Hi all!

I am a newbie here on this site, but also a newbie when it comes to these kinds of cakes, etc. I am having a sweet 16 for my daughter, but have been having major issues finding a cake idea that we love! Her theme is Roaring Twenties.

What I know:
We are splitting it up, with both cake and cupcakes.
Cupcakes will be the center of the (round) table, on a cupcake tier.
Her dress is a blue/purple shimmer with irridecent gems etc
http://www.catanfashions.com/product/Tony_Bowls_Evening_TBE1891
shoes will be silver. So..with those colors in mind, the foil for the cupcakes are going to be silver, and the frosting white. We are planning on simple toppings such as the silver beads (dont know what it is called), and the Wilton crystal sprinkles, one color per cupcake of blue and purple. I figured for the cakes, one on each side of the tier, white frosting/fondant and maybe present style, with bows.

What I dont know:
How long before can I bake the cake?
Should it be boxed or a home made style cake?
Can you freeze the cake? Proper ways of preserving it?
How long before should we be frosting any of the items?
Is there a frosting recipie that lasts, that anyone can recommend?
I wanted to do the swirled frosting for the cupcakes. Does anyone know what that is called so I can get directions on how do do this?

HELP! Any tips or ideas?? Im a nervous wreck!

OR...maybe anyone can recommend a person living close to me that I can work with. That may just be best. lol. (I live in Queens, NY)

The gems are called dragees.
Use the WASC recipe for the best cake in the world. White Almond Sour Cream cake.
For a Sat. party, I bake on Thurs., wrap in saran wrap and freeze, take out on friday, let thaw and tort and fill, crumb coat, let settle and decorate.
Use any buttercream recipe from the recipe section.
They can be left out covered. Keep covered while working with because it will crust.
Use the 1M tip to get a fancy swirl on top of your cupcakes.
Freeze the cupcakes just like the cakes. Use good quality double lined cupcake papers. It will keep them from peeling off.
Save your money on buying fondant and make Marshmallow fondant. MMF-recipe in recipe section.
With the cupcake swirl, start on outer edge and turn the cupcake as you swirl to the center into a nice tall peak.
Hope this helps and good luck!

Wow lilyanddayne, you told her everything. She's right marshmallow fondant is cheap and taste better than store bought.

If you are swirling colors, like blue and purple. Try putting one color in and the other color next to it. It is also less messy.
Check this out. http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-38404.html

Here's another thread on getting the nice swirled frosting for the cupcakes
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-595010.html

I think your ideas sound great - very pretty! Good luck!

Hi and Welcome to CC, lenaapple1974.

Decoding CC acronyms:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926-.html

Making your 1st tiered cake:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-5958955-.html

The above contains a lot of useful info on baking, as well as recipes for popular cakes and frostings.

HTH