u/Virtual_Tea_468

Hi,

I'm doing a lot of research because I want this cake to turn out great (for lack of better words) . I love to bake but I'm used to for myself, family, and close friends... this is my first time making a cake for a large event.

The cake will be a 3-tier buttercream cake with 13", 10", and 8" tiers. Each tier will have 4 layers of cake with buttercream filling between the layers (6in tall), and the entire cake will be finished in buttercream.*undecided

My biggest question is about the buttercream.

I don't own a stand mixer or commercial equipment, so making 10–15+ pounds of homemade buttercream with a handheld mixer sounds like a huge undertaking. I was thinking about buying the large tub of buttercream from Sam's club to save time.

Would you recommend:

🧁Using store-bought buttercream for the outside and making homemade buttercream just for the filling?

🧁Buying unflavored buttercream and adding my own flavorings to make it taste more "homemade"?

🧁Mixing homemade and store-bought buttercream together?

🧁Or should I just make everything from scratch ( i should also mention that i'm trying to save time)

Also, approximately how much buttercream would you recommend for a cake this size? If I buy the large Sam's Club tub, would one be enough, or should I plan on buying more?

**🍪🍪OFC I'll buy more cause more is safer than less. But should i buy 3 tubs, or 4 tubs. It's 32lb for Sam's.

One last thing, does it really matter what buttercream I use to cover the cake? Because I mean, i'm used to regular buttercream, but google says Swiss Meringue Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream is much firm.

Any advice, tips, or critics would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!