black and white cake on jacquespastries.com, under the wedding galleries. It is one my personal faves! As far as stacking a cake, one thing I learned the hard way is to let your icing crust, then put down a piece of parchment slightly smaller than the cake going on top, then add your next tier. This way the icing on the bottom cake won't come off when you take the top off to serve. Also, I always use supports. I'm not familiar with all the "systems" but I always at least dowel a cake when stacking. Hope this helps. Congratulations and best wishes on you first wedding!! I'm sure everything will be wonderful!

I have done a monogram out of chocolate, simply pipe like writing...I'm not sure how that would work on each individual piece though?

...you might could get a candy mold in the shape of a heart or I have one that is a little wedding cake. You would just have to mold the chocolates a place on each piece!

For a 2-tiered cake, I just use dowels. For a 3-tiered cake, I use the large, plastic dowels that Wilton sells--the "feet" of the cake boards fit into them perfectly.

When transporting, I would transport each layer separately for a 3-tiered cake--or you could build 2 tiers at home and then place the 3rd when you get there.

Allow yourself plenty of time when delivering to build the cake and make any necessary, last-minute decorations or repairs.

Take a picture of the cake and the area that you left it in before you leave so you have proof that it was in perfect shape before you left the premises.

Find out how she is planning on decorating the cake table and if she expects you to handle that for her or the florist or someone else.

Why does she want each piece of the sheet cakes decorated individually? What a lot of work for you. IF she doesn't want a full-blown rose (GOOD THING!), how about just a simple rosebud, two entertwining hearts or rings? The monogram is a good idea. I just am confused why each individual piece needs to be decorated. It's not like each individual piece of the wedding cake is decorated. You could also just do a double shell border and they could cut the pices between the shells.

For the wedding cake--will it be torted or just 2 layers stacked? If torted, make sure you take the extra weight into account. Also--if torting, make sure you have a pretty dense cake to handle the extra weight.

Make sure that you have a VERY sturdy board to putit on.

And, although I have never done this or had a problem with it, some people will sprinkle powdered sugar or sweetened coconut between the layers to prevent sticking. Like I said, I've never done either of these things and I've never had the icing stick. Go figure.

Off the top of my head--these are the only things I can think of.

Lisa

I love doing stacked cakes. I like to use the wilton plastic dowel rods to support the tiers. I like to frost each tier and then let them sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. At that time the icing will get nice and firm. This way it will be easier for you to stack the cakes in case you do not get it right in the center. You will be able to slide the tier in place without destroying the icing...you will want to use a good crusting buttercream fosting or fondant.

I think for the wedding cake...a black satin ribbon on the bottom of the tiers would be very elegant. I really like the monogram idea for your sheet cakes...I think that would fit the black and white theme. I would definitely do a small practice cake so you will be more comfortable. Maybe a 6 and 8 inch round. You could make a small stacked cake for a family birthday to give you some practice.

Mara,

My first cake was a stacked 4 tier for a friend who talked me into doing her wedding cake. I had learned some skills from watching my mother while growing up but had no classes or experience.

I read everything online I could find and learned that to play it safe I should put 3 cardboards together to support each tier. I spent several days baking and icing each layer.

Unfortunately, I only iced the actual cake. When I put the cake together at the chapel I had a small bowl of icing to complete the shell border but each of the 3 tiers had an inch of cardboard to cover + the shells! I ended up doing a zig-zag border to cover as much as I could with the icing I had. Rookie mistake.

So the lesson I learned was to ice all the way to the bottom of whatever your tier consists of and to bring plenty of icing to the site.

Good Luck!

And I am one of the few who will disagree and say depending on how big the cake is, I stack and then transport. I DO NOT care to have to finish my decorating at the site. Also, you never know what can happen and I don't decorate right up until the last minute. I just know that when I stack cakes I always end up messing stuff up and don't care to fix that on-site. That's why I had asked how big this cake is going to be. The biggest I've done that with was a 3 tiered square cake (8, 10, 12) and dowelled really well, this thing didn't move.
Good luck!!

I always stack my cakes before I travel. I like to let them stay in the refrigerator overnight before transporting. It would be a nightmare for me to have to put together at site. I only asemble cakes that have a stand or pillars.

I am not familiar with putting stacked cakes together after delivery. I always finish the cake then deliver. The largest one I have done had a base layer of 16". Never had a problem with slipping or anything. Helen