Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi,
I need to make a cake for next weekend but will be short on time so trying to do what I can before then.

The cake is a simple 2 round layered cake (the bottom a dummy cake) with letters spelling out a name and flat paw prints., simple but fiddly with lots of little bits.

Do I pre-cut the decorations for the actual cake, or will I have a hard time sticking them on once they are dry. I am worried that they will crack if they have dried flat and a try to stick them to a curved surface?
Also is it ok to do the dummy earlier and just place the cake layer on once completed?

Thank you in advance

Hi Gembot

The dummy can certainly be iced and made ready. Once the icing is dry, pop it in a cardboard cake box to keep it clean and to prevent it being accidentally damaged. Store the box away from direct source of heat or humidity. Use either royal icing or ganache to stick down the real cake on top of it when ready.
The letters and paw print can be made up a couple of days or a week in advance. Wrap a flat piece of card boad in clingfilm and lay the pieces on it. Place this into a ziplock bag, push out as much air from it as possible. Put the whole thing into a plastic airtight container to seal in the mositure. The pieces should remain
malleable enough to stick down on the cake without cracking.
Letters or ornaments can also be dried on the curve of a cake tin slightly bigger than the one the cake was baked in. The size difference takes into account the thickness of the icing once the cake is coverd.
Cover the outside of the tin first with parchment or waxed paper before placing on the cut outs. Dried oranaments should be stored in a well ventilated cardboard box and not airtight or plastic boxes.

Hope this helps. 🙂