Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share my cake disaster. I have never made a teir cake before, but for my parents 25th wedding anniversay, I decided to go all out for them.
I really had a fun time making it, and for my first one, I thought it turned out really nice. (except I forgot to take a picture with the dove cake top on it!)
Anyway, I went to this site to get advice on how to transport it. It really helped! except for the fact that I do not have a van. Needless to say, I did everything I was suppose to, but I had to put it in a car instead.
Everything went great, (for a while). I was sitting in the back seat, my boyfriend and the cake were in the front. He never went over 40 miles an hour, and we drove 15 miles to get to the hall. Well, we got 4 blocks from the hall, 4 BLOCKS!, and the cake board slipped into the little creavace on the car seat where a persons butt is suppose to go!
Just 1/2 inch, and the whole cake tipped! The layers slid off!
Meanwhile, everyone is waiting at the hall anxious to see the cake.
I just wanted to cry!
I snuck though the back door of the hall, and had to shove the layers back together. I also brought a repair kit with me, (which is something that I learned from this site, thank God!).
I had to spend about 20 minutes trying to repair it, and of course it didn't look near as good as it did before, but at least I had my pastery bag of frosting and extra roses with me.
I posted the " before" picture in the anniversay section of the gallery. Please let me know your honest opinions! I need all the help I can get.
Next time I'm using a van!
mcginnis

Oh wow that is amazing. Could you assemble it at the site next time? That is what I did on a few of my stacked cakes.

Next time put it in the trunk or build up the seat to make it level! I'm so sorry this happened to you!

You made a beautiful cake. Sorry about the transport problem. I agree with Jenn123's advice about building up the seat. That is what I have to do, too!

Awh, your cake turned out beautiful...so sorry to hear what happened in transit!

your cake was beautiful.

I agree either build up the seat or place the cake on the floor. Or in the trunk if its not to hot outside.

Your cake is lovely, sorry to here of the accident, But I never use a van, I have a small Saturn, get a roll of the foam type shelf lining and put that under your cakes on the floor of the trunk. Assemble the tiers once you get to the party site. It takes more time at the site but it saves alot of worry.

I agree with Kaecakes. If the design allows and you can there a little early, then have the layers all ready and dowelled and assemble the cake onsite. Have your pastry bag ready to put a border on the bottom of each tier and you are good to go.

I also do not know what I would do without those woven looking shelf liners. It comes in a roll and is easy to cut. I use it in my car under the cake box to keep it from sliding and under the cake board in the box if the box is a little large. I also use a small piece on my turntable to keep the cake from slipping while I frost and decorate.

C

Im so sorry that happened, I know how you feel! I guess with cake decorating there is a lot of trial and error! Your cake looked awesome, Im glad you were able to salvage it!

Yep, the repair kit is a life saver!!!!! I am sorry you had to go thru this experience....

I have a mini van now but I used to have a Mitsubishi Eclipse which is very small but has comfortable trunk. I put all my cakes in the trunk and never on the passenger sit.

Thumps up, though! The cake is beautiful!

As what I have been told over and over, do not transport a cake already stacked up..put them in separate boxes, then assemble once it gets to it's destination ...Sorry to hear about your desaster, but we all learn from our experience, good or bad . I'm sure you'll have more opportunities (?) to make more cakes..

Beautiful cake. So sorry to hear what happened. Quick question though. Did you remember to put a long dowel rod into the center of the cakes (basically through all three) to anchor the cake. That might have helped so the cake wont slide off the next time. The before was really nice though. Good luck next time.

Your cake looks awesome, I bet that your parents were so proud of you!
Now you can just count the transporting accident as a lesson learned!

Your cake looks great. How do you assemble the tiers on site without damaging them.

Boy, when you learn the hard way... You LEARN. I know the feeling. The Cake was beautiful. I'm sure you patched it up just fine. I'm sure your parents were very proud of the work you did, even more ,knowing what you went through to get it there.

Your cake is pretty, you did a good job. Sorry that you had a disaster at the last minute. I have a tip for you on transporting cakes. Go to Walmart or whatever store is in your area and buy the rubberized shelf liner. It comes in several colors. If you can't find it you can go to the dollar store and buy the place mats also in different colors. Place your cake on top and it will not slip even if you have to make a sudden stop. I like to use two or more pieces so that it will be the size of a large box. Hope this helps.

Yep - definitely use the rubber shelf liners! I have a VW Jetta and swear by those things! I roll up a bath towel or two and place on the seat to make it level, then use the shelf liner. (or use it in the trunk) Heck, I even drove a cake 1 1/2 hrs to the airport, brought the cake on the plane and drove another 1/2 hr at my destination without one slip!!

One trick you can do if you assemble on site, is to cut the dowels to size, but leave the dowels sticking up about 1/2" from the cake so you have room to place the next tier and have time to move your fingers out of the way while it settles.

You did a fantastic job on the cake!!!

Did you post an after picture? I don't see it.

Hi everyone,

To answer the question about putting a dowel in the center of the cakes, yes I did do that. In fact, before I even baked the cake, I went on this web site to get some pointers.
It was squirrley who told me to put the dowel down the center of the cakes. Thanks by the way!
Anyway, I know that it seems easier to put the teirs together once you get to where you are going, but it seems like that would take so much time to do. I don't know.
What I mean is, is that when the teirs are separated by something like pillars, I can see how it would be much easier to assemble at the hall, but when they are not separated by anything, it seems like you would have to do a lot of your cake decorating at the hall, because you would have to piece it together there, run the dowel down the middle, put your borders, roses, and touch ups. Kudos to all of you that can do that! I am beginner, (as you probably can all tell, ha ha), and that would be just too much pressure for me,
I will try next time to build up the car seat, and I will also try to do a practice on to see how fast I can assemble one at the site.
Thanks for everyones compliments and advice!

Sorry about the mishap. I think we all have had similar experiences. It was wise of you to bring a repair kit. It must have really put the pressure on to repair the cake onsite.

Another thing you could do next time besides or along with building up the car seat is to put it in the back seat with you. Since you had your boyfriend driving you could have helped stablize the cake on the journey.

Lazy_Susan

Awww I'm sorry. That must have been upsetting! I accidentally dug into the frosting of one of my cakes... it is devastating!

Your cake is beautiful...sorry about your misshap and am glad that you were able to repair the cake.

I usually put my cakes in the trunk on a piece of padded shelf lining (the kind that feeld thick, like foam). You can get big rolls at WalMart and it's cheap. I still go slow though. I love the "Cake on Board" magnet from this website. I think I'm going to get it for my next big cake transport.

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted an after picture yet. I didn't take one, but my whole family did! they surrounded the cake after I tried to repair it and started snapping away. I will try and get a picture from one of them to post. As cake decoraters, it will be easy to see the difference.