Hi everyone!

I am making a topsy turvy wedding cake for my cousin's wedding in two weeks. There are two things I need advice on:

1) I bought the Caddy Wampus Stand (the square one). I want to make a gift box design on the cakes themselves, then have some gumpaste flowers covering up the spaces between the topsy tiers.

My question is: The space between the tiers of the stand are big! It's almost 6 inches maybe more! I really want the look of the boxes touching on one side. How many layers of cake should I use? Anyone did this?

2) The wedding is in another city! It's on a Thursday. I am going to this other city on Monday! So Monday by morning the cakes have to be already covered in fondant and decorated!!! So I can transport them tier by tier and assemble when I'm there.

My question is: Isn't it too early to have the cakes ready by Monday when the wedding in on Thursday night? I MUST have them fondanted and covered and decorated! I can not do ANY decorating there. I will have an emergency kit with me but that's it. When I reach the other city they will be put in the fridge till Thursday. The distance from my city to where the wedding will be is about 3.5 hours of driving. It is HOT! But the AC will be on full blast in the car. Any advice? How would I go by this attempt?

Thanks sooo much for all your help!

OK, no problem with fondanting the cakes 4 (or even 5 or 6) days before - they'll be fine. If you're going to refrigerate them (and frankly I wouldn't unless you have a perishable filling or icing), take them out the night before, because the condensation that's going to form on them needs plenty of time to dry (think about turning a fan on them overnight to help with this). If you want 6" tiers, make three 2" layers and stack them (actually, make them a little shorter because you want 6" with torting, filling, icing and fondant). Do you have room in your car to put the cakes inside rather than in the trunk? If not, you might want to box your tiers individually and put ice packs around them in the trunk. Sounds like a really lovely cake! Take lots of pics and post them here - inquiring minds want to know! Best of luck!!!

thanks for your reply!

yes my car is an SUV so plenty of room.

I was thinking of refrigerating and then taking them out right before the car trip. that way they are cold when they are put in the car. what do you think? and when they arrive at the venue they will be room temp. then i will need to refrigerate again because the weather is sooooo hot!!!!!!!! i will take them out again lets say wednesday night? or should i take them out wednesday morning and assemble it wednesday night? so I can be free thursday?

as for the 6" tiers. I am thinking of doing a trial this week with some box mix just to see what I can do

I'd take them out Tuesday night (seriously, if there's nothing perishable in them like fresh fruit, cream or uncooked eggs, refrigeration is not a problem, even if it the weather's hot - I work in a kitchen that's always right at 90° and I never refrigerate my cakes). That way you can be sure the condensation has evaporated so that you can stack them Wednesday afternoon/night. If it were me, I'd definitely want to have the day of the wedding free, if at all possible (except for taking the cake to the venue, of course).

So I should bake them on sunday or saturday? maybe bake saturday, cover sunday, then refriderate. go on trip on monday, refriedgerate there till tuiesday. take out. stack on wednesday.
there isnt anything perishable in it but this is the first time i bake a cake more than 2 days before the event!!! im a bit scared

Well, I'd be all for giving myself as much time as possible, especially if you're a little nervous, and I have to say I'm a big fan of letting my cakes settle overnight before covering them. Actually what I usually do is bake, cool, torte, fill and stack each tier the same day then weight them down with something flat and wide (a large plate or a floor tile that I use just for that) and leave them overnight - in or out of the fridge, whichever way you prefer, then cover them the next day. So your Saturday baking, Sunday covering, Monday traveling sounds like a good idea to me. Hope everything turns out great.

Thanks
It is my first time baking a cake 6 days before the event!! I'm sooo nervous! haha
I did a cake once and covered it with fondant and decorated and evrything! Then I refridegrated overnight. The next day I took it out of the frdige and went for this same trip! 3:30 hours. It was room temp and amazing when we got there We did go straight to the venue though. So it was a day old which is perfect! It will be 6 days old for this event. That's all I'm worried about

I would be concerned about the freshness of the cake 6 days after being baked. While it may not taste bad, it won't be at it's freshest. JMO

even if it was in the fridge after being covered??
it will be a white cake covered in white fondant. with sugar flowers. so no actual colors that could bleed. would refridgerating still be a bad thing?

Once it's covered, the buttercream and/or fondant will help seal in moisture. This is probably just me, but I like cake that's mellowed for a few days so that the flavors can blend. It certainly won't go bad in 6 days, but I get that that might not be everybody's cup of tea.

Our posts crossed on their way here, My_Little_Cake_Shop. If it's going to be refrigerated part of the time, I think there will be even less of a problem. The only problem with refrigeration is the condensation problem I mentioned before.

I never refridgerate colored fondant cakes for that same reason condensation that would cause colors to bleed.
The cake will be plain white. I already made the roses and flowers and butterflies. There will be a ribbon on the base of each tier which I will add on wednesday when I asseemble.
So I guess my only fear is the actual cake being weird tasting. I am going for a white cake with plain vanilla buttercream for that reason.
I am hoping for the best! I will post pics on the weekend after
Thanks for your help I really appreciate it!!!!!!!

I hope everything goes exactly like you want it to. Best of luck! Can't wait to see the pics!

ok something else i am freaking over
I just had a thought
do you think the cake will turn to mush waiting for 6 days?
I mean will the buttercream melt into the cake and turn it to pudding? making it look raw? you know what I mean?
I do not use syrup on my cakes. Just the cake and and an all butter buttercream.

That's certainly something I've never had happen, even in the 90+ (that's both tempeature and humidity!) weather we have in Cancún in the summer. The buttercream or ganache I use under my fondant is generally fairly liquefied when I serve it, especially if it's an outdoor venue, but for some reason, the cake doesn't absorb it.

That's certainly something I've never had happen, even in the 90+ (that's both tempeature and humidity!) weather we have in Cancún in the summer. The buttercream or ganache I use under my fondant is generally fairly liquefied when I serve it, especially if it's an outdoor venue, but for some reason, the cake doesn't absorb it.

mine never did that either, but then again i never baked, filled, and covered a cake that far in advance before. that's why im asking

I personally would bake ahead of time, but freeze and fondant and decorate the day before. This is the way I have done it in the past. IMO, 6 days is too long. 6 days is a long time for any cake to absorb all the smells in the fridge. Not to say you have have a smelly fridge, but that is something to consider.


But like the OP said it is all a personal preference. If a cake in my house is not eaten after three days, it is tossed. This is rare, rare that it lasts that long. The only time it did was when I used a cake mix to make a practice cake.

I have a fridge only for cakes it is only used for storing cakes and chocolate etc. nothing else.
I think 6 days is too long too but that is the only way I will be able to do this cake. I told the bride everything so she knows upfront and she seems fine with it.
I hope all goes well!! I am stresses just thinking about it!

If I fondant and THEN freeze, then defrost a day before, since it is all white with no color to bleed. Then decorate. Would that also be a problem?

Hon, please stop stressing Everything will be just fine.
Do NOT fz the cake after applying fondant! If you want to do everything else up to the point of covering w/fondant ahead, then apply the fondant just before leaving on the trip that would be o.k. and keep the cake a bit fresher (as long as it is well wrapped).

I just came across this posted to another thread. You might want to give it some thought as it does go against what I just posted above
The lady who posted it lives in Canada.

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-722032.html
"......I put the fondant decorated cake in a cardboard cake box( or my preference is a large cake/tupperware-type container). Then I cover it in 2 garbage bags, pushing as much air out as possible. I have frozen for 6-8 wks and you would never know it. But I also use WASC and choc WASC as my stand-by cakes, generally, which are very moist cakes. I thaw it on the counter for 3 hours or so and don't touch until it is completely dry (it will be tacky to the touch at first). But I generally use non-perishable fillings. If it's perishable I thaw in the fridge for 24 hours or so. I live in a VERY dry climate, though......"

I fondanted last night, wrapped twice in plastic wrap taking out all the air, then wraped in foil, then placed in cake boxes, then in the freezer. I'm traveling in a few hours so I'm gonna take the boxes from the freezer to the already AC-ed car directly.
I will put them in the fridge when i reach the venue (I was told the freezers are not big enough). I'm gonna take them out on wednesday night and keep them in their boxes on the counter over night. Then im gonna decorate thursday morning.
Does that sound fine?
I hope all goes well!!!!!!

It sounds like a good plan to me. Send pics and tell us how it went!

ugh I am stressing so much it is not even funny!
the cakes made it to the other city in one piece although the sun was directly ON the cakes teh whole way there! haha
I will take pics when I am ready hopefully by tomorrow afternoon

Thanks everyone!

omg!! I cant believe that is finally over! haha
the cake turned out AMAZING!!! Everyone asked about my recipe and were raving about how delicious it was! It didnt taste like it was frozen for 6 days!!! Fondant and all!!!!!! :O it was simply perfect!!
What did happen though is something that wasnt my fault and I will be contacting the caddy wampus people to fix this flaw in their stands (which are perfect by the way)
the only flaw in the stand is that the second tier from the bottom is TOO angled. The cake starts sliding off its board (gravity) and the center post slices through the cake! I made a small wall out of cardboard and taped it to the board to one side to prevent the cake from sliding off. it was fine after that had I not done that, the whole tier would've slid off! they need to fix the angle a bit.
what happened was that i was too enveloped in preventing that tier from sliding off that I unintentionally caused the whole stand to slowly unscrew! I almost had the entire thing fall to the floor! I did loose a few flowers which shattered on the marble floor but i did manage to save the cake! it had a bit too many finger prints but the bride loved it, the guests loved it, and it tasted amazing!!
thansk for your help everyone!

WOW. you really did outdo yourself. the cake is magnificent and you have every right to be proud of your hard work.

No kidding! That cake was fantastic! I see what you mean about the angle of the second tier, but your design is to die for. I'm so glad everybody thought it tasted great, too! It was a privilege to be one of your hand-holders during this process. I'll expect you to do the same for me - that is, if I ever get brave enought to make a cake this edgy! Congrats!!!

Thanks so much for yoru kind words ladies
Of course I will Marianna46! you helped me every step of the way!
first and last time moving a cake from city to city! its too much of a stress inducer as it is not having to move it! what wouldve taken us a 3:30 hour drive took us more than that cuz I was fussing over the AC not working properly, the road bumps, the sharp turns etc! my life savor was freezing the cakes!!!! they were still partly frozen when i got there which was what saved them from the heat and bumps and turns on the way! I will definitely be braver about freezing fondanted cakes from now on (if I ever need to that is) alsways remember to double wrap in plastic wrap and also double foil then box it. i taped teh boxes shut with scotch tape.

Some good advice in case we ever find ourselves in the same position, but, like you, I think I'll try to avoid it. In-town deliveries stress me out enough as it is. But of course, if one gets the call from a dear friend or relative, what can you do but respond?