AHmm it seems you've all gone to bed and left me :-( Anyway, what is the matter with you? Nanny you are not stupid! Jean you are not a crappy baker! I couldn't believe what I was reading! If I get to be half as good as either of you I'll be a very happy bunny. I hope you both sleep well and feel better in the morning.

Sura cell definition- lmao tiddy!

Jean the eggs are going to be (hopefully) dragons eggs for a game of thrones cake for my son. I've never read the books or watched the programme so I'm a bit worried. Actually I'm a lot worried! I've got a plan a, b and c tho! Plan a) chocolate eggs, covered with sugarpaste in a chest. Plan b) styrofoam eggs, covered inSP, in a chest. Plan c) cheesecake! :-D I've nearly finished my first egg. Just a few scales to put on when the rest of it's dry, can't finish it tonight cos it's standing in a cup so I can't get right underneath. Right I'm off to bed now too. G'nite everyone. :-)

Maisie, Ah you're too nice. I'll feel better once I've figured out what happened with my choc SMBC. I'll be ringing the customer later (I've already texted her last night) but I just want to ring and give my apologies by call rather than just by text (didn't want to ring her at 11pm or whatever time it was) but also to subtly get a bit more info on the state of the cake so I know for sure what she meant by 'buttercream turning into mousse'. Eek

I didn't get into Game of Thrones myself so I've no idea what it's about but I've seen previews. I'm looking forward to seeing your cake!

Nanny, I bet you're up with Sura Cell Bunny! 

ASugar battery operated child :grin: We are trying my daughter with food for the first time, she is peg fed. She will only eat chocolate mousse and petit filous, anything remotely good gets spat right out...... So this weekend we are at the mercy of a sugar battery four year old :-D

Petitcat, I struggle with the meringue buttercream. My poor dad sat and ate his birthday cake, telling me how lovely it was (bless) when it was quite clearly more scrambled egg than Italian mbc.

Nanny I am really looking forward to seeing the cake.

Me I still am on the research stage for my brothers wedding cake, I am going to try the BBC chocolate mud cake tomorrow to see how I get on with it. I think I am going with 10 8 and 6 inch cake.....if that sounds wrong please jump in and let me know! I have been also looking up the stacking? I usually do 2 tier with bubble Tea straws, but they might not hold up 3, so I am still looking for alternatives. Also a quick question!!! Do ye put a wooden poll Dow the centre of your cakes or am I watching Brenda and Mary too much on amazing we'd cakes :)

A'Morning Newstreet, I used the poly dowels to stack my last wedding cake 12", 10", 8" separated by heavy glass vases (in my pics). Obviously it couldn't travel like that but the poly dowels (without a centre dowel took the weight easily.

Previously on straight stacked cakes, I have just used plastic dowels (again no centre dowel) dabs of royal icing over the dowels with a bit extra to "glue" the next tier which should be sitting on a cake card. This has the effect of dispersing the weight across the tier below. RI sets like concrete so your cake should not slide once it dries. The main thing is to check that the cake is level at each point because if it isn't no amount of dowels can prevent gravity. I have a small spirit level (kept only for cake work obviously) which is invaluable.

Where we nearly came unstuck at the last venue was that although the cake was perfectly level, the table the cake was to be displayed on had a dip in it. Luckily DH had had the presence of mind and had included a couple of tiny plastic wedges in our toolbox. Disaster averted! Phew!

Yes and I do think ganache, because it sets more firmly, helps with the stability of the layers of each cake.

Hi Catsmum! What do you do if the cake isn't level? Do you adjust the dowels? 

AGood morning!!!:)

Barbara, sorry to hear about the cakes but glad you sorted it out and looking forward to seeing it.:smile:

Jean, have you tried mixing some ganache to your SMBC? That what I do when I want choc IMBC.

Newstreet, the sizes are perfect. I also prefer to cover the cakes in ganache under SP. And you don't need a centre dowel. Americans always do that specially because they have a long way to drive. I never have used centre dowel and when you stack the cakes, dowel each tier properly and use RI to stick the tiers. And I use plastic dowels, so cannot comment on bubble tea straws.

Bashini, not tried ganache with SMBC- I think I'll definitely give that a go this week. Does it set up like ganache? Or somewhere in between ganache and smbc? 

Morning everyone so much to catch up on and I've only missed one day.I spent yesterday taking my shed down and putting my new one up need to paint it now but it's raining today so the contents of my shed will have to remain in my living room for a while longer.

Nanny both cakes are lovely as always, seriously you need to make a tutorial for the forum showing us how to get cakes as smooth as yours.

Marvel love the moshi monsters cake the colours are great and go really well together.

Love the dino Bashini he is so cute.

Did your holiday Victoria? Re ganache I chop the chocolate into little chunks with a big knife and put in a big bowl, heat double cream in a jug in the microwave  and pour over chocolate. wait a couple of minutes then mix them together until combined, if I end up with any lttle lumps I just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until there gone.I use 2:1 ratio of milk chocolate to double cream but if I want it firmer just use more chocolate.

Maisie your eggs are looking good, I saw on amazing wedding cakes when they wanted to stick two pieces together and get a neat edge they heated a cake tin in the oven then took it out held the chocolate shapes on it for a few seconds and stuck them together.

AMorning guys, looks like I'm not the only one who can't sleep!

Gutted to hear about all the cake problems everyone is having. I'm sure I'll be in the same position as you guys some time this week!

I'm going to try ganache for the first time under SP this week, sorry I can't help you with your questions! I'll leave that to the pros!

When I did a two tier, granted it's not three! But I dowelled the bottom tier and used RI to glue the top tier on and it seemed to be okay!

Got a three tier in September so I will be watching your Q&A quite closely!

I feel like doing a three tier dummy with cake painting and some lace this week. Let's see how the time takes us! I was also wondering about photos. You probably have seen by now that mine are taken from my kitchen and they don't look great. How do you guys do it?

AThanks Petitcat, thanks catsmum, I have the song eat it stuck in my head now....good tune though:). I will definitely try that tip.

Wedges put in tool box :grin: do you put the red straws inside the white for every dowel you use?

I will ganache the outside probably white chocolate ganache so that it doesn't show through the ?

ASorry show through the sugarpaste

Morning all :)

Have a look at this kuuushi http://jessicakesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/my-photo-booth.html

AThanks bashini, are the plastic dowels you use hollow, or thick and solid?

AThanks tiddy! That seems simple enough!

Thinking of getting a ceramic cake stand. Do you think that would hold the weight of three tiers or more?

ooh not sure kuuushi ...only one way to find out 

AHahah! Thanks! :P

Got a white chocolate cake this week. Last time I tried panelling it ended up being a totally planned totally what I was going for mosaic effect ... :D

Any tips?

Thinking about it kuuushi ...I dont see why not! most of the wedding cakes stands these days are plastic!

Not done a white choc one mysely yet so cant help but sounds yum 

AI'm thinking of getting ceramic because I'm a bit of a klutz and being the heffer I am I'll break a plastic one!

I think I'm going to use wax paper, spread with a spatula and when it's set go in with a hot knife to slice into panels. Fingers crossed this will work! How much ganache will cover and fill a 10"?

AMorning everyone. :-)

I was up early to see to my daughter then went back to bed for an hour. That's what constitutes a lie in for me!

Newstreet I read somewhere that you have to give a baby new food 10 - 12 times before they'll accept it. It'll be more for your little girl because she's so much older. And never hungry. When Leah was tube fed she'd only eat nice things. Being a bit hungry is the best way to get them to eat vegetables! About the cake, have you tried Lindy smiths chocolate mud cake? It's delicious and keeps for over a week. I have a few doming problems and they split sometimes but I'm determined to fix those because it's so lovely. Also, with the centre dowel, I've read that it does nothing to stop the cake collapsing. It can still shift from side to side if you brake hard or go round a corner a bit too fast. And they're near impossible to get through a thin cake card. I used one for my two tier chocolate cigarello cake and I wish I hadn't, it was a nightmare. The more we tried to get it through the card, the more we were spoiling it, I had visions of the hole going through the cake getting so big the dowel would be wiggling about in it serving no purpose whatsoever and the hole itself causing the cake to be unstable. If I do another tiered cake I'd just dowel each tier and if I was worried about it travelling I'd stack it on site.

I've never made meringue buttercream but I have mixed ganache with ordinary buttercream and it was absolutely delicious. This is my egg this morning, what do all you GOT fans think? [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3262419/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

AHeard anything yet petite? I'm sorry you've had a problem, it feels crappy doesn't it :-(

I know it's contrary to what you'd assume, but I've found adding chocolate makes my SMBC looser too. I've countered it by adding a bit extra butter and more chocolate, but I mainly do it with ganache as bashini suggested now too, it just seems stiffer.

On the plus side, the taste comments you get on chocolate SMBC are always positive - I've had a lot of the wide eyed 'oh my god, I just want that in a bowl' ones, so it's staying in my flavours!

Kuushi, a ceramic stand will be fine, just check with a fine toothsome that there's no cracks!

What problems were you having with your panels? Did you temper the chocolate first?

AJean, regarding level of the cake, you have to make sure it's level from the time you torte and fill. I also have the spirit level and it is so useful. And when you mix the ganache, make sure it's not hot at all because if it will make the IMBC runny. It is quite firm.

Newstreet, the dowels are solid ones. They are normal size ones but you also can thicker sizes. I use to use wooden dowels but I prefer the plastic ones more now. :-) And no, the ganache won't show through.

ALoving the egg Maisie! Very good! Love the Edwards cup too... I know some dragons that work for them! :P

No lizzy lol. I just melted it over a ban Marie and when it was melted I let it rest until it came to room temp and spread it. Was I doing it wrong?

here you go kuuushi

Egg looks great Maisie!

AYou should always attempt to get your cakes as level as possible prior to the dowelling stage. Can't remember what cakes you are doing but if sponge cakes as against fruit cake, sort out any levelling issues as you ganache by spreading a bit more in places where your cake may "dip". Let the ganache set up (I pop the cake in the fridge for about 15 mins then check with a spirit level. Any "high" points can be sorted with a hot palette knife.

Then when I roll my SP I use spacers where possible but again check covered cake with spirit level. ( I usually sit it on a bit of parchment paper so as not to mark the SP). Any discrepancies in level then is down to uneven SP and I would use smoothers to help if there are. The pros usually say you insert your dowels mark them with a food safe pen then lay them on their side and cut to the height of the highest dowel, but to be honest if you have taken great care with the levelling at the earlier stages there should not be any discrepancy.

Don't worry you will be fine; we all spend nights wondering about the "what ifs". But it is good that you are thinking each stage through.

Any more questions just shout up. Plenty of help on this thread but we might do things in different ways so you have to read the options and decide what will work best for you.

ASuzanne the doodle is on the bakers clan, it's on tiddy's first post in the welcome thread I think. [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3262423/width/200/height/400[/IMG] There you go, I had it saved.