Ok, so I got a call yesterday about this cake! They need it for the 19th, a little short notice. They need to serve 300 people and also want a grooms cake (coors light beer can)! I need all of you experts to help me with this design, not sure I can even do this!! What in the world would you charge? Take a look and give me your opinions! PLEASE!

See, this is precisely why I don't let brides dictate their cake design to me. That said, for the level of difficult + the extremely late notice/rush fee, $1800 + equipment and delivery fee.

well it looks like the top two tiers are slightly carved inward and just covered in white fondant with black stripes and red balls. the ruffles between the two layers look like she may have taken a ball tool and ruffled the edge and painted the tip black and sandwiched the ruffle between the two layers.

the third and forth layers look like they are filled, supported, carved and stacked and then fondanted together with white and then black stripes put on. the third looks like it is carved small at the top sloping down to larger at the bottom and the fourth layer looks like it is carved with indents going around where the ruffles are.

looks like she then put a white swag around the second and third layer with a bow and added black dots.

the ruffle on the bottom looks like it is done the same as the top ruffle but just attached probably with some edible glue/royal icing/water in the wave pattern and then the red ruffle accent added.

the bow on top looks like a gum paste rope bow.

that is one awesome cake. i am so in awe of her work! good luck and i can't wait to see it if you decide to do it!

edited to say: yeah i'd have to agree with leah and doug! i'd charge an arm and a leg and maybe throw in a foot for this one.

cakes themselves are just regular tiers carved to get taper.

bottom tier looks to be a full 8 in tall (4-2 in layers) and the others 6 inch tall (all could also be 3inch layers -- 3 for bottom and 2 each for next two)

then its lots of fondant, and fondant stripes and red buttons.

bow looks to be either fondant/gumpaste rope loops (individual) formed and dried then glued up (that or RI loops)

the frill work looks to be the same as way gumpaste flowers are made -- only using long strips where the edges have been ruffled. the red looks to be several layers of what would be the start of a gumpaste carnation.

the edges of the ruffles appear to have been overpiped in chocolate

and the sash is just a piece of fondant or gumpaste rolled thin, gathered, draped, with matching floppy bow that was then dotted in chocolate.

and I'll see Leah's $1,800 and up it at least another $600 ==> $2,400!!!

if for no other reason than how long it will take to frill all those ruffles!!!!

and that's NOT counting the groom's cake!

Is this a cake from a book of hers? If so, usually she put instructions on how to do it, I will rush to find it. The part tha for me will be more difficult will be the ruffles. My goodness so many of them!!!!! The cake itself, stacked tiers carved, not that bad but needs lots of support. Good luck!!

I have a few books written by Collette and she attaches the lace trim with either royal or water, but secures trim to cake with tooth picks (not pushed into cake, but sticking outside of cake - merely for purposes to allow trim to dry, then removes once lace trim has dried completely),
Good Luck... can't wait to see your version!!
~ Jaime

Yeah, this is just crazy!! I don't think she realizes what she is asking!! I really just want to see what you all thought about the design, the basic cake does look like it is tapered, the thing that gets me is the ruffles, and all of that for 300 people, Urgh!! The bow on top is royal icing, this cake is on Brides. com as one of the 50 most beautiful cakes, well, I am just afraid I will make it on Cakewrecks if I attempt this!! Do you think the ruffles are done in sections, don't see how you could possibly have one continuous ruffle. As for the bow on top, I was looking in one of my old Wilton books and they have a cake with this bow on top and they attach lollipop sticks to the ex-large loops and stick down in the cake, my concern is how you do it without breaking the loops,you will have to have lots of extras. Not all of the loops have sticks on them.

i love collette and have 2 or 3 of her books, but i've never seen this one! it's beautiful!!!

Where the ruffle folds, she sticks the toothpick so only enough to support the trim is actually inserted into the cake. I have tried this before and not sure if 'professional in technique' but this worked.... I stuck the toothpick in just a smidge (since when you remove, you wouldn't see the hold anyway since the trim folds over, etc). then I balled up Saran wrap (enough to reach the ruffle trim) to give added support until the trim completely dried yet the Saran wrap didn't mess up my other fondant work. Hope this makes sense!!!
~ Jaime

I don't know what to tell you about the collette peters cake but you mentioned the grooms cake. I have a Mountain dew can cake I just did in the summer that was a big hit, check it out for some ideas. It is 3d and it's standing up. Good luck on this wedding cake, I agree with leahs, charge alot for it. It's a late notice and thats alot of work for alot of people.

Oooooooooh My. Good luck-you are seriously going to need it.

I don't mean this to be rude-you make great cakes-but maybe you should call her and tweak this design? This is not a last minute cake-this thing is going to be a monster.

For that bottom layer, I personally would not do the vertical indents. I would taper the cake to be wider at the bottom with the rounded under edge as shown, but keep it all smooth so it is easier to cover with fondant. Then I would add the ruffles and make sure they are a little closer together so that the lack of indent can't be seen. Plus with the black stripe stopping above the ruffle, it will give the same illusion. I blew the picture up and it appears that the ruffles are lots of little pieces. I am not sure how to do it otherwise. Having those indents just seems like punishment to me! What style wedding/party is this for? Just make sure the person knows that no piece of artwork can be copied identically and you need to take artistic license when needed. Those bottom pieces could be chunks of styrofoam for all we know. Good luck!

You'd have to do the ruffles in sections, the heart wedding cake in my pics has a double garret ruffle. And I used the toothpics to prop up some sections until they dried.

Oh, and I'm with everyone else, cost to the Bride on this one would be a minimum of $7.00/serving. 7x300=2100.00

Is it just me or does it look like the bottom cake is carved under the ruffles?
It also looks like there is a border of black dots where the ruffles attach to the bottom cake.
I think you can do it , the cake itself looks pretty simple, just stripes and a little bit of carving, the ruffles would be the only obstacle and even those can be done.
I would use gum paste, and like the others stated ruffle the edges with a ball tool, you can do it in sections if you are more comfortable with that, maybe 8-10" long sections, ruffle, attach, let dry and then paint the edges. And because they are ruffles and not perfect straight lines the fact that it is done in sections won't be noticeable.
I would also suggest gum paste for the topper, only because it would be a bit stronger and you wouldnt want anything to break. I don't have good luck with royal.
I've also used toothpicks to support stuff on a cake until it dries I just stick it into the cake a little bit, in a place you can't see and when it's dry I pull it out, all thats left is a tiny hole, but in a place you can't see unless you really look for it.
As far as the price I would charge $6.50 per serving plus a 100$ set up fee for a total of 2050$, but thats me and I tend to undercharge.
Good Luck its a beautiful cake, do you mind if I save the pic, I think I want to try it sometime?

That cake was on the cover of ICES, August 2008. It did have some brief instructions. It also stated it was featured in Brides magazine, but did not state which issue..

sure, I'll type them up and send them to you.. It will take a few minutes...

Adding that Colette's cake was for 100 people and the one you have to make is for 300.
Good luck!

Ok, bear with me everyone, If I were to take this on, help me figure out how many cakes and sizes to serve 300. I can figure out the sizes , but the majority of servings are probably going to come form the bottom, since it is so tall, they will be carved a little but will basically come close to normal size.

I would probably do a 16", 14", 12", 10" and 8" to make that cake for 300. You may be able to get her to do it smaller and you make the sheet cakes to go with it.

Starting from the bottom up I'd do 2 16x4" tiers stacked; then on top of that a 2" layer each of 14, 12, then a 10x4" tier.
For the middle tier: 10, 9, 10 - the 10 maybe 4" tall w/the 9 only 2.
For the top; 6,5,6 ea 2" layers
That way, you won't have to carve. The biggest problem I see is that servers will try to serve each tier as tall as it is so that cuts down on the total # of servs. If you make each tier 8" tall then it can be separated into 2 for cutting the usual 1x2x4 servings.

So looking at my suggested sizes there would be :
Two 16x4 = 200
14,12 = 56
10x4 = 39
Middle tier:
Two 10x4 = 78 (I'd split the 9" and put each 1/2 w/a 10x4 so it would be served 5" tall but counted the same as if it were just one tier 4" tall - is all that clear as mud?? - lol)
Top tier: not served?
That's a total of 373 servings....don't see any other way to get it down more so it allows for a few '2nd' servings &/or take home cake.

Seems to me in her books - at least the 1st one(s) Collette makes loops w/royal and has a toothpick at the end.

per Colette: The bow on top is royal icing, piped with a #8 round tip.. very fragile indeed....

oh no, don't get me wrong, i didn't mean the bow couldnt' be done in royal icing! i was just guessing gum paste at first glance of the cake. it would just be fragile and she'd have to make a back up to account for breakage.