I have not delivered a wedding cake in ages so I am wanting to get some advice. I just booked a cake for a June wedding. The wedding starts at 4pm and the reception starts at 6pm. The wedding is going to be outdoors next to where the reception is going to be. I would like to set up the cake at 5pm, an hour before the reception. They want me to set it up before the wedding, which means I would set it up at 3pm and being that they are going to have dinner at the reception starting at 6pm, the cake could be sitting there anywhere from 5-6 or more hours before it is cut. Is that normal? The cake is going to be buttercream with ganache drizzled party way down the sides. It will be 3 tier stacked on top of each other. I'm concerend about it being there that long. Any advice?
Is the reception indoors or out?
Not sure that BC and ganache are going to hold up well if the cake will be outside in the heat for that long. I would insist on a later delivery.
I would also make sure you have a good internal structure for the tiered cake like SPS. If the cake starts to get soft/melt at least each tier will still be supported well and it might be salvagable.
I'm facing a similar problem with an outdoor wedding in June for a family member. Even if I deliver the cake at the last possible moment before the wedding, it will still be outside for about 4 hours before serving. They have chosen to do fondant to help prevent melting. I'm doing non-perishable fillings and "dense" cake in the hope it will survive in late afternoon SoCal heat. The bride and MOB have been warned that this is not an ideal cake situation.
Kristy
No matter what you end up doing, make sure your recommendation is in the contract and signed off on. If they choose to have it sit outside in June for 4-6 hours it will be in writing and they can't come back and complain to you and wanting a refund because their day was ruined, etc. You know how it goes - lol!
No matter what you end up doing, make sure your recommendation is in the contract and signed off on. If they choose to have it sit outside in June for 4-6 hours it will be in writing and they can't come back and complain to you and wanting a refund because their day was ruined, etc. You know how it goes - lol!
The reception will be inside but I'm not sure yet about the a/c situation. A couple of your replys brought up a couple more questions. Is there a way to make the ganache firmer and stand up better if it is a less than ideal situation? What kind of cake would make a firmer cake?
Pound cake is dense. There is a recipe her on CC for a "durable" cake for weddings & carving. It is a variation on the WASC recipe. The WASC cake recipe is also pretty durable (I use it ALL the time now)
Not sure about the ganache issue. You can increase the ratio of the chocolate to cream to get a thicker ganache but that will affect your ability to drip it down the tiers.
No matter what you do chocolate + heat =no bueno
Kristy
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