The wedding is Saturday at 5:30 and I will actually be going to the wedding. I am making the cake below but prob. 4 layers...12" 10" 8" and 6". Bottom is dark chocolate cake with truffle/ganache filling, the 10" is white with white butter cream, and the tops are pistachio with butter cream filling. I am make either 2 or 3 12" extras, prob one of each. Should I start tonight or tomorrow and also what should I actually do on Saturday?

The cake is for this Saturday?? I would starting baking right now..and would decorate tommorow.
Good luck!

You better start tonight girl! You have to allow time for the cakes to cool before you fill, then you have to allow for the cakes to settle to avoid bulging. I refrigerate everything anyways because my fillings and icings are always perishable.....so I refrigerate when I'm not actively decorating.

What are the 2 or 3 extra 12" for? Just to have, or are they satellites to supplement the stacked cake?
Beautiful design by the way!

You need time for transport, time for any "oops" that need to be mended....time to get ready for the wedding, setup at the wedding....the clock ticks much faster than I would like it to, even when I plan to the minute.

ahhh thanks! I'm glad I'm staying home tonight! The extras are to supplement...there were 250 invited and the cake it's self only serves 118. Any other tips???

OMG get that those cakes into the oven. They (each teir) must cool and be leveled and filled and stacked to settle so you won't have settling issues when decorating or sagging once already decorated and at the venue. At least get those teirs buttercreamed and waiting on you for tomorro to cover in fondant and decorate. I could never do it all in one day. If you are practiced fast caker then ok but if not start now. At the very least it will give you some wiggle room for anything that pops up.
Do you already have your fillings made? cause that will take a huge chunk of time.
You aren't going to want to do anything on Saturday considering you have to get ready and get there with the cakes and set up.

How did your roses come out? I'd love to see them.

I saw that cake in some wedding mag last year when I was planing my own wedding. It is so lovely! Are you doing the roses in gumpaste? Purchased or homemade? If I recall, that particular cake was like...$12 a serving. Don't reply now, BAKE!!
FYI, I bake and fill Wednesday, refrig then decorate Thurs and Fri for Sat because I currently bake at home and have a lot of interruptions. I have 8 year old twin boys with ADD, a 5 year old girl going on 22, a 10 week old that has a need to feed every 2 hours or less and a husband that still skateboards and is in a punk band!!

Fit as much into your oven at one time as you can. 3 or 4 pans is what I do.

Goodness, darlin', I've got 3 weddings this weekend and I've already got the 5 tier iced, the 3 tier crumb coated and the other 3 tier iced. Get a move on!

Ok I've started...they are in the oven...(the first cakes! yikes!) I'm not doing fondant...just butter cream, and I've already purchased the flowers (I'm not making them) This is really just the "simple concept" that the bride likes. I'm doing satin ribbon at the bottom of each tier. Man, I didn't know how much butter you need for a 250 person wedding!!! I also buy all organic so I could only get what was on the shelf! I hate having to run to the freaking grocery store every hour!!!

Any other tips??? Thank a bazillion!

AHHH I'M LOOKING AT ALL THESE PHOTOS BUT I CAN'T TELL IF THE CAKE SHOULD BE 2 LAYERS OR 3 LAYERS ? WHAT SHOULD I DO??? I DON'T WANT IT TO LOOK SQUATTY!

Well....I make mine 4 to 5 and 1/2 inches tall each. Those look like 4". Two cakes for each tier, meaning you bake 2 separate 8" rounds for example for one 8" tier. Torting and filling will get you to 4 inches easily....plus icing the top adds some height.

Ummmm...good luck. I have a feeling you will be up very late Friday night.

Yeah, you should have baked on Tuesday and Wednesday, leveled, torted if you were planning to, wrapped and froze. On Thursday you fill and let the cakes settle and on Friday you ice and decorate.

BTW, join us at Friday Night Cake Club on the Cake Decorating Forum. I think you'll be up.

I call us to order between 10:30 and 10:45 ET on Friday night.

It looks like the cake it is 4 iches tall. As for layers, no one can tell. You can make it as many layers as you want as long as it doesn't exceed to 4 inches when stacked.

Don't forget to level your layers.

Oh my gosh, start making your fillings and buttercream while the cakes are baking. And don't refrigerate your buttercream or you will have to wait for it to warm up to frost. I've made it ahead of time before and wasted a lot of time because I forgot to take it out of the fridge before I left for work. And annacakes79 I just have to say, I have a 17 that's been skateboarding since he was 7, who lives to skate, and your post was like a glimpse of the future. I actually had to read it to him. Good luck linsa, don't forget to post pictures when you're done.

LADIES!!! you're freakin' me out! If I just bake most of the cakes tonight and tomorrow morning and let them cool and then level and fill will that be ok to start the final icing tomorrow night???? I only have one refrigerator! and 1.5 ovens! I can only do so much! I also didn't want to do it too early so it's fresh! I use all organic ingredients so I don't have the heavy oils to keep it real moist. and I can't freeze!

Once you seal the cake with buttercream it should stay fresh and moist. You shouldn't have to refrigerate, the only one I'm not sure of is the ganache because I haven't used it before, but I believe I've read that it's just like a truffle and doesn't have to be refrigerated. Refrigerating a cake can actually dry it out, and cake taste better at room temperature. Sorry, we don't mean to freak you out, but have you made a wedding cake before? If you haven't, I think it will take longer than you think. I mean, 4 tiers plus two extra cakes, two layers each,just baking, that 12 cakes to bake. And you want to leave yourself some wiggle room for mishaps.

Technically refriderated..no but not left out in temps greater then 60'F. Creams and butter spoil.

BUMPITY BUMP BUMP.....How's it going?? Ya almost done?

Haha that made me smile! It's going really well (I think!). MAybe you can help...all my cakes are torted, filled and crumb coated. How long should I wait to do the final frosting? Also how long do you think it will take me to frost 7 cakes? I hate butter and sugar! What should I do tomorrow? I just want to be thorough! Also what tips do you have for adding satin ribbon to the base?

Do you have a link to what it is going to look like? After I let it settle (after filling) I let er rip with the final icing. I rarely crumbcoat, I just take care with applying the icing so as not to pull up crumbs. Ummmm, 7 cakes....sheesh. A few straight hours of nothin but icing.

Ah, for satin ribbon, my specialty. (See any number of recent posts regarding toxicity, general hazard to all humankind, etc.) Lol, just kidding. I line the back with contact paper so grease stains don't show through and when applied to a chilled cake, it stands up nice and flat and straight for you, and stays that way. Plus, you avoid dinging your icing up and making scratch marks from the edge of the ribbon.

I just have the picture
i posted earlier under my name..I'm just realizing it's not really going to look anything like that! It not fondant, no white flowers (pinks) and it 4 layers! and I have pink satin ribbon at the bottom!

I am still wondering though, do I start to frost after the crumb coat is dry and do I refrigerate it at all (not that I have room in my fridge) when I'm done?

I can't see it unless I'm a doofus....

When I do crumbcoat, I chill it afterwards for a firm surface to apply my final layer of icing to.

here's the pic again

I would have filled that cake by thursady so that it could settle, then friday cover with fondant, cover with plastic so it doesn't get hard, then decorate on saturday. but that's just me.

Oh geez, right, duh.

How's the cake going? Can't wait to see pics!

did you get it finished? Please post pics!