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My fondant cake is bulging and collapsed! Help!

post #1 of 12
3/17/10 at 5:09pm
Thread Starter 
I'm having problems stacking my cake. I made a sturdy red velvet cake recipe. I wanted to make the beer bucket cake. I stacked 10" cakes. 5 layers to be exact and each layer 1" tall. I put the fondant on, covering all sides. After 30 mins the fondant began to droop and started this waving effect. I thought i put too much icing so i took it off and put only a thin layer of frosting. I reapplied the fondant. It worked for a bit but began to droop again! I put one dowel in the center. Soon as i put my bottles in, the cake expanded and caused my cake to collapse. I read that I could put cardboard inbetween some of the layers but won't my icing get all over the cake boards? what happens when i cut up to the first top layer of cardboard. When i take it off won't all the icing attach itself to the cardboard? I've stacked cakes b4 but when all my cakes were covered with fondant. I've never put boards inside the actual cake.. Can anyone give me some advice on how to stack a tall cake?
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post #2 of 12
3/17/10 at 5:17pm
To make sure I understand, you stack five layers of cake with no cardboards between? If that's how it was constructed, the cake collapsed under it's own weight.

It's a good idea to put cardboards at least every 4" (two 2" layers of cake). If you use a good crusting icing, the icing won't stick to the cardboards. I've never had a sticking problem in 30 years. Stacking five 2" cakes would be the same as stacking any wedding cake .... 2 layers of cake with dowels in them, then set the next 2-layer cake that is on a cardboard on top of those dowels. Put dowels down in the 2nd 2-layer cake, then place the last single layer of cake that is on a cardboard on top of those dowels.

The dowels will support the upper layers and prevent the collapsing.

Cake Cutting Guide: http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake%20comb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/
www.cateritsimple.blogspot.com
http://thimblefulsofhistory.blogspot.com/

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Cake Cutting Guide: http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake%20comb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/
www.cateritsimple.blogspot.com
http://thimblefulsofhistory.blogspot.com/

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post #3 of 12
3/17/10 at 5:57pm
I don't have too much advice for you but I know that you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the icing before you put the cardboard down to prevent sticking. When you start cutting the cake the cardboard won't take too much icing with it. HTH!
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post #4 of 12
3/17/10 at 11:31pm
Thread Starter 
Indydebi, Thank you sooo much! I always see you on here giving great advice and tips.. thank you for helping me. I do have one last question. When I apply my fondant i find that i can see the cake layers underneath. What am i doing wrong? I make sure my fondant is an 1/8" thick. but i still see it.. I tried thin icing and it shows, i tried thick icing and it seeps at the bottom. Do i need to trim around the edges of my cake b4 I completely ice it? I'm a newbie at this, i just don't get how to get them smooth like everyone elses.
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post #5 of 12
3/18/10 at 12:12am
It might be your pans...I had trouble with my cakes having ridges showing or having crooked sides, and I decided to measure my pans. My 8" pans were 8" at the bottom and 9" at the top...no wonder I couldn't make a nice, straight cake. Once I got rid of those pans and started using better ones, I quit having that issue, except once when I was baking 14" rounds and baked one 10 minutes longer than the other two, and it shrank about 1". In that case I filled and stacked the layers, then just shaved the sides down until they were all even.

The other thing that really helps me is to chill the cake after putting the frosting on and before putting the fondant on. It's easier to work on a cold, firm cake than a warm, wiggly one. The frosting will also stay in place and not squish out at the bottom.
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post #6 of 12
3/18/10 at 12:34am
Try rolling your fondant thicker. And ditto to refrigerating the cake after you ice it, but before you do fondant. You can put it all in the fridge after fondant to firm everything up as well. Also, it could be that your fondant is too soft to begin with?
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post #7 of 12
3/18/10 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 
Well i bought magic line pans.. they bake pretty even.. for some reason when i stack them and ice them, it still shows through my fondant.. I think i'm gonna try the refrigerating method.. Can i ask how long you leave it in the fridge? just til it holds its form? I was always scared cause i thought the fondant would turn to mush when the cold icing came back to room temperature.
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post #8 of 12
3/18/10 at 9:31pm
I've left mine covered in fondant in the fridge overnight, and haven't had a problem when I take it out. Fondant can sweat, especially in a humid environment, so you would want to be careful w/ RI decorations, piping, etc, and put that on the cake after it's out of the fridge. I usually do fondant on fondant. Never left a cake outdoors, but indoors so far so good. I know other people put them in the fridge as well. Are you making your own fondant? I make MMF. I still wonder if your fondant is too soft or too thin when you are putting it on the cake?
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post #9 of 12
3/18/10 at 10:19pm
Ice the cake normally and make sure it is practically smooth enough to say "it's finished" as-is. Then chill that cake rock hard! I posted a pic of the inside of three cakes I did recently to show that you can have a nice thick coating of icing under your fondant. But in my case, I chill before AND after. http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-673052.html
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post #10 of 12
3/18/10 at 10:57pm
Thread Starter 
I use satin ice fondant.. I have used mmf which i did like but for the most part satin ice.. I think i just need to roll out my fondant thicker.. I'm officially gonna refrigerate til its hard.. lol thanx everyone

ceshell- someone sent me the same link to your post.. Great advice. I'm gonna make my next cake and post you the pics if all goes well icon_wink.gif hehehe

Monet1895- Thank you for your advice. i'm definitely gonna try it your way.. I never use royal icing.. every cake i've made was decorated with fondant.. So i'll make sure to refrigerate til hard, put fondant on then refrigerate to keep its shape.. then decorate a few hrs before time to serve. I hope i got that right.
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post #11 of 12
3/18/10 at 11:12pm
You can decorate in fondant and then refrigerate, ya know icon_smile.gif. Unless they are 3D decorations which may lose their shape. 2D deco's can be refrigerated just fine.

If your cake does not have perishable filling nor icing, it doesn't need to stay refrigerated up until nearly serving time. It's just something I noticed since I usually use perishable fillings anyway...and I was amazed at how stable the fondant stayed even hours after the icing was soft. I would guess that if your buttercream is stiff enough anyway, refrigerating after fondanting is an unnecessary step (see above; IndyDebi does not refrigerate her cakes) but I use IMBC so often, I feel it needs that extra fridge-time to firm back up.
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post #12 of 12
3/19/10 at 12:04am
Yes, ditto to everything ceshell said! I use a thicker layer of icing as well...much more than just a crumb coat. Make sure you can't see your cake through your icing, and make sure your icicng is fairly smooth. After I chill w/ just the icing, I let the cake sit for just a few min at room temp so that the fondant will stick.

You can cover your cake w/ fondant, and then go ahead and decorate w/ "standard" fondant decos and then put it in the fridge and things will be fine. That way you can have things done the night before/ ahead of time. Just take your cake out in plenty of time to come back to room temp for serving. If your cake is stacked, the center will stay chilled for quite a while, which is just something to keep in mind.
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