Wedding cake

I’m sure it’s fine – once the cake is cut, the guests won’t notice there’s no fondant. If you want the display cake to look more impressive (to please the bride), you can do the bottom tier out of actual cake and the top one a dummie cake. That way she’ll have a two-tier wedding cake, which would look very nice – you never know who could be at the wedding who is impressed by the wedding cake and will call you for business.

Definitely do the sheet cake with buttercream. Since a sheet cake won’t be torted (will it?) you want as much icing as possible. The fondant is mainly for looks anyway and if cost is an issue, definitely save your time on the sheet cake.

Funfetti’s idea about doing a tier out of styrofoam may be a good idea, depending on the budget, but make sure you factor in your time and energy – it still has to be decorated so don’t throw it in for free! I’ve never done one personally but from what I’ve read a dummy costs almost as much as real cake in most cases.

If she wants a large display but there’s no budget for a large cake, how about doing a nice cupcake display with a fondant cutting cake on top? Just a thought!

I agree with Kendra… a Dummy cake is just as much work as an actual cake minus the baking… you still have to put in that time to decorate the cake.. use fondant, etc. etc….

and to answer the question no its not tacky to serve a bc cake when you have a fondant cake for display.. like funfetti said most wont realize anyway…..

The decorating is definitely the time-consuming part. However, if you can create a dummy that looks great and you can use for an upcoming event – like a bridal show or craft fair table – maybe the return-on-time is worth it. Also, you might see if a super-simple, no frills (okay, I’ll say it, PLAIN) fondant cake would work for her. They can be really striking.

Ditto on all of the above!

Styrofoam costs more than the flour and eggs it takes to make a real cake, and it takes the same time and materials to decorate, so I don’t offer any discounts on “fake” cakes. Even if the bride returned the fake tier in good shape (IF), one tier wouldn’t make a great display.

Sure.. makes sheet cakes with butter cream. I completely agree with kendra. It is good to spend time on sheet cake.
Layer Cakes

I have to agree with most of these comments. Fake costs just as much as real cakes so I don’t see how its going to save her money unless you are undercharging for the dummy cake! But to answer the question, I surely do not think it is tacky to have a buttercream sheet cake and a fondant display cake. I doubt the guests would notice there is no fondant like others have said!

I agree with all of you about the dummy cake tier – they are expenisve to purchase and are just as tedious and time consuming to decorate – however, I suggested using it because it would make the cake look bigger – perhaps not as impressive as a 3, 4, or 5 tier cake, but certainly nicer than a 1 tier cake.

Stick to your bride’s budget and make the nicest cake you can – there are many great molds of swags and ribbons that can be added to the cake to make it wedding-like. Post a picture! :))))