I am have never taken a decorating class for cakes. I do this just for fun for family and friends. My daughters BFF is getting married in May. She is doing sunflower's and it is counrty rustic chic. She has asked for a cake with red velvet in a tier, banana nut bread in a tier, peanut butter cake that I do not have a reicpe for never made one. Then she wants each teir to have different flavors. My problem is she is looking at an all white cake with 4 tiers with sunflowers on top and down the cake. She does not want fondant or MMF on the cake at all. I asked about cupcakes because she could do different icings that way. Not sure she liked that idea. SO please help me.

It sounds like you're going to need to go with a buttercream icing. It's not a problem to do each tier a different flavor. I've done it many times. As far as a peanut butter cake recipe, look on this site, there are many wonderful bakers and I'm sure someone will have one posted or help with that. I personally don't have that recipe or I'd be happy to share. It's one I've never had requested.
I've done the rustic country weddings and if you're not sure about making the sunflowers, you can ask the bride to supply them from her florist or nice looking artificial ones will work. I have also used candy molds for chocolate (brown) horseshoes, hats,etc and put those around the cake and got rave reviews. HTH

Not really sure what your question is, but if you go to craftsy.com they have a free modern buttercream class you can take a look at online and shows you different techniques for buttercream cakes.

HTH.

I hope you don't take offense to this, but doing a wedding cake for a bride (even if she is your daughter's best friend) can be a whole different ball game then cakes for fun for family and friends. Practice is definitely key. If you can practice stacking some smaller cakes, it will go easier on you. I suggest Toba Garrett's Peanut Butter Cake recipe from her book, The Well Decorated Cake. It is a delicious cake. As for Red Velvet, my go to recipe is from Martha Stewart's Wedding Cake book. You can fill the cakes with different fillings (or flavored buttercreams) and then just ice the outside in a vanilla buttercream. That will take care of the look from the outside. Does she want to do real sunflowers or gumpaste?

You can try to make the sunflowers using modeling chocolate, if she doesn't want gumpaste or fondant.

Buttercream cakes are a LOT easier than fondant...even wedding cakes.

Go and buy one of the Wilton Celebrate annual books on ebay, they have a LOT of ideas for cakes like this...as well as lessons and recipes that I learned from. You might spend $15 with shipping.

The idea of different cake flavours is standard now. All of these cakes can be baked ahead and frozen until you start icing. Then you only need enough space in your fridge. But don't even try to do more than one kind of icing, and use that for the filling between the layers too. Tell the bride that if there are too many choices of cake, the guests will start fighting.

Two good icing choices are buttercream, and white chocolate ganache. If the bride is talking about rustic, ask her if the icing on the outside can be rough piped or another texture done with presses or cutters. That way you don't worry about getting a smooth surface.

Buttercream or royal icing sunflowers are a snap. Two circles of yellow leaf shaped petals, and then a heap of brown stars in the middle...with or without funny faces. Make ahead and freeze or dry.

I agree that you will need to make a buttercream covered 3 tier cake. I would suggest a cream cheese buttercream, but I don't think it will be good for the peanut butter tier. Vanilla willl work just fine.

You can make the sunflowers out of modeling chocolate or a gumpaste fondant mix. No need to have to eat the flowers. So if you make them out a fondant/tylose mix it can be done way ahead of time.
Of course you can also buy them depending on how many you need.

There are tons of sunflower wedding cakes on google.
http://myinspiredwedding.com/weekly-wedding-ideas/wedding-cake-mondays-sunflower-wedding-cakes
Pick your look and plan ahead.

Since you never has classes why not use an easy design on the buttercream like cornelli lace. Just practice and practice.

I agree with the previous poster about Toba Garrett's peanutbutter cake--it is delicious. I also recently made FromScratchSF/BeyondButtercream's peanutbutter version of her white cake and that was also delicious. You should be really pleased with either of these peanutbutter cake recipes.

Confused. You say she wants several different flavored cakes (which you can search for on this site) then end it with a confusing statement about different flavored ICINGS for cupcakes. Are you having a problem with cake flavors or icing flavors. All are here on this site.

Thanks for all your help. I have made a few wedding cakes and do know how to make buttercream frosting. You all have a lot of good ideas. I know how to make all the layers but the peanutbutter cake. I will check the recipe you all have told me about sounds great.

The problem is she wants different icing per layer. Cream Cheese would work great for red velvet it is white and would be great. Peanut Butter frosting in white sounds great, just not sure about Banana nut Bread.

To the one that talked about cupcakes. The thought was if she is looking at different color frosting cupcakes maybe her best option, or tiers at different hights. Yes, I have found great ideas for the sunflowers and thanks for your thoughts and ideas as well. Sounds great.

Banana nut bread in white chocolate ganache is super good. Ganache is chocolate melted with cream, it makes this excellent stuff to spread on cakes that isn't buttery.

But I think you should steer this bride--offer her the different fillings, but keep the outside icing one recipe on all tiers.

Or else get her to agree to have the different tiers in different shades from ivory at the top to light brown at the bottom. That would fit with her "rustic" theme and not look mismatched.

So the problem is that you need a peanut butter recipe? Or are you uncomfortable working with buttercream?