Ok, so this weekend I had to make a 7 tier pink and choc wedding cake. Nothing went right..I should have taken this as a sign. I worked like a dog on this cake and the icing was too crusty, I think it might have been humidity, should I have added more liquid? Anyway, my biggest issue was all the buldging. I tried to put very little filling and made a small dam put inevitably the icing kkept bulding at the sides and it looked horrible. What do you guys do to keep your icing from buldging??? I am so frustrated right now!! Oh, did I mention the entire thing (I had) it together in three sections) toppled over in the car enroute so there was no cake!!!

Please help me eliminate the buldging thanks!!!

I always, always make the dam with a #10 plain tip just inside the top edge, add the filling just to the level of the dam or a little below, add the top layer and then what has solved the bulge problem for me is to take that same tip and pipe a line of icing all the way around the side of the cake where the two layers meet. Smooth the line with an icing spatula, crumb coat, chill and then final coat. I have never had a bulge line since learning this method from another decorator many years ago. The icing for the dam and that piped line do not have to be stiff either, I use IMBC and it is quite light.

Oh I feel so bad for you!! What a nightmare!

Definitly add liquid to your BC if it is not icing smoothly and easily.

As for the bulging - make sure you use dowels so there is not too much weight on the layers and do not bring your dam all the way to the edge of the cake, you can leave almost a 1/2 inch from the edge. Don't have to use too much filling, then when I place the top layer on I give it a push to see how much will come to the sides. Then use whatever comes out as part of the crumb coat.

Don't give up, we all have bad days.

I really need to know about the bulging too, I'm a WMI and I always get this question and I can't answer it. It happens to my fondant as well, I assume that is b/c I don't add enough "glue" and it get's air under there, but the BC I have no idea......

So here's a bump

OH NO!!! You poor thing-I can't believe you had problems and then lost it completely!! I am just sending you sympathy and support this morning!

ShirleyW- thanks for the tip; I will definitely cjange how I make the dam. I was using a coupler w/ no tip on it; perhaps it was too big. I also like the thought of using the #10 to fill in the open spaces.

Well, I have another wedding cake this weekend so hopefully I will have better luck, and hopefully the cake will make it to the recption hall this time.

i'm so sorry you had the problem. i take chopped up cake crumbs and mix with icing and pipe this around the edge for my dam. then i do the middle with regular bc icing. the crumbs seen to hold the top layer up better. i have also used rice krispies in a pinch mixed with icing. my layers are very heavy due to being very moist and dense. i sometimes put a ring in the middle of the layer as well if it is going to be a very heavy cake. hope this helps.

I have been having this bulging problem lately. this is the first weekend in a while that I didn't have any bulges. When I put my cakes together I didn't have the middle icing all the way to the edge I actually left about a 1/2 inch from the edge. But I think the biggest cause of bulges is settling, because it seems like the longer they set the worse it gets. After I put my cakes together I weighted the tops of the cakes down with a cake pan with a box of cake mix in it. I let this settle for about an hour. I have tried everything and this is the first thing that has worked for me.