first of all I am addicted to cc and wish I can spend more time on this site but I am a current student and unfortunatley it is not pastry school I thank everyone that have been willing to help others and sharing there ideas and techniques.
I did a practice cake and I have a few questions pertaining to this cake but also one or two side questions that I am sure I will need to know in the future. Now gettting straight to the point (questions)
How do you place a cake directly on top of the other cake without disturbing the frosting with your fingers (buttercream)? ( hope I am making it clear)
How do I avoid or get rid of the sugar holes-white spots, I get in my MMF? I sift the sugar for the MMF and dusting my work area.
How do you cut the fondant to get the straight/even border, if you were not going to put a boarder on the bottom such as the cake on the home page?
what size circles to put under the cake for stacked cakes? is it the same size as the cake.
I can't seem to find 4" cake pans where can I purchase some?
And my last question that is probably the most important for this cake is how to measure the draping on the second tier? Because it is decending I don't know how I am suppose to measure it so it will be even.

I am getting a digital camera for christmas (before) so I will deffinately post the picture of the final cake December 17 is the BIG DAY
Please I am in desperate need.
Thank You in advance

Welcome to CC - the addiction of choice for all of us!
What a beautiful cake you've chosen for your first wedding cake!

Let me see if I can address all of your questions.

1) I've only stacked fondant covered cakes where disturbing the icing isn't a problem. In photos somewhere I've seen bakers using a super-sized spatula to stack cakes (the spatula looks to be about 10" long, 4-5" wide.) The best suggestion I've seen on here is somebody, can't remember who, that leaves the dowels in the bottom layer sticking up slightly so that when you put the cake on you have a second or 2 to get your fingers out of the way while the dowels settle.

2) Holes in fondant? Not really sure what you mean. Are you talking about bumps from pdr sugar that didn't get completely incorporated? I had that happen a few times, so now I take the fondant out of the bowl when I'm done mixing with a spoon because it seems like the stuff that hasn't been incorporated is in chunks. You can either put it in another clean bowl or just knead in more sugar a little at a time on your kneading surface.

3) Use a pizza cutter to go around the base. It will give you the cleanest line

4) If you don't have a bake shop available, you'll probably have to order the 4" pan online.

5) Wilton makes a thingie that figures your draping for you. It's a hard plastic piece with notches and a flexible plastic piece. You pick the length of the drape stick the flexible piece on the hard one, then press into the cake. You can use this, you'll just have figure out your initial division and then overlap the drapes to get the look you want which isn't a problem on that cake because the draped area is filled in to cover up any markings. The easiest way to divide is to use the cake dividing wheel that Wilton sells. It will save you a lot of time on the calculator puzzling it out.

Good luck!

Hi, Ithought I might be able to ofter some help.
When you put the dowels between the cakes, measure them, take them out, then reposition, leaving about 1-2cm above the cake. Wwhen you put the next teir on top, the weight will sink the dowels into the right position, at the right level. If there are any marks, make sure you have left over frosting to fix it up too- theres nothing worse!

you can uses separators that are the same size, but I use ones that are an inch smaller than the tier, just to be sure that you cant see them.

As for the 4'' pans, I looked for them, its almost impossible. I was annoyed that I couldnt get any bigger than 3''. I guess if you fill the cakes they will be higher, but over here in aust. I never fill wedding cakes! I think it's wierd... just a difference I have noticed. lol.

good luck, and I hope some others will offer some more advice on your questions. By the way...thats a gorgeous cake!!!
mel

I saw a picture somewhere, where they lined the sides of the pan with parchment paper, that is higher then the pan itself, so you can put in more dough. Don't know if it works though

To get a 4 in. if you cant find a cake pan, look for a miniature springform pan. Those are typically 4 in. and I have seen them in many stores around me-even Wally World. I've made cakes in them.

thank you everyone for your help and advice. I think what I'm trying to ask about the measuring the second tier is how do I get the drapes even on both sides. I do have the the measuring tool but I cant figure out how to get the "descending" look even. But i think I just figured it out. OH I was thinking about useing the spring foam pan, so it won't seep through?

thank you so much for the help