Okay, so this is my first wedding "type" cake that I made for my SIL's in-laws 40th wedding anniversary party. I started 3 days in advance baking the cakes, freezing them, making the royal icing roses, hearts, ect. The bottom two layers are chocolate cake and the top is carrot cake. STUPID ME decides to go with cream cheese frosting for the entire thing...who knew butter and cream cheese would melt in the heat?

To start things off I woke up 2 hours late...yes I slept through my alarm ! I got the cakes together, put on a crumb coat, moved everything out of the fridge to put the cakes in and run to get in the shower. Come back after getting "ready" and start putting on the frosting and it's just melting all over the place. I spend another hour or so putting the frosting on, and taking it off trying to get it smooth. I finally lose patience, get the dowels in and hit the road. I mean, I can always add more swags, cornelli lace, etc to cover up the unsmooth frosting right?

RIGHT! After driving 60 miles to get the church my tiers had "spare tires" where the frosting had started to bulge and it had a bit of a lean to it. I spent the next two hours decorating for 5 minutes, bag in freezer for 5 minutes... I was so irritated when my SIL came in to check on me I was almost in tears, did I mention I have missed the entire first half of the entertainment? She recommended we move it to the fridge and just let it be. While moving it to the fridge the groom fell and broke his head off! She tried her hardest to make me believe it was beautiful and she loved it and it was everything they had wanted it to be... Okay, so now I spend the second half of the entertainment running to the store to get another groom!

Long story short, (too late!) The couple being honored both cried, said they loved it more than the first cake 40 years ago and everyone raved about the flavor of the cakes, and the frosting! So glad to be done. Did I mention I made $45.00 (I blurted out COST before my brain engaged my mouth!) Will I ever do another? HECK YEAH!

Why did I add those big heavy blue hearts?

Forgot to ask! Suggestions for help, or a "better luck next time" would be greatly appreciated! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...I'M BEGGING! GIVE ME TIPS, POINTERS, SUGGESTIONS. I'm ready for it...

It actually is pretty. It is leaning, which I can't account for if everything is doweled and stacked properly, but it really is a pretty cake. The only thing I can offer is don't use cream cheese frosting. I did a wedding cake in it and it was near disaster. Way too soft. I'm sorry this happened to you, but don't give up. I'm sure someone smarter than me can tell you why it leaned....

Yeah I trued to use the cream cheese frosting too, and didnt have good luck. I think it was just a little too soft. I probably wont be doing that again.

YOur cake looks great and the flowers are really pretty. Most importantly the couple loved the look and the flavor of the cake.

Myabe it had too much filling and if it got warm then the filling may have melted unevenly and made it lean? Maybe the cakes weren't level in the first place? Maybe the dowels weren't cut exactly the same size as each other?

The swags look fab. Don't beat yourself up, us cakeys remember the stressful journey and don't take enough time to enjoy the final destination. No-one else knows all the grief, they're just enjoying a fab looking tasty cake!

Oh after looking at your cake again I might have one suggestion if I am seeing your cake correctly..(but keep in mind I AM NO PROFESSIONAL!) You might want a sturdier board (at least a double or maybe even triple thickness) or one of those other sturdier cake boards underneath your base cake. It you were moving it around it could buckle...that would be a total disaster.

To me it looks like the picture may have been taken a little crooked rather than the cake leaning. See the way the frig shelf is visible on one side more than the other? Maybe it wasn't sooo crooked.

Thanks for all the great comments. I will try doing more than one board next time and see if that helps. This was also my first time doing dowels. I may have put them to far in on the cake. Where exactly should they be? closer to the edge of the board?

Okay, here is what I learned so far in my six months. More dowels in each layer all over the cake, place dowels even with the cake top cant have too many dowels, buy a small leveler and level each layer, use plastic separators not cardboard, bring your dam for the filling in closer to the middle of the cake and only fill your filling to the top of your dam then fill with a #4 or similar from the outside when doing your sides and on hot days don't use fluffy filling (i.e. mousse). They have this heat stuff at my cake shop to help with melting, unfortunately I don't have the name of the product to add to your frosting....finally, plan for the unexpected and when it does happen - cry and you will feel better later. We have all been there; just keep on going, each time it gets easier! BTW, your cake is pretty even if it leans.

Edited to add: Nix cheam cheese on hot days totally melt down!

Cream cheese icing can be difficult to work with. I use cream cheese icing most of the time. Depending on what I'm doing I use either straight cream cheese, mixed with butter or crisco or both. For anything that is going to sit out for any length of time, I mix with crisco! What I've also learned is that I always have to make the icing stiffer than I think it needs to be because once I start working with it, it softens up a lot.

For decorating I usually leave out liquid all together. So it's just cream cheese and butter or crisco, flavoring, powdered sugar. If I'm icing the cake I use heavy cream too.

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on your first wedding style type cake.

For this being your first wedding style type cake you really did a great job. I agree with the other people with the cream cheese icing. Summer time is not a good time for real buttercream or cream cheese icing.

As for the tilting of the cake here are a couple of things that may have happened. You may have not let the cake dethaw long enough before icing. Another is not enough dowels to protect the cake. Or as emmascakes said, "maybe it had too much filling and if it got warm then the filling may have melted unevenly and made it lean? Maybe the cakes weren't level in the first place? Maybe the dowels weren't cut exactly the same size as each other? "

That is the joy of decorating. It could be a number of things and that is how you learn....