getting perfectly straight sides on cake tiers

2 words for ya


BENCH SCRAPER!

I'm not sure how the sides can't be straight if they were straight before you torted them?

Are you re-stacking them in EXACTLY the same position as before they were cut. Look at the cake as a clock. It's now torted. When you re-stack them, do you place the 12 o'clock position of layer 2, back onto layer one with the two 12 o'clock positions lined up with each other? If you're just slapping them back together willy-nilly, they may not line up well with the original cut.

If you're talking about a bulging problem, which can cause the sides of the cake to 'push out', are you using an icing dam to hold the filling in? Are you placing that dam slightly inside the edge of the cake and not on the exact edge of the cake. By placing it slightly inside the edge of the cake, when you assemble all the tiers, you're giving some "squishing" room for the filling/dam to move outward without bulging out over the edge.

Apply enough icing to MAKE the sides level. Don't make the mistake of (a) not using enough icing or (b) icing to the shape of the cake. (Took me years to learn that lesson!)

What kind of pans are you using? Some cake pans have slightly slanted sides so that the pans can be stacked inside each other on the shelf.

Another thought...are you possibly overcooking your cakes? Overcooking can lead to the cake shrinking. When it shrinks, the top & bottom edges shrink more than the center of the side, causing a kind of bowed side.

Exactly!

When scraping off the excess icing, if you get a thin spot, simply add more icing and smooth again.

Wow! It's like you all pin pointed items that I didn't notice were causing me frosting issues! Thanks for your help!
Any suggestions as to how I can avoid all the bubbles in the frosting? I know the more you mess with it, the worse the bubbles get, but how are people able to frost cakes with zero imperfections? Even grocery stores frost cakes perfectly in house and they don't usually have access to big frosting machinery.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Sarah

Are you making a batch that is large enough to cover the paddle completely to the top? If not, you are incorporating air.

The grocery stores are most likely mixing full batches with the beater blades covered, or ordering in premade buckets from wholesalers which is normally perfectly smooth. It helps if you are using icing that's smooth to begin with--not airy at all.

Give me a sterile needle-pin and I'll go bubble popping crazzy!

good info thank you, do they make maching's for that,

You will learn from your mistakes!!  Everyone here has some very good advice and the more experience you have with doing cakes the easier it will get for you. Hang in there because sooner or later you will get it!!!!  I probably made every mistake that could have been made and I am learning especially from all the people on this site!!! They are terrific and I am thankful for their help!!!
 

Cake shows--fuggedaboudit.  They have shown "bakers" sticking their fingers into large batches of icing and licking them...and then going back for more.  They couldn't even dollop their mix onto a plate...

 

Chill your cake layers before slicing.  Then chill your stacked tier until the filling hardens up before trying to crumb coat.  Your layers might be sliding sideways over the filling.  Maybe too much filling, or too soft filling, or kitchen too warm, or some other reason.

 

I don't have to do anything else.

craftsy.com has a free buttercream class and the instructor filled in sooo many holes i was missing in my knowledge on how to do this...the class is in sections so you can easily skip over the first lesson on how to make the buttercream. it was a huge ah ha for me on how to get this very thing to look right!

 

Tiffany

I can ice a square tier perfectly round, and I can take a round cake and make it square. It has nothing to do with how straight your layers are. You ice to the shape of the cake board. That ensures perfectly straight sides. Trimming, leveling...lol. Never.

Www.designmeacake.com. she has s video on how to frost a cake and get it smooth and looking nice