Cake Disaster- Buy The Sps!!!!
Decorating By subaru Updated 19 Oct 2009 , 11:25pm by confectionaryperfection
OK, this is a story I really want to forget, but the helpful side of me says "if someone can learn from your mistakes, then you should share".( Sometimes I'd like to kick the helpful side of me right in the mouth)lol.
So anyways, I had a 4 tier wedding cake and a 2 tier grooms cake to deliver this week-end. I called the venue to make sure everything was ready. I had planned to put the cake together on site. I spoke to the chef, and he didn't seem happy that I would need a little space to work to roll out fondant to make the ribbons that went around each tier. So, I decised to go ahead and stack the cake. BIG MISTAKE!!! When we got there the cake had fallen over, and the bottom (12) in tier was beyond repair! I was horrified to say the least.
The girl that was there went and got the chef, and he said" oh,honey, we can fix it"!! I looked at him like he was nuts!
Well, he took those tiers, scraped the icing off made new buttercream iced the layers and smoothed them all in about 5 min.( all the while I am standing around with my mouth open, and my eyes bugging out).
He then hands me a piping bag, a tool box full of tips, and says" now, do your thing"! I piped the decorations on the side as best I could with my hands shaking like crazy, and then he stacked them, carried it to the table, and I added the flowers. I will try to add a pic below. I will never add a thick layer of filling, or haul a cake fully assembled again. And also the dowel down the center was NO help at all! The bubble tea straws worked fine, but IF I ever need to do this again, (and I don't think I will), I will buy the SPS like I have read on here so many times. LIVE AND LEARN.
I think it turned out OK, What do you think? Sorry this is so long!
Wow, you ended up with a very helpful chef there. And your cake is gorgeous. If you hadn't said anything had gone wrong, I'd never have believed it.
I remember what someone said one time (may have been Duff, but it someone on one of the challenges). They said that a professional is not someone who doesn't make mistakes, it's how you deal with them when they happen, because they will happen. You dealt with this cake beautifully.
Very nice save! Sometimes you need that outside person to kick you and tell you YOU CAN FIX IT because otherwise we would stand there defeated. Its so overwhelming when it happens to you that it seems unrepairable but Im so glad you pressed on! Good for you 
Beautiful save! It looks awesome! I love SPS.. tried it the 1st time and never looked back!
If you hadn't said anything no one would know. And I think you should send that chef a thank you gift. He was beyond generous and helpful.
The cake is beautiful and I never would have guessed it ever had any issues.
What a lovely generous person that chef was to help you like that!
I think your cake is beautiful. I think it is just perfect. What a nice chef to help u out....
Very nice save. Isn't it nice to have a guardian angel in a chefs coat!LOL!
SPS is the only way to go - go for it and never look back - and you won't have to worry about this again.
On another idea - I had a wedding cake to deliver on a very hot June day about an hour away. So I left the tiers seperated, but I also had a fondant ribbon to attach. So I went ahead and rolled and cut out the ribbon, let it 'set up' a few minutes, dusted it liberally with cornstarch and rolled up the ribbons, wrapped them in plastic wrap, put them in a baggie and then once the cake was assembled on site - I took the ribbons out, dusted/wiped off the excess cornstarch and applied as usual. As long as you keep air from getting to the fondant it won't dry out and stays flexible.
Your cake is really, very pretty.
Suze
I'm sorry to hear of your disaster. I too, would have made a roll of fondant ahead of time and kept in wrapped. I don't like to do any work on site except set up. In and out. I assemble my cakes on site to eliminate the possibility as much as possible of problems during transit. SPS is the way to go. When I leave a venue, I don't question if it may have leaned or tipped before cutting. I know it looked just the way I left it. Thats peace of mind.
Like someone else said earlier,I would send the chef a thank you gift/note.All these oooh aaaah on the awesomeness of the salvaged cake would not have been possible without his generousity .
Yes,cake turned out fine.
OK, just so everyone knows, I didn't post this to give myself any glory, I just posted to try to save anyone else the horror of this happening to them.
I DO give the chef ALL the credit, if it had not been for him, I would have rushing to walmart to find something to work with.I thought the cake was beyond repair. His expertise saved me.
I Have every intention of sending him a thank you card, and as he told me when I left,(thanking him every step of the way, and offering to pay him) the best way to thank him would be to send more brides his way.
glad your cake was saved!
And yes its great that the chef helped you out. I know many that would just watch and let you cry/manic.
And in the end the bride and groom were happy (I assume) and that's the best part. 
jodi
Great save - on both parts (chef and you.)
As I always say, the center dowel is false security. All it's doing is sticking into the bottom board - it is not supporting your cake. And with all due respect, the straws certainly did not work to support the cake properly.
One of the many good things about SPS is that the legs are locked into the plate, rather than a cardboard just sitting on top of a dowel or straw.
SPS - buy it today.
And no, I am not a compensated spokesperson for SPS. I buy mine just like everyone else.
Im glad everything worked out for you.
I know that SPS is a support system but what does SPS actually stand for? What company makes it and where can I buy it. Does anyone know of any tutorials or youtube how to videos using the SPS? I would like to watch a cake being stacked with the SPS.
Single Plate Seperator. In the Forums section here - go under "How Do I" and the 2nd sticky from the top is all about the SPS from Leahs - she explains everything here. I don't know that there is a video showing cakes being stacked with SPS - but once you get them in your hands - Leahs instructions totally make perfect sense! The SPS system is super simple and extremely reliable.
Great save on your part and the chefs! I could've used someone like hiim when I had my "caketastrophe" that led me to get SPS. By the way, I stack on site (still can't shake the horror of the 4 tier cake collapse lol), and I put fondant ribbon on all the time before assembling the cake.
Does everyone put the fondant ribbon on after assembly?? I guess it never occured to me that it needed to be together in order to do it, so I always do it before stacking.
It turned out great! I would have been a total wreck. I haven't had a so called "cake disaster" yet (some may beg to differ LOL) But I have a panic attack before and during every delivery. My husband have to ask each other for forgiveness when the delivery is over. I need to check into the SPS. Does it stay with the customer?
And yes, I add my fondant ribbon after stacking. I would wreck it totally if not! LOL!
I am in a very rural area - and I end up being very friendly with most of my brides. I give them the choice of: 1. Paying for the SPS system which normally runs between $20 and $30 depending on how many tiers and then just throwing the plates and supports away as the cake is being cut/disassembled; or 2. Pay a deposit, save all pieces, CLEAN THEM COMPLETELY, then bring them back to me and you will get your deposit back. I haven't had a bride take me up on #2 yet!
Suze
i hope you send that chef a thank you basket... or make him a small cake ... amazing
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%