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When you make a wedding cake.... - Page 2

post #16 of 21
8/22/12 at 3:44am
Man I wish I could pile on my SMBC as thick as RBI does, it looks so good. I always end up with a thin layer icon_sad.gif Any tips?
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post #17 of 21
8/22/12 at 5:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vgcea

Man I wish I could pile on my SMBC as thick as RBI does, it looks so good. I always end up with a thin layer icon_sad.gif Any tips?



Nearly 3 years into to this, I'm STILL on a learning curve to get smooth icing, horizontally level, 1/4" layers of filling without bulges. I'm slowly learning that it's not "just one thing". In my opinion, it's a hard-won combination of techniques and recipes that have been utilized multiple times. (The old "practice, practice, practice".)

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakesCakes

I do 4 cake layers, 3 filling layers. I bake 2" layers.

I, too, adore my Agbay. It really makes getting a nice level cake so very easy. Worth every penny.

With the way my cakes bake up, I figure that I have about 3" of cake and 1" of filling--it makes me and my clients happy. I also find that with the types of filling that I use, this ratio leaves me virtually no bulges.
Rae



My "educated" guess for the Ron Ben-Israel photo slice, the Celebration Generation cake slice photos and Rae's cake slices:
1. The cake recipe is a tried and true recipe that yields a denser cake that does not dissolve into a crumbling mess.
2. Filling recipes that are tried and true. Knowledge of which fillings soak into the cake, flatten out, maintain their shape, etc. (i.e., raspberry jam, whipped cream, non-whipped ganache, fresh fruit, Pastry Pride with dry pudding mix, sleeve fillings--ALL have very different properties. Some you can slather on really thick, some are slippery, some soak into the cake, etc.)
3. Agbay leveler
4. Measuring the amount of filling--not just slapping it on.
5. Allowing the cake to "settle". (Either time or using a weight on top.)
6. Knowing when to use a dam of icing. Knowing how stiff that dam needs to be for each type of filling.
7. Thin, minimally handled, layers of fondant that won't weigh down the filled/crumbcoated cake.
8. And my biggest surmise for an RBI slice: The photo slices have been chilled, cut with a hot, dry, clean knife, (and staged for photography).

Rae~~what do you think of my guesses above? Anything to add/subtract/change?
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post #18 of 21
8/22/12 at 9:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apti

Quote:
Originally Posted by vgcea

Man I wish I could pile on my SMBC as thick as RBI does, it looks so good. I always end up with a thin layer icon_sad.gif Any tips?



Nearly 3 years into to this, I'm STILL on a learning curve to get smooth icing, horizontally level, 1/4" layers of filling without bulges. I'm slowly learning that it's not "just one thing". In my opinion, it's a hard-won combination of techniques and recipes that have been utilized multiple times. (The old "practice, practice, practice".)

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakesCakes

I do 4 cake layers, 3 filling layers. I bake 2" layers.

I, too, adore my Agbay. It really makes getting a nice level cake so very easy. Worth every penny.

With the way my cakes bake up, I figure that I have about 3" of cake and 1" of filling--it makes me and my clients happy. I also find that with the types of filling that I use, this ratio leaves me virtually no bulges.
Rae



My "educated" guess for the Ron Ben-Israel photo slice, the Celebration Generation cake slice photos and Rae's cake slices:
1. The cake recipe is a tried and true recipe that yields a denser cake that does not dissolve into a crumbling mess.
2. Filling recipes that are tried and true. Knowledge of which fillings soak into the cake, flatten out, maintain their shape, etc. (i.e., raspberry jam, whipped cream, non-whipped ganache, fresh fruit, Pastry Pride with dry pudding mix, sleeve fillings--ALL have very different properties. Some you can slather on really thick, some are slippery, some soak into the cake, etc.)
3. Agbay leveler
4. Measuring the amount of filling--not just slapping it on.
5. Allowing the cake to "settle". (Either time or using a weight on top.)
6. Knowing when to use a dam of icing. Knowing how stiff that dam needs to be for each type of filling.
7. Thin, minimally handled, layers of fondant that won't weigh down the filled/crumbcoated cake.
8. And my biggest surmise for an RBI slice: The photo slices have been chilled, cut with a hot, dry, clean knife, (and staged for photography).

Rae~~what do you think of my guesses above? Anything to add/subtract/change?



No, I think this is right on point. Like with so many things, you have to know your products and those have to be very consistent so that you get consistent results.

Personally, I BC dam EVERY filling because I pipe the dam with the same tip every time as a guide for filling height. I sometimes color the BC dam--or add a bit of the filling to it to make it blend in with the filling better.

I guess the only other thing is that with some fillings & cakes, I'd suspect that RBI assembles them in cake rings or acetate rings and then chills them very well before covering, etc.

And yes, I have NO doubt that the pictures we see of the pro's cakes have been done by food stylists and ...........possibly photoshopped.

Thanks for outlining it so clearly!
RAe
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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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
Reply
post #19 of 21
8/22/12 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakesCakes



With the way my cakes bake up, I figure that I have about 3" of cake and 1" of filling--it makes me and my clients happy. I also find that with the types of filling that I use, this ratio leaves me virtually no bulges.
Rae



Personally, I BC dam EVERY filling because I pipe the dam with the same tip every time as a guide for filling height. I sometimes color the BC dam--or add a bit of the filling to it to make it blend in with the filling better.
Rae

Thanks. I also appreciate the tip about adding color or a bit of the filling to the dam. Such simple ideas seldom occur to me.
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post #20 of 21
8/22/12 at 9:54am
Thread Starter 
While talking about "piping a dam", I have another question...Rae or Christina or whoever can help.

I have switched my BC to IMBC primarily now. So because it is a softer BC can it still be used for a dam? When I took classes or if I watch Sharon Zambito's DVD, I was taught that the dam had to be THICK to do what it is supposed to do....contain the filling. But IMBC isn't that thick...is there a solution to this? I'm a little confused... icon_confused.gif
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post #21 of 21
8/22/12 at 4:38pm
Welllll...............I have never stiffened my dams by adding enough PS to essentially create rolled buttercream (my personal take on the method you're referencing.). I always thought I'd be very unhappy to receive a corner piece of a cake that had that type of dam.......

I use a variation on IMBC and also an AMBC that is softer because it contains a good amount of heavy cream. For the most part, those icings are still stiffer than the fillings that I use, so I do find them very helpful in holding the fillings in place.

Once my crumb coated cake has settled, if there's a bulge of the dam, I can scrape that away and when I finish ice, the bulge is gone.

HTH
Rae
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
Reply
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
Reply
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