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Wedding Cake - just not good enough, new lessons learned

post #1 of 31
7/2/10 at 10:17pm
Thread Starter 
I mostly bake cakes as a hobby for friends and family. Occasionally I will do one for money. I'd like to step my cakes up a notch, but not sure where I am going wrong. I made this wedding cake for my nephew for this weekend. I iced the cakes flat and put them in the cold oven to store overnight. I came home from work and opened the oven to take them out, and it felt warm, like someone had used the oven, and put the cakes back in before it was completely cooled. All three kids swore they hadn't used the oven. After thinking about it for a while, I surmised that since I had left the light on in the oven, it generated enough heat to cause some damage. The smaller tier had a big bulge in the side and the frosting was sliding off. The middle tier didn't appear to have any damage, but the frosting was very soft and looked slightly discolored from the heat. I scraped the top tier and re-iced. I left the middle tier as is. I finished the cake up tonight, but it just looks very amateurish to me. Any suggestions (other than to never store cakes in the oven with the light on!)??? icon_cry.gificon_cry.gificon_cry.gif

(I tried several times to attach a photo, to no avial... just another FAIL tonight!. I posted a pic of the cake in my photos)
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post #2 of 31
7/2/10 at 10:23pm
If you're unhappy with the middle tier, is there any way you can re-ice it tonight? If not, do you have a picture of the cake? Maybe someone can suggest what to add to help it out.
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post #3 of 31
7/3/10 at 3:21pm
Is it the "cherry blossom" cake on the floating tiers cake stand in your photos?

Rae
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They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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post #4 of 31
7/3/10 at 4:17pm
Those lights will give off a lot of heat. I found that out when I put a cake in the microwave just to store for a while & had the light under on. (Microwave over the range) It got really warm in there! Good Luck with the cake.
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post #5 of 31
7/4/10 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 
Rae:

Yes it is the cherry blossom cake on the floating tiers cake stand.

Though they were happy with the cake, I would like to do better. I do believe that the time factor is my biggest issue (not enough of it). I work 9-5 M-F, with a two hour commute each day. In the previous week I don't think I got to bed before 2:00 a.m. and at least once at 3 a.m. and then had to get up at 7:00 to go to work. I definitely don't want to do more than one cake a week! I also had done the fondant flowers previous to any cake baking or decorating.

I probably could (and should) have re-iced the middle tier, but since it was different from the other two tiers, I decided to leave it.
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post #6 of 31
7/4/10 at 11:26am
Do you have a gas oven? If so, a pilot ignition could give off a little heat as well. Not sure if would be enough to effect a cake or not... but I wouldn't take the chance icon_smile.gif
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www.monkeytreatsbakery.com
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post #7 of 31
7/4/10 at 11:29am
Thread Starter 
Cindy,

The oven is electric, less than a year old! No pilot light, just the light bulb. I definitely won't keep anything inside that I don't want heated! What does everyone do for storage???

Thanks!
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post #8 of 31
7/4/10 at 11:53am
Sorry you had such a discouraging moment. I've had them many, many times myself. I usually store my cakes in my fridge, just to make sure the kids (and anything else) stays out of them.
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post #9 of 31
7/4/10 at 12:32pm
Never heard of storing an iced cake in the oven that seems like a no no to me, oven light on or off.
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post #10 of 31
7/4/10 at 12:41pm
why did you store it in the cold oven? Do you have pets in the house or something? WHen I was at home, I just left them on the counter or on a table.
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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://debiswritingcollection.blogspot.com/
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post #11 of 31
7/4/10 at 1:16pm
We have several window A/C units in our house and I keep my cakes directly across the room from the a/c unit in the dining room (connected to the kitchen) on top of a china cabinet that is only about shoulder height - makes it easy to lift them on and off the cabinet as I work on them. Don't have to use the refrigerator unless it is a perishable filling/icing in the winter when the heat is running. The dining room (which is also where I store most of my cake decorating supplies) is the coolest room in my house and keeps the cakes cool and undamaged.
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Facebook: Pamela's Cakes & Confections

Pamela's Cakes & Confections is a home based business, inspected and approved by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Food and Drug Protection Division.
Round Wedding Cakes
(1 photos)
Purple
(7 photos)
2011 Awesome! Magical! Sweet! Cake Contest
(4 photos)
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post #12 of 31
7/4/10 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, Indydebi, I do have pets, so I don't dare leave anything within reach, which includes the countertops. Alex looooooooves frosting! Maybe I'll have to think about an extra refrigerator for cakes. I was under the impression that if you refrigerate your cakes, they will dry out, so I was hesitant to store them in the fridge.
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post #13 of 31
7/4/10 at 7:44pm
I refridgerate all my cakes.I would never store them in the oven cause #1..I would forget it is in there and probably turn on the oven and #2...You need to keep them cold to be sturdy .A cold cake is never dry if the right icing is on the outside..It acts as a barrier to hold all the moisture in...I would empty out my house fridge first (I have one in the garage also) before I would let a cake sit out at room temp!
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Busy Bakin Kakes For Kids!!!

Mom to Mitchell 11 yrs and Delaney 9 yrs
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post #14 of 31
7/4/10 at 7:54pm
An un-iced cake will dry out in the fridge, once covered with frosting or fondant I've never had a problem, moist and delicious even a couple days later.
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"A good man can make you feel sexy, strong, and able to take on the world... oh sorry... that's wine... wine does that."

"You are only helpless when your nail polish is wet. Even then, you could pull a trigger if you had to."
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post #15 of 31
7/4/10 at 10:24pm
You can freeze your cakes too. This helps when you work full-time, as I do. If I have a cake due on Friday, I usually make my cakes on Monday and freeze. Icing on Tuesday (into fridge in air-tight container and damp paper towel on top), any fondant work or gumpaste earlier in the week also. Wednesday, cakes out of freezer to defrost and settle. Thursday, pull everything together. Doing a little each evening is a lot less stressful then trying to do everything all at once.
If you are a newbie you might want to check out
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If you are a newbie you might want to check out
my blog!
www.cakenewbies.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/Cabes-Cakes/100000350374357
http://www.flickr.com/photos/httpwwwcabescakescomphotos/
Jackie
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