I made my first wedding cake and boy have I learned a few things! 1. Never try to fix a cracked bottom tier, just rebake it. I used the WASC recipe for a 16" square bottom tier, both tiers cracked horribly coming out of the pan and I attempted to piece back together, you could see every crack through the fondant., of course I didn't have enough time to rebake 2. Transporting is the most nerve racking thing ever! This was a 4 tier cake so I tiered the bottom 2 and then the top 2 for transport with dowel rods. Well the base cake which was cracked allready completely broke...I looked in the back seat and the whole back of the tier fell off, then my husband went to stop so I could fix it and upon hitting the brakes the whole cake slid into the front seat, denting the top tier and of course as if this couldn't get worse the cake board hit the very top tier that was sitting on the floor! Uggh..I was close to tears as this cake was for a good friend. 3. It's just cake! I managed to get my crumbled mess to the reception hall and thankfully had some time to fix it as best I could, actually surprising myself! I covered the cracks with flowers I made and stacked them heavy on one side to cover the unevenness. Overall, the bride loved the cake and I got rave reviews on the taste. I'm still so frustrated with transportation, it ruins my cake somehow everytime! What is the SPS system that I keep hearing about and does anyone have any ideas that would help me. Thanks! I added a pic of my fractured cake!

Did you have enough support rods in the bottom tier? Its still a nice cake....

I had 16 dowel rods to hold the 12" layer. It was a dense chocolate cake so I thought it would hold. I really think the integrity of the bottom tier was too compromised and possibly a dowel rod slipped when the cake slid into the seat... who knows. Thanks!

It doesn't look as bad as you think. Just so you know, too many dowels is just as bad as not enough dowels. If your cake was cracked in the middle, adding a lot of dowels would shred the middle more, making it weaker. I hope I'm making sense.

thats a shame, but you recovered it nicely........wow 16 rods for the bottom? That does seem way too much...I am no expert, its just my guess

i had the same problem as you I had a cracked cake and I didn't know it...all of the same things happened along with my mom and me almost dropping the cake. I feel your pain. I haven't posted yet because I don't want to face the criticism. it really was a cake disaster and this was just last month.

you sure do learn a lot though!

I'm sorry this happened to you ----

Definitely check into SPS - there is a 'sticky' in the forums under Cake Decorating (I think) posted by Leahs that explains the system and how it works. I have used SPS for almost 2 years and have not had a problem at all with stacking, level tiers and transporting. I am even brave enough to travel with a 3 tier stacked cake in the back seat of my car (I level the seat very well, add a non-skid mat, place the cake in a large rubbermaid container and support the edge that hangs over the seat with a heavy, sturdy box -- one of these months very soon I will have a small SUV or crossover vehicle!). SPS is extremely cheap and even easier to use - forget the dowel rods - go with SPS!

Now for another great tip - quit using your 16" and larger square pans -- the next time you need a 16" square cake bake 4 - 8" square cakes and put them together to make your 16" square (for a 2 layer 16" cake you would bake 8 - 8" layers - 4 on bottom - 4 on top). It makes it much easier to torte, flip and invert the layers. I put buttercream between the 4 cakes to 'glue' them together. I do this for all 16" and larger cakes. I don't have any trouble with the smaller size pans. Plus they fit in your oven easier!!

Good luck with the next one - and you did do a great job of repairing the cake. I really like the constrast of the black tier.

Suze

It might be the larger the cake if its cracked bad.....it will be disaster......I remember reading this some time ago, so when my one cake cracked, I thought, oh noooo...but it was only 12 incher and I didn t have trouble with it after covering with mmf and the other tiers..........but i was worried.......I used four supports in it if that helps.....it still was a really great cake, and stuff will happen.......to the best

you would never know by the picture that this was such a problem for you.
i think your cake looks very nice.
we've all been there, and i know it can be very frustrating. the most important thing is the lessons you learned.
and the good thing - is the bride was happy and everyone enjoyed your cake.

Well on the positive side - you'll never have a FIRST wedding cake ever again! I'm sure you'll be much more confident from mistakes learnt this time. I love the idea of baking smaller cakes and glueing them together, I;m always terrified when I have to flip a large layer over that it will break.

You cut them just as you would a regular 16" tier -- you will hit the buttercream glue holding them together - but I only but maybe a 1/4" of bc between the squares - so it is not that much. It is still a 16" square tier of cake.

I usually trim the side edge of the cake that is going to be 'glued' to another cake - not for any particular reason other than I think it helps keep them together better - the buttercream adheres better to cake than to crust - kwim?

But this way sure makes it a lot easier to torte.

I agree - I wish I could figure out a solution for the round pans too!!

Suze

Thanks to everyone who responded and for the many useful ideas. I will definitely look into a SPS system. I guess I never thought you could have too many dowel rods. Thanks again!

Absolutely use SPS - every cake, every time. Your confidence level will shoot way up! GSA carries it and so does Oasis Supply.

the top 3 tiers look fantastic, they really do, im sorry this happened to you, its such a shame to have had this happened to you, Treat is a learning curve, at least now you know what Not to do, and what to do if your in this similar situation