I stopped getting *most* of my cake bulges when I started refrigerating every cake; every time. No, this won't harm your fondant. I rarely get a bulge these days when my cake has been sitting out of the fridge a while and gets pretty warm. The fridge seems to stiffen everything up before a bulge has a chance.

Saw this article today, and hope it helps:

http://www.cakeboss.com/PreventBulging.aspx

Briliant!

WOW!! I just got done viewing over his site..great topic! I'm going to work on this too!
thank you!

You know that's Cake Boss the software company, not Cake Boss the New Jersey decorator, right?

oh wow..no I didn't know that! I thought it was cake boss the jersey cake decorator..well, is this software worth it or no? Thanks for lettting me know that..

I assumed it was the company not the software. I tried this theory and still got a bulge on my cake today. I'm stumped.

You are talking about the cake not a fondant bubble right? Just wanted to clarify. I will try the refrigeration.

I've found that refrigerating doesn't really have an effect on the bulge, but making sure the cakes are level and there is a STIFF icing dam around the edges always works. I didn't know cake boss company did tutorials though, thanks for sharing the link!

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-633571-newest.html+trick

there ya go.

Yes, I was talking about buttercream and fondant bubbles. I have found that refrigeration prevents both kinds, but I still get the occasional bubble that forms on buttercream after coming back to room temp. I did a wedding-cake yesterday that I did NOT want to bulge. I leveled, filled, and crumbcoated and fridged overnight. Then I carved the sides to be perfectly up-and-down and crumbcoated again. STILL got a buldge on one of the cakes, so I have no idea; but I won't waste my time leveling a buttercream cake again.