I just have to share this! I finally tried cake spackle from Toba Garrett's book The Well-decorated Cake (http://www.tobagarrett.com/meet.html) and wow! It turned my hideous Wilton pan 6" rounds into a thing of beauty!
I'm not sure what's up with my 6" rounds. I'm using the Wilton 6"x2" pans. Here they are leveled and layered.
See? The sides are awful looking ... and part of it stuck to the pan 
They're so small, it's hard to get a for me to get a clean level.
Add spackle...
BAM! Nice, clean edge cake to start icing.
I hadn't finished the top with the pic was taken, but here:
I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. Anyone have any bad experiences with cake spackle? If you don't know what that is, I think google-books allows you to preview that section in her book. So far, my first spackled cake is holding up well.
That's pretty cool. I've never heard of the cake spackle thing. Am I right to assume that it's just cake crumbs mixed with icing? 
Awesome!! I needed that for my most recent cake!
I love it! Since learning the technique, the only times I haven't spackled was when I was covering with firm ganache.
here's the google book preview:
http://books.google.com/books?id=f9Kq4ajgGogC&printsec=frontcover&dq=toba+the+well+decorated+cake&ei=Fn1US7zQF4WyNqeK
wM&cd=1
i was wrong though, it doesnt show the spackle part. i do highly recommend getting the book though!
Have her book, but haven't needed to use spackle yet...will certainly try it now!
Evoir, you don't have to "need" it to use it. I use it on most cakes. While it does work to fill in defects, it's also good just as a crumb coat, just to make a VERY stable base for your final frosting or fondant.
I sometimes will also use it, as Toba suggests, as a filling for the middle of a torted caked. In other words, if you have two cakes that you are torting into four layers for a tier, this gives you three places for filling. I use spackle for the middle one and regular filling for the other two.
And the recipe is a non-specific mix of cake trimmings, buttercream and filling. I usually use a ratio of 2-2-1 parts of each. But it really depends on the consistency of each and whether your filling is jam or mousse, etc. What you're aiming for is a thick paste. So I usually start with equal parts of cake and frosting, then add filling until it's spreadable, but still thick.
I have her professional cake decorating book and found spackle quite interesting but I don't have that many cake scraps. So I have yet to try it...but looking forward to.
does this eliminate the actual need to crumb coat? Do you find it makes the cake more stable as well, bulging etc? I have always trashed my cake scraps and now I'm thinking this would be a good use for them to fill in the oustide of my dams.
Looking forward to trying it.
Also, anyone do this that also uses ganache under fondant. I'm going to try the ganache under fondant this week and just curious if I need to spackle as well or if the ganache will take care of it.
I'd still suggest a crumb coat. As you can see in the pics, I did the spackling with a red velvet cake. I skipped the crumb coat and paid the price by having specks and streaks of red in my final product!
edit: on second thought, maybe i was just being sloppy or my workspace was crumby ... well, a crumb coat couldn't hurt
Can someone tell me about the mouth-feel. Does it feel like you're eating mushy, wet cake...or does it just feel like icing?
I've heard of using it as a dam, but never as filling, like artscallion does...that's great!
Feels just like icing. People have wondered if it had nuts.
does this eliminate the actual need to crumb coat? Do you find it makes the cake more stable as well, bulging etc? I have always trashed my cake scraps and now I'm thinking this would be a good use for them to fill in the oustide of my dams.
Looking forward to trying it.
Also, anyone do this that also uses ganache under fondant. I'm going to try the ganache under fondant this week and just curious if I need to spackle as well or if the ganache will take care of it.
Use ganache almost all the time under fondant. No, you will not need spackle if you are using ganache like a peanut-butter consistency putty. It allows you to get a perfectly smooth surface under your fondant. Ensure you let the ganache set and dry before applying fondant.
If you are going to POUR ganache (in which case you probably aren't going to put fondant over it) then you do need a smooth cake to start with, as ganache poured on goes on evenly - that means INTO craters and gaps, leaving a divot.
Hope this makes sense!
Thanks for posting! I'm gonna have to try that technique. I think I am going to invest in her book
It's probably my favorite cake book. Full of good advice, recipes, lot's of technique, mostly classical stuff like string work, pastillage, gumpaste flowers & figures. Much better than all the other books that feature lots of splashy pictures of topsy turvy cakes with minimal instruction on how to actually accomplish anything.
And Kitchenkat is right about the mouth feel. I tried it as a filling because Toba recommends it, saying people often mistake it for some kind of nut filling.
And I do use it as a crumb coat. I never get crumbs or color bleeding into my finish layer of buttercream. But red velvet isn't on my menu, so...
The reason I asked is I use a cake release that I got off here. 1 cup flour, 1 cup veggie oil, 1 cup shortening. Whisk flour and oil together then incorporate the shortening. I usually have to zap it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it to come together. The best thing since sliced bread!!! I would love to thank who ever originally posted it. My cakes JUMP out of the pan practically! HTH!
EVOIR - what is your recipe for the peanut butter consistency ganache that you use as a crumb coat? Everytime i try to ganache, it hardens up with big old lumps before I get smooth it and it just makes things worse!
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