How do you layer and ice cakes to make them look perfect? I've read all the tutorials about doing it, many posts on the forums here and watched many shows on it. And I have tried a few times to do cakes with a layer or two in them, but they never work. BUt I've been reading and doing my research about them so I attemped one for Fathers day..but it was a mess! I don't know what i'm doing wrong!

I know to use a dam for the fillings so they won't bulge. But the sides were just horrible. Not nice and even at all! I tried to line the layers up perfectly but only half of it was lined right the other was all goofy. I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense. I just want to make a stacked cake for this coming Sat. and I can't even do one round layer cake! I need help!!
Any advice would be so appreciated!!-Alison

I find if I refrigerate my cakes they are more sturdy and easier to torte, fill and frost. I also have the Wilton tool that tortes cakes...I don't know it's official name though.

chilling them is a good idea, also you might have to cut the sides to get the layers even.

Are you baking your layers in Wilton cake pans that have straight sides? Some pans flare out at the sides (sort of like a pie pan).

I freeze my layers before trimming them but I rarely find that I have to trim the sides. Usually only the tops. If you find that one side isn't lining up like the other, you can always fill in with icing.

I always use way more icing than I need and then as I'm smoothing the sides, I scrape the excess off my spatula before going back to smooth some more.

The other important thing to do to achieve a nice, evenly smooth layer cake is PRACTICE< PRACTICE>PRACTICE!!!!!!! Practice till you're sick of it and then practice some more!!!

I hope this helps! You're turning to the right place to ask your questions here at CC!!!!!
blessings
elly

My question is about your layers too. When the pans come out of the oven, immediately place a large terry towel on top & press hard all over. This will even out the layers. When you take them out of the pan & they are cool, go down to eye level & look at each layer to see if they are level. You can trim any off & then put them together first to see if the match. When you fill the layers, make sure that the frosting is thicker than when you frost your cakes. After you fill them, then do a crumb coat of the sides & top. It's a thin layer of frosting to seal it in. Let it sit til it's not sticky to the touch. Then frost.

Thanks everyone for your help. I will definitely try to freeze my layers first, and to level them out better. I will have to do the towel trick too. I did make my dam frosting thicker but it still bulged so maybe it wasn't thick enough.
Do you put dowels in your cakes even if your not stacking them to keep them from tilting? Also I did use the wilton pans but they still werent' all lining up...I have no idea. I guess I do just have to keep practicing!! Thanks for your help!

i've never doweled mine if i wasn't stacking or doing tiers and i never had any of mine tilt. but i guess you can if you like.

I think I get better results using magic line pans. They seem to have a sharper edge and go together easier.

heiser73 asked: Do you put dowels in your cakes even if your not stacking them to keep them from tilting?

Since I live in Arkansas, and summers are REALLY hot and humid here, I use drinking straws (usually 3) in my layer cakes to keep the layers from sliding.

Good Luck!

I'm lucky to have an island that's about 14 inches higher than a regular countertop. It's perfect for getting a cake high enough to see if everything lines up. I put it on my turntable and give it a spin, then push a bit if needed, or use icing to fill in any gaps. I've never had to trim the sides or use dowels to keep it together but I guess that must be a problem in hotter climates.

I don't use dowels unless I'm stacking or tiering them. Another thing I do for dams is I use a coupler with no tip on it for my dam for fillings. Works great! After I put my layers together I also press on my cake to help it settle and even it out before I frost the outer layers. You might find this helps with the bulging.

Thanks everyone! I'm definitely ready to try it again. Just one more question...do you let your cake sit after you have layered it and before you frost it so that it "settles"? I've read you should do that but don't konw if its really necessary or not. I let mine sit like 15 min. but it didn't matter..I already screwed it up Thanks again for everyones help! I don't know what I would do without this site

Just wanted to add something about using the towel to level the cakes right out of the over. Some swear by it but it's important to know that it can change the density of your cake. For me, I tried it and didn't care for the results. I prefer to wait until I'm ready to handle my cakes (when they are completely cooled) and use the wilton leveler.

I do like to let my cakes settle for 1/2 hour-1hour after filling.

Interesting. What's the purpose of 'settling' after torting and filling? I don't like the towel thing either as it smooshes the cake. I have used it for cupcakes though, to get them all the same height for a cupcake cake.

The towel trick has worked for me for about 15 years now. I use box mixes & have not found it changes the cake at all. None of my customers think I use boxes even.

I read the post on here earlier about flattening the top of cakes right out of the oven. I had actually never heard of doing that! (I've always leveled it the old fashioned way, not that I'm old fashioned mind you , with a knife. SO......tonight I baked a cake (mix) and tried it. It worked for flattening....we'll see if it changes the density when we eat it tomorrow eve. It's a Pillsbury devils food. Haven't tried this brand but I'm mad at DH for adding dairy so I bought this one. Yes, this one has dairy but then again, they all do now!! AARRRRGGG. My poor son, who has a dairy allergy, can't even enjoy his favorite classic yellow deluxe cake from DH anymore!!! I did write a nice long, tear jerking letter to them and made a phone call begging for their old recipe back again! I'll be sending another letter again soon. I'm going to stay on their backs about it!!!!! There's another post about it here somewhere......
elly

I agree about using the Wilton cake leveler (the bigger one that looks like a saw --- I don't like the smaller one.) Just use the same setting for each layer of cake, and your cakes will all be the same height. I have made 2 cakes the same size that for some reason didn't match up, but I just put one on top of the other and then trimmed the excess. Are you having trouble lining up the cakes when you set one on top of the other? This can be a little tricky until you get more practice. Hang in there!

Sarah

I've tried the towel method as well and did not like it either. Just let it cool for about 10 minutes before you take it out of the pan, trim the top if you need to and then wrap in saran wrap to keep the moisture in. What size tip are you using to make your dam? I use a 1M which is very large and don't put it too close to the edge and my biggest problem is I sometimes overfill with my filling. Try to keep it level with the dam and this will help you with the bulging problem. Best of luck!

When I have let my cakes rest I'm able to see if there is going to be a problem spot. Like if I'm going to spring a leak somewhere. That way I can patch it, let the icing set up and then ice.

I started using that saran wrap trick a few weeks ago and my cakes are getting RAVES! It really does make them moister.