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the cake collapsed all over the floor... - Page 2

post #16 of 56
10/2/10 at 9:13pm
1. Too few dowels. For a 6", I'd insert 5 (4 in a circle and 1 in the middle), 8" I'd do 7, etc.

2. This is the most important one: do not cut the dowel even to the cake but to the highest point of the cake layer with an extra 1/8" added. Never let the top cake rest on the bottom cake because this can force out the bottom layer.

3. Cut all dowels for each layer to the same size (aka the tallest dowel).

4. I also have been known to double board my cake boards just to give a little extra support--never can be too careful.

Also, I do love SPS. I would definitely look into it for future cakes. thumbs_up.gif
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post #17 of 56
10/2/10 at 9:20pm
Sorry to hear about your story ;o(
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post #18 of 56
10/2/10 at 10:03pm
So sorry to read about your wedding cake collapse... I agree with posters who have said not enough dowels. I use wooden dowels exclusively for support, and was taught to use one dowel for every 2 inches, ie 6 in a 12 inch. 5 in a 10 inch, 4 in an 8 inch and so on. I use a perspex guide to place my dowels at the correct diameter for the next tier up - and place them quite near to the outer edge of the next tier up, equidistantly.

The cake tiers should always sit ON the dowels, not the tier below it.

Good luck for your next one icon_wink.gif
Life's too short to make cake pops.
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Life's too short to make cake pops.
___________________________________
www.sweetperfection.com.au
www.facebook.com/sweetperfectioncakes (come visit sometime!)
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post #19 of 56
10/2/10 at 10:13pm
Oh my god you poor thing, my heart goes out to you. We put a little of ourselves into our cakes and to have one go 'wrong' is devastating.

The purple thing is definitely a WILTON issue, I use a Chefmaster (NZ) black only as it stays true.

I use wooden dowels as we don't have the SPS system here, what you can do for a taller cake is insert the dowel then take it out, poor melted choc into the hole and then re-insert the dowel, it creates a concrete effect.

Keep going, don't let this one defeat you!!
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post #20 of 56
10/2/10 at 10:56pm
pouring melted chocolate in that hole is clever.....how coould you d do this without making a huge mess and weakening the support in this process?
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post #21 of 56
10/3/10 at 12:52am
You just put enough in the hole to fill around half way - then push the dowel in, it does overflow a bit like a volcano but then you just wipe this away or simply stack the next cake on top so the overflow acts as a glue as well. I don't find it weakens the structure at all.
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post #22 of 56
10/3/10 at 6:48am
Quote:
Quote:

It was inside, so I don't think the sun had something to do with the color change


My cake was also inside. It was near a window that has some shade so the evening light was not full on and it still changed the color so look out for that. And yes, the colors I used are wilton
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post #23 of 56
10/3/10 at 8:41am
I am so sorry this happened to you, but don't give up on making wedding cakes! I personally believe it has everything to do with the wooden dowels and the Wilton colors. I am so ANTI wooden dowels. They have to be exactly perpendicular, if not, they will lean. I never use wooden dowels. I always create my own 'sps system' (because SPS is not available in the Netherlands) with Wilton plates, Wilton hidden pillars and Wilton PLASTIC dowel rods. I know it costs (a lot) more, but it buys not only a stable cake but also confidence. Just charge your client 10 to 15 bucks extra. You will never be sorry! We delivered my rainbow roses cake yesterday (last one in my photos), to the beach. It was a very tall cake, 24" in height!, and we had to drive steep roads up and down to a location right on the beach. I was almost wetting my pants but the cake survived perfectly!

And the color, well I am pretty sure that is due to Wilton. I don't use Wilton colors anymore, just not my preferred quality!
Mireille

--------Love life--------

my blog:www.mireille-angelique.blogspot.com
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Mireille

--------Love life--------

my blog:www.mireille-angelique.blogspot.com
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post #24 of 56
10/3/10 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
Wow everyone, I can't say thank you enough for all of the advice and the support.

She wrote me back and thanked me for being professional about the situation, and made the comment that we can't go back and change anything, just move on, so I am soooo thankful that she is at least not ridiculously mad, or cussing me out majorly, although she'd have a right to both.

It's funny, but the sensation is almost a mild one like someone died lol. It's like I'll forget about it for a little bit, and then all the sudden I'll remember and I'll just start feeling awful again. I guess that'll pass eventually. Like I said, this is my first big failure so it's a pretty hard thing to accept.

Thanks so much for the support everyone, it means alot!!!
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post #25 of 56
10/4/10 at 12:20pm
I think a dowel shifted. And with only four, there just wasn't another one in the neighborhood to offer any support. Once a wooden dowel goes off perfectly perpendicular, you're in for trouble, because they're NOT CONNECTED to the plate above. That's part of the beauty of SPS. Legs and plates are connected. They can't go off perpendicular.
Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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post #26 of 56
10/9/10 at 6:01pm
I am so sorry this happened to you. Same thing happened to me this past spring, it was for a big 40th birthday party. I believe a wooden dowel shifted on me and I will never ever use wooden dowels again. I use the Wilton large plastic dowels for large cakes and bubble tea straws sometimes. I need to look into the SPS system also. This made me me not want to make anymore cakes either so I know exactly how you feel. But all you can do is try to figure out what went wrong and keep making cakes. Wooden dowels dont seem to be reliable to me. Good luck and keep on caking!!!!
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post #27 of 56
10/10/10 at 5:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aswartzw

1. Too few dowels. For a 6", I'd insert 5 (4 in a circle and 1 in the middle), 8" I'd do 7, etc.

2. This is the most important one: do not cut the dowel even to the cake but to the highest point of the cake layer with an extra 1/8" added. Never let the top cake rest on the bottom cake because this can force out the bottom layer.




haha, I do exactly the opposite of this, so there's more than one way to skin a cat and stack a cake. I cut the dowels to the lowest point (assuming that the tier is level there shouldn't be much of a difference in the length of the highest and the lowest part. Then I make sure that the upper tier is making good contact with the lower tier. Once it's chilled they won't slide around.

To support a 6" tier I just put in 3 dowels, to support an 8" I'd use 4, for a 10" I'd use 5.
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http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/acaketoremember
http://www.youtube.com/karabuntin
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post #28 of 56
10/10/10 at 5:23pm
I am no expert, but common sense would tell me that if you use too many doowel rods in a cake it is displacing a lot of cake, also going from one level to the next with only one inch difference these extra dowels are going to run into the others and bammo.....disaster........its a shame for everyone involved....and the Bride does not get a do over so thats really sad. Sad all around
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post #29 of 56
10/10/10 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by crystal18_corpus

Hello Cathie first off I would like to tell you sorry this happend to you the fact that you are on here asking for advice tells me you should not even consider giving up on cakes this is a lesson learned and you have tp pick up find a solution and move on with the wooden dowls if the weight is to much they will just fall to the side cakes covered in fondant are very heavy all it takes is for one to give way and they will all follow you should look into sps system it is an internal support system for cakes and it is very cheap and you are guranteed to have stability for all your cake layers i did a 4 tier cake and delivered it stacked 45 min away and it held up great... look into to it you will not regret it .. Crystal icon_smile.gif



What is the sps system? I just use dowls and a cardboard peice under each tier. I've only ever done a few but it worries me sick, reading cake disasters on here that I want to do all I can to ensure this won't happen to me. Am I stacking wrong?
What sort of cakes ARE collapsing? Are they ones with fillings and cream?
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post #30 of 56
10/10/10 at 7:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joshua_Alan

SPS! One of the downsides of dowels is they displace cake. The SPS pillars are hollow and don't displace nearly as much cake as dowels do.



You can also use the bubble tea straws (check Amazon online for them) as they also don't displace cake. Good luck and don't give up!
"Mmmmmmmmm donuts." - Homer Simpson
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"Mmmmmmmmm donuts." - Homer Simpson
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