Cause Of Bulging Layers And How To Prevent Them?
Decorating By charleezgal Updated 9 Nov 2009 , 4:04pm by leah_s
What is the reason my cakes bulge where the layers meet? My filly isn't coming through/out, but you can see where the layers meet and my buttercream bulges.
Is it because the layers are assembled incorrectly? Here is how I do it.
1. I put first layer cake pan bottom down on plate. Leveled side is facing up.
2. Second layer I'm placing trimmed side down. So trimmed sides are touching each other.
3. That leaved the bottom of that layer facing up. There is always a large gap or valley between the layers that I just fill with frosting.
I put plenty of frosting on the outside, but you can still see the gap.
Any suggestions? Please help if you can.
I have the same problem on cakes that I ice immediatly after filling... I have found tho that if I let them settle for about 2 hours in the fridge and then ice, it works much better!!!
I used to have the same problem and then I bought sharon zambitos buttercream dvd, and I haven't had a bulge since.
3. That leaved the bottom of that layer facing up. There is always a large gap or valley between the layers that I just fill with frosting.
I put plenty of frosting on the outside, but you can still see the gap.
Any suggestions? Please help if you can.
If you have trimmed the cakes why are you still getting such large gaps or valleys. Law of gravity says if you try and fill them with something squishy, then the weight on top is going to slowly squish down once it has stood for a while.
I would suggest that you torte them a little better so that when they come together you are not left with the large gaps, or you go for the flower nail/bake even strips method, then you shouldn't need to do very much trimming at all. HTH
Here is the best tutorial on bulging (You'll have to cut-n-paste the whole link): http://www.cakeboss.com/PreventBulging.aspx
Thanks Indy for the link. I'm going to go now and look at it.
BTW - A huge thanks to you on your info about the push in pillars last week. I used them and I LOVED them. I will use them all the time. Attatched is the wedding cake that I used them on yesterday.
Also, this is the cake that had the terrible bulging problem. My solution was to move the ribbon, which was supposed to go at the bottom of the cakes to the middle to hide them. It worked, but what if ribbons weren't a part of the cake? Yikes.
Thanks.
If you have trimmed the cakes why are you still getting such large gaps or valleys. Law of gravity says if you try and fill them with something squishy, then the weight on top is going to slowly squish down once it has stood for a while.
I would suggest that you torte them a little better so that when they come together you are not left with the large gaps, or you go for the flower nail/bake even strips method, then you shouldn't need to do very much trimming at all. HTH
You really said this well, Janey. That whole law of gravity thing is key huh.
And welcome to CC JaneyOh.
Plus, Charleez, I love that floaty lighted cake table. Good save on the ribbon thing.
Hey K8 thanks for the welcome, and totally agree with you on that set up Charleez has there for that cake, it does look lovely.
the cake came out nicely! I had the same problem so I am going to try the cake boss method and hope it works for me too
I use ceramic tiles.
Level, torte, fill as normal. Wrap in plastic film. Place one ceramic tile on top of the cake and let sit for about 2 hours. The ceramic tile should be roughly the same size as the cake. All the air between the layers gets gently squished out. The ceramic tile (only use 1 per tier) is the perfect amount of weight.
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