Very New To Cake Baking---- Red Velvet 2 Tier Wedding Cake Coming Up In March--Help

Decorating By firechickrn08 Updated 9 Apr 2013 , 4:28am by firechickrn08

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Jess155 Posted 29 Jan 2013 , 10:44pm
post #31 of 71

I think the cake is the least of your worries.  Doing the i am baker rose swirl (which is what she said she was doing btw) is the PERFECT first time wedding cake deco.  So easy and it hides a multitude of sins.  ;)   Now the 400 cake pops on the other hand... 

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cakesdivine Posted 29 Jan 2013 , 10:45pm
post #32 of 71

Sorry I am with K8 on this.  Why do beginners always want to bite off more than they can chew?  If you have never done a wedding or large event before, and you are just one person doing it out of your home you could be heading for disaster. I hope you are doing this for ingredient cost only or free because if not don't spend any of the money except on ingredients. You may have to give it all back. Things like cake artistry take talent, and education, and experience to successfully deliver an order this large.  You have no photos of your work so have no idea if you do have talent in cake decoration.  Even seasoned professionals from time to time bite off more than they can chew and 9 times out ot ten will admit they made a mistake in taking on so much or trying a new technique for the first time on a client's cake.  If you really want to take this on you need to have adequate freezer storage with no other foods other than the cake order in it.  Be very methodic in creating your timeline of when things must be done or you will get overwhelmed.  Practice any new techniques several times before attempting to do them on a client's cake.  These are words of caution from someone who has been there, done that, and regretted it.  I now have 28 years of decorating experience under my belt and continue my education as often as I can to learn new techniques that are being developed.  I wish you much luck on this endeavor, you will need it icon_smile.gif

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-K8memphis Posted 29 Jan 2013 , 10:50pm
post #33 of 71

she's planning a two tier cake and about 1.000 balls, bites & rolls if i counted correctly

 

it's a lot of work but certainly doable

 

and as i should have said earlier she's asking for a recipe not instructions on a two foot tall extreme cake sculpture as some of us do

 

and her bride is willing--why not do it

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-K8memphis Posted 29 Jan 2013 , 11:05pm
post #34 of 71

thee most crucial issue here, the saddest by far is that i've never heard of nor will i get to eat one of those cinnamon rolls on a stick

 

i am a serious cinnamonaholic and that'a brilliant idea

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Sparklekat6 Posted 29 Jan 2013 , 11:23pm
post #35 of 71

@FireChick, can I ask why you are making a cake at all?  Seriously....if she just want's something red-velvet flavored then make half the cake pops red velvet and just make the cake out of cake dummies.  Then you can make it all now out of fondant and store it in a dark dry space until the day of the wedding.  Or better yet, just make the top tier real cake so she can do the photo thing and then save  the drama on the bottom. 

 

I think a lot of us jump to the conclusion that it can't or just shouldn't be done when we can't see the portfolio of someone's work, but honestly if you are willing to bake all those mini desserts I think you can probably pull it off.  It's just a question of whether or not you should. 

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kikiandkyle Posted 30 Jan 2013 , 4:03am
post #36 of 71

AI have a red velvet recipe that I recently used to make 2 6" inch round and 2 4" inch round cakes that were each 4 inches tall, I cut each into 2 layers and used 3 of each size to make a two tier stacked cake for my daughter. My cream cheese frosting recipe covered the entire cake and filled it, with leftovers. I'll PM both to you.

Personally I think you can probably manage the cake, it's only two tiers and that rose swirl is one of those gems that looks like it was way more work than it is. And like you said she doesn't want the cake to feed all 200.

It's the other stuff that would worry me, the cake pops alone would scare me, I often make them with leftover scraps of cake and it can take me an hour just to roll and cover 20!

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BakingIrene Posted 30 Jan 2013 , 2:34pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by firechickrn08 

To those of you who have given advice, thought, tips and recipes I am truly grateful!!! Yes this is a legit post... To those who have nothing but doubts... Yes this is a big order but its not impossible... No Ive never done it before but will conquer it in march... That's why I am asking for tips

You can do this if you have a deep freezer or a completely dedicated full sized fridge with freezer. Plus lots of airtight plastic tubs.

 

You need to think like an assembly line.  You CAN make 30 dozen danish pastries by hand in one day if you made the dough the day before.  Danish type dough is good for cinnamon rolls because the dough must sit in the fridge while you are shaping a portion.

 

I see that many responses haven't even read that your bride WANTS a cake mix cake.  You could bake those layers and completely ice with buttercream this weekend and put those cakes into the freezer. Wrap well after they have frozen solid. Thaw in the fridge the night before the wedding.  Add borders after you get them to the site.

 

Proceed with the other baked goods on a similar schedule.  Figure out how many items you have to make each week, and proceed by baking the cake Monday evening and doing the rest on succesive evenings. For the cake pops, you use a small ice-cream-type scoop to make them uniform and to save half the work of rolling.  You might want to plan to dip them into melted white coating and then roll into grated white coating. That way any bumps don't affect the end result.  Add the sticks after thawing.

 

For brownies and other bars, bake them in foil pans and keep them in those pans.Once iced and frozen, the pans can be stacked to take up less room. Keep them in double zipping freezer weight bags. Do not cut until you get to the site. 

 

Buttercream flowers can be made NOW and frozen in airtight plastic tubs.  Use 1 cup shortening, 1 pound icing sugar. Add 1/2 teaspoon almond flavour (no white fake vanilla, thanks). Add white corn syrup to make the right consistency for the type of flowers you need to make.

 

And that brings me to the last area: get your serving ware organized NOW, and see if you can get some help on the day of the wedding to put everything together nicely.  It looks to me like a full day of setting-up work. Remember that you will be putting all the goodies into paper cups on that day.

 

OK so after this is all over, you want to take a week off from baking to recover.  Then look carefully at what items you would make for a customer again, and which ones were not worth the fuss.  This will be extremely useful information for your future business.    

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firechickrn08 Posted 30 Jan 2013 , 5:59pm
post #38 of 71

ABakingirene.... I think we are on the same page here.... I had already planned to make and freeze Rvc balls weeks in advance and the brownies about a week in advance as well.... Along with the cake layers... Was unsure if I could freeze them with the smooth layer of icing... Now I know and that will be very helpful... And perfect idea for rolling the balls in grated chocolate!!! I will have a full fridge/ freezer dedicated to this and of course will have other hands helping!! Thank you so much!!!

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BakingIrene Posted 30 Jan 2013 , 6:24pm
post #39 of 71

So this order is your perfect chance to buy heavy duty tools. Like a solid maple rolling pin with ball bearings.  Like a good chefs knife or three.  Like some cookie sheets to carry stuff and to use as trays in the fridge/freezer.

 

In fact I would buy the 6" and 10" cake pans and not fuss about confirming with your bride.  I don't know where you live, but you might check for good brands that are not as familiar.  There is a local factory here in ON called "Crown Cookware" that makes better quality than Magic Line, and there is a discount place that sells at half the price.  PM me if you need them. 

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-K8memphis Posted 30 Jan 2013 , 6:38pm
post #40 of 71

speaking of the distinct and breathless joy of buying cake toys etc.

 

disclaimers~~some people feel they got ripped off and i don't have one

 

but

 

there are cake ball rollers for sale out there

 

you gotta get the consistency just right for it to work

 

just tossing that out there--i think it rolls many like 9-12 at a time??

 

i almost think small ice cream scoops might work better

 

or roll a long snake in waxed paper like sushi and cut off sections

 

but i don't make cake balls so don't mind me--just ad libbing

 

icon_biggrin.gif

 

 

btw--how do the cinnamon rolls stick to the stick?

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firechickrn08 Posted 31 Jan 2013 , 3:20pm
post #41 of 71

A

Original message sent by -K8memphis

speaking of the distinct and breathless joy of buying cake toys etc.

disclaimers~~some people feel they got ripped off and i don't have one

but

there are cake ball rollers for sale out there

you gotta get the consistency [I]just right[/I] for it to work

just tossing that out there--i think it rolls many like 9-12 at a time??

i almost think small ice cream scoops might work better

or roll a long snake in waxed paper like sushi and cut off sections

but i don't make cake balls so don't mind me--just ad libbing

:D

btw--how do the cinnamon rolls stick to the stick?

I have been looking at the cake ball roller... Still uncertain about it!!! As soon as the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven stick the stick in and the brown sugar should harden around the stick and make it stay!!

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BakingIrene Posted 31 Jan 2013 , 3:34pm
post #42 of 71

I watched the videos for that cake ball roller.  I noticed that the consistency of the dough is very dense and your cake ball mixture might not be the same.  So I would invest in small scoops that have the self ejecting feature, but hold off on this cake roller device.  You may not want to offer cake balls again.     

 

Cinnamon rolls--I have baked and frozen more of these than I can count.  I would advise you to use a fairly rich dough, because you are planning to freeze smaller rolls than normal (right?). Mix a good strong cinnamon/sugar filling with a teaspoon of flour per cup of sugar.  I would advise you to  NOT brush the sheet of dough with any fat for small rolls that are to be served on sticks, to help the layers of dough to stick together.  You can freeze these in bags, and put the sticks in at the last minute for serving.

 

Anyway, I hope that you are feeling enthusiastic about this whole project.  It sounds like great fun when you have hands to help.

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-K8memphis Posted 31 Jan 2013 , 3:35pm
post #43 of 71

yeah--that roller would be awesome if you hit the right consistency

 

i mean no reason why you couldn't get it right if you are flexible with your formula

 

and willing and have the time to try a range of consistencies/formulas

 

i'm sure you've seen the other threads on here about that

 

and again--i do not have one

 

just chatting

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firechickrn08 Posted 31 Jan 2013 , 5:55pm
post #44 of 71

AYeah I noticed the consistency of the dough and it didn't look appetizing!!! I think I'll stick with my cookie scoop!! So with the cinnamon rolls... Bake them then freeze them... But do not put any butter on them?? How long should they thaw? Do they fast just as fresh?

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BakingIrene Posted 31 Jan 2013 , 6:41pm
post #45 of 71

Cinnamon rolls--let them rise only a half hour on the pan, bake them just done. 

Freeze as soon as they are cool, they thaw in an hour at room temp and they taste exactly like fresh.

 

If you have the option, you can gently reheat them onsite.  If you plan to do this, wrap them into foil after they have cooled, before they go into freezer bags.  Then you can reheat a bag at a time in a 300F oven (not microwave, it dries them out) and serve them warmed up.  People will swear they were baked that day.

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NuhakaNan Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 8:08am
post #46 of 71

I hope you take no notice of the nay-sayers, and just follow the good advice that some people are sending you.  I made both my daughters' wedding cakes as a novice.  Lots of practice cakes and decorating helped me, plus a good book from the library.  These days you can get it all on youtube. The first cake was a traditional fruitcake, four tiers high, with almond paste and  "plastic" icing.  3 artistic children aged 10,12 & 14 plus myself, made the hand-shaped icing roses of various sizes.  The secondcakewasmoreambitious - German Chocolate Cake layers in the shape of a decorated hat. I think it haad 6 layers.The coconut topping was between each layer and "plastic" (can't remember the correct name) icing covered everything. Then tulle and flowers for the final decoration.It was beautiful.  No dummy run for that cake,though.

So, go for it!

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Evoir Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 9:10am
post #47 of 71

AOkay, so enquiring minds need to know - how's the prep going?

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firechickrn08 Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 4:37pm
post #48 of 71

A

Original message sent by Evoir

Okay, so enquiring minds need to know - how's the prep going?

It's going pretty good... I've got all my cake pops done and chilling in the freezer... I have done several runs of the cake and design and it has gone very well... Starting Tuesday I'm going to get busy on my brownies and cinnamon rolls... Everything has seemed to go well so far!! So I am excited! Starting to get a little nervous but I have faith that it will all work out!!

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Roseyrod Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 5:12pm
post #49 of 71

That is definitly an 8 and a 12.  Baker is from my son-in laws hometown in Long Island NY. I would say each tier is 5" tall.

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk

1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
  • Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.
  • Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.
  • Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.
  • Pour into cake pans and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
  • Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. I also cover in plastic wrap while the cakes cool.
  • Then make the frosting.

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Roseyrod Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 5:26pm
post #50 of 71

If you believe in yourself then you can do it!!! I say that from experience!  I had never done more than a 2 tier cake and I was asked to do a 5 tier wedding cake. Was I scared, heck yeah but I knew that I could do it. I even made the gumpaste flowers to go with it. The photographer that took pictures of the cake (and she is well known) had nothing but compliments and posted it on FB. Did I go over tutorials on how to stack a cake, yes I did. I bought some DVD's from Sharon Zambito as well as Edna De La Cruz.  For preparation I baked the layers and froze them and made my flowers ahead of time.  You can do it!

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firechickrn08 Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 6:00pm
post #51 of 71

A

Original message sent by Roseyrod

If you believe in yourself then you can do it!!! I say that from experience!  I had never done more than a 2 tier cake and I was asked to do a 5 tier wedding cake. Was I scared, heck yeah but I knew that I could do it. I even made the gumpaste flowers to go with it. The photographer that took pictures of the cake (and she is well known) had nothing but compliments and posted it on FB. Did I go over tutorials on how to stack a cake, yes I did. I bought some DVD's from Sharon Zambito as well as Edna De La Cruz.  For preparation I baked the layers and froze them and made my flowers ahead of time.  You can do it!

Thank you so much!!! And congrats on your success!!!!

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LisaKinVA Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 8:02pm
post #52 of 71

I just helped do a 3-tier cake (my first).  12", 8" and 6" -- just make sure you give your tiers time to settle (a few hours at least), before you finish frosting them (fill & crumb coat...let sit).  And, that they are level.  That will help avoid bulge. Best wishes!

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firechickrn08 Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 8:45pm
post #53 of 71

A

Original message sent by LisaKinVA

I just helped do a 3-tier cake (my first).  12", 8" and 6" -- just make sure you give your tiers time to settle (a few hours at least), before you finish frosting them (fill & crumb coat...let sit).  And, that they are level.  That will help avoid bulge. Best wishes!

Thanks so much!!

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mccantsbakes Posted 2 Mar 2013 , 11:58pm
post #54 of 71

Good for you!   I am in awe of your bravery in taking such an ambitious project!  You gotta start somewhere right? 

Every decorator starts somewhere!  

 

I will be honest, when I read your original post, I thought of all of the potential hardships of this project.    But as I thought more I questioned my own skill.   I have been a hobby baker for 3 years and don't have the hutzpah to take on what you are doing.  So for that alone, I have mad respect for you!  I just turned down my first wedding cake because I am too afraid to fail.    (Also a red velvet) 

 

Best wishes to you in this endeavor.   Show us scared bakers how to just take the plunge!

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firechickrn08 Posted 3 Mar 2013 , 7:03pm
post #55 of 71

A

Original message sent by mccantsbakes

Good for you!   I am in awe of your bravery in taking such an ambitious project!  You gotta start somewhere right?  Every decorator starts somewhere!  

I will be honest, when I read your original post, I thought of all of the potential hardships of this project.    But as I thought more I questioned my own skill.   I have been a hobby baker for 3 years and don't have the hutzpah to take on what you are doing.  So for that alone, I have mad respect for you!  I just turned down my first wedding cake because I am too afraid to fail.    (Also a red velvet) 

Best wishes to you in this endeavor.   Show us scared bakers how to just take the plunge!

Thank you very much!!! I'm a fighter and some of the responses I got, I won't lie intimidated me for a moment but then gave me all the more motivation to continue on!! I'm sure if you've been at this for 3 years now you will do great!!! So don't turn down the next offer!!! You will do great!!!

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NuhakaNan Posted 4 Mar 2013 , 5:45pm
post #56 of 71

Every expert was once a beginner.   Cake baking and decorating is like learning to play a musical instrument - PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

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firechickrn08 Posted 4 Mar 2013 , 6:48pm
post #57 of 71

A

Original message sent by NuhakaNan

Every expert was once a beginner.   Cake baking and decorating is like learning to play a musical instrument - PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

So true!

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firechickrn08 Posted 14 Mar 2013 , 3:57am
post #58 of 71

AFor those who are curious... The wedding went amazing and everything turned out wonderful!!!! Thank God!!! The bride and groom were ecstatic and so were all of the guest!!! I couldn't have been more pleased!!! I say a great first challenge! And boy was it a challenge ;-) I truly am so grateful for everyone's opinions and advice and most of all the encouragement!!!! I have more weddings planned since this past weekend so I ought to be back with more questions!!! Again thank you so much to everyone who responded to all my questions! :-)

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GF Mommy Posted 14 Mar 2013 , 4:57am
post #59 of 71

AYou can do this. I have always loved baking. Only recently toke the Wilton cake classes. 5 yrs ago I offered to make a friend daughters wedding cake as the family has several allergies, making it hard and expensive to order a cake. She gave me her tried and true family safe carrot cake recipe. Plus her soy cream cheese recipe ( I have to say ewwwwwwww! For me ). The cake was three tired 6, 8, and 10 if I remember correctly. The ladies at the cake supply store where extremely helpfull and knowledgable. I bought premade red royal icing roses to cascade down the cake. Everyone loved it. The effort, the care and the look where greatly appreciated. I had fun and learned a lot.

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firechickrn08 Posted 14 Mar 2013 , 5:51am
post #60 of 71

A

Original message sent by GF Mommy

You can do this. I have always loved baking. Only recently toke the Wilton cake classes. 5 yrs ago I offered to make a friend daughters wedding cake as the family has several allergies, making it hard and expensive to order a cake. She gave me her tried and true family safe carrot cake recipe. Plus her soy cream cheese recipe ( I have to say ewwwwwwww! For me ). The cake was three tired 6, 8, and 10 if I remember correctly. The ladies at the cake supply store where extremely helpfull and knowledgable. I bought premade red royal icing roses to cascade down the cake. Everyone loved it. The effort, the care and the look where greatly appreciated. I had fun and learned a lot.

Thank you!! I am so glad everything turned out for your friends wedding!!! I've started the wilton classes too so hopefully they will help a bunch!!

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