So I'm a complete newbie baker and with a little encouragement from a friend who is a talented hobby baker, I decided to take on a topsy turvy as my FIRST cake (yes, I'm ambitious). Mind you, while I've always loved the idea of baking beautiful and delicious cakes, I've never had the gumption to actually try it until now.

So after a few bumps along the way, I've managed to actually bake cakes that taste decent, make BC and MMF, and actually carve one layer of one tier. I know that doesn't sound like much, but for me? It was a huge deal. I can't believe it actually worked. I tried to add a photo of it but I can't seem to figure out how to do so. I'll update this later if I can figure out the photo thing.

Now if I can just get the rest of the cake to come out as well as this first carved layer...

ETA: Okay, figured out the photo thang. Here's the picture of the carved layer.

That's great! My first fondant cake was a topsy turvy (2nd time making one) Glad you got the guts to try it out. I bet you will want to try out many others. Have fun and keep going.

Thanks much; I'm shocked that this didn't turn out to be a disaster (yet).

So sorry for the large photo size there.

Whew! Here's the first tier of the cake, fully carved and dirty iced. Only a couple more to go, LOL.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2257418880264.2137096.1392131000&l=864c2d4944&type=1

Fantastic! Keep up the good work! It will come together.

You are sweet, giving credit to your friend. Also pat yourself on the back while your at it. you deserve it!

Here's the final product. While it wasn't exactly as I hoped (this killer heatwave and an outdoor venue didn't help), I'm actually pretty pleased, given that this is my first cake...ever. I know I made a bunch of newbie mistakes but hey - I started with a difficult cake. The next ones should be a snap, no?

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2107950

You did good for a first timer

For your first time you should def be proud. It will get easier every time you do it!