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My first three tier cake.. whole loads of questions and advise.. please.. - Page 2

post #16 of 47
11/19/12 at 6:35am

Make sure all your cakes are level.  I am going to try to tier a cake in the end of Dec for a birthday cake. I am only doing 2 tiers. I am doing it for a 16 year girl. I know I must get my cake layers level. I have had problems in past just trying to get a cake level that is not tierd. I have read so much and learned from this site so I think I can do it.  I also have a leveler and cutter now so that should make it easier for me. 

 

I am sure that you are going to do fine with this cake!! Make sure you take a picture of your cake and post it!!! Can't wait to see it. I am sure it will be beautiful!!!!!
 

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post #17 of 47
11/19/12 at 6:35am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by leah_s View Post

The cake drum will be fine on the bottom.  It is plenty of support for a cake this small.  I've delivered literally hundreds of them on a cake drum.  In fact that's really all I ever use on the bottom.

You can put the 10" cake directly on the cake drum, fill, weight it for settling, and then ice it right on the cake drum.  You may have to do a little clean up of the board at the end.

Dowels will work, unless you have a local cake store that sells SPS.  In that case I highly recommend it for your support system.

Don't forget to allow for settling.  http://cakecentral.com/t/633571/my-newest-trick
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Thanks so much Leah. I had seen your thread about weighing it down and had made a mental note for my future cakes but it slipped off my mind this time. Thanks for the reminder. I have added it to my schedule. You are awesome!

www.****************** is a five minute drive from my place icon_smile.gif This cake is going to be a gift (one pricey gift), but doing it more for experience at the same time. I have been tempted with the SPS system but soon...hopefully soon...
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post #18 of 47
11/19/12 at 5:57pm

Whether you use crusting buttercream or not is personal preference. I like the way the

non crusting recipes perform and taste over the crusting kind.

 

Can't wait to see the cake!icon_smile.gif

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post #19 of 47
11/19/12 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaja310 View Post

Whether you use crusting buttercream or not is personal preference. I like the way the

non crusting recipes perform and taste over the crusting kind.

 

Can't wait to see the cake!icon_smile.gif


I will stick with the crusting kind on this one as that's the only one I have worked with. For a future practice cake, I would love to try out one of the non-crusting ones...

 

I am getting anxious as the time is nearing. I made the roses for the top tier and the button flowers for the bottom tier. The S shaped topper seems to be a pain.. I made three different ones and one of them broke, the second has cracks all around the edges and the third is not presentable enough! I have pulled enough of my hair.. have been reading through the forums for the past two hours.. don't know what is it that I am doing wrong...following the same advice... I guess I will end up buying a topper from michaels..

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post #20 of 47
11/20/12 at 10:41am
If www.****************** is that close to you, go buy the SPS. It's very inexpensive. It is so easy and so secure. But read through the tutorial first!
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 #21 of 47
11/20/12 at 8:04pm
Thread Starter 

Gasp! I know I added more filling than i should have :'( ! It kind of cracked and broke open from the side and everything oozing out while settling. I tried to squeeze whatever I could and kind of crumbcoat on the side but its missing chunks of cake now!! Cake due Thursday noon EST and this is the bottom tier. Two more tiers going on top, 8 inch and 6 inch. Pic attached. Can this be salvaged somehow? I was weighing it down with the same sized cake pan and 4lbs bag of powdered sugar..

 

Please advise asap!! Do I bake another cake?

 

700

 

The other end:

700

 

 

P.s. I do have a 6 inch cake in the freezer same flavor.. made it with leftover batter. Also have same flavored cake crumbs for cake pops..

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post #22 of 47
11/20/12 at 8:53pm
Yegads, Jiya. Hmmmmm, yes, I am stalling! I hope Leah comes back on with some ideas for you. So is it 4 layers of cake and 3 filling? Is it the same filling for all? It looks like the top and bottom filling is buttercream and the middle has the strawberry? Can you take the strawberry section apart, try to remove the filling and just use buttercream? Spackle in the hole with your spare cake pieces? and then ice? This is a gift, not a paid cake, right? If it is a paid cake, rebake. If it is a gift you can be a little more "creative". I would try to separate them and see if the cake is salvagable or not, if it is wet and mushy from the filling then you need to rebake.
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post #23 of 47
11/20/12 at 9:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by denetteb View Post

Yegads, Jiya. Hmmmmm, yes, I am stalling! I hope Leah comes back on with some ideas for you. So is it 4 layers of cake and 3 filling? Is it the same filling for all? It looks like the top and bottom filling is buttercream and the middle has the strawberry? Can you take the strawberry section apart, try to remove the filling and just use buttercream? Spackle in the hole with your spare cake pieces? and then ice? This is a gift, not a paid cake, right? If it is a paid cake, rebake. If it is a gift you can be a little more "creative". I would try to separate them and see if the cake is salvagable or not, if it is wet and mushy from the filling then you need to rebake.

You got it right about the layers.. all four are filled with canned strawberry pie filling. With a dam around it. I tried to take it apart but its stuck pretty *good* icon_smile.gif
It's a bottom tier and there will be two more tiers on top.

Do u think I should make white chocolate ganache(never made one) and cover the cake it? I am loosing my sleep over it..
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post #24 of 47
11/20/12 at 9:15pm
No sense losing sleep over it. I think you should just rebake so you don't have to spend the next 2 1/2 days worrying if it is going to collapse. Rebake and just use buttercream for a filling. You might even change to buttercream for all of the fillings, simplify it a bit since you will be losing time rebaking. I think you would be better to rebake than try a new recipe and technique with the ganache that may or may not solve the problem. But if you do rebake, don't throw this one out, it will taste fabulous, so take some whipped cream, like a couple of containers of cool whip and slather it on with nice soft swoops and bring it in to work, friends, neighbors or whoever. It will look nice and they will love you. The thing that has me concerned is that it is the bottom of 3 layers, if it was a stand alone cake it is a whole different thing.
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post #25 of 47
11/20/12 at 9:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by denetteb View Post

No sense losing sleep over it. I think you should just rebake so you don't have to spend the next 2 1/2 days worrying if it is going to collapse. Rebake and just use buttercream for a filling. You might even change to buttercream for all of the fillings, simplify it a bit since you will be losing time rebaking. I think you would be better to rebake than try a new recipe and technique with the ganache that may or may not solve the problem. But if you do rebake, don't throw this one out, it will taste fabulous, so take some whipped cream, like a couple of containers of cool whip and slather it on with nice soft swoops and bring it in to work, friends, neighbors or whoever. It will look nice and they will love you. The thing that has me concerned is that it is the bottom of 3 layers, if it was a stand alone cake it is a whole different thing.

I guess you are right. Thanks for your support. I have teary eyes right now to see that you guys are spoon supportive and are here to console, re-energize and encourage..Thanks a bunch. Big hug!!. It's 12:30.. I guess I will just go ahead a bake another cake tomorrow after my class..fill it with bc and move on!

Should I still use wasc for the base tier?

Don't worry, this cake will be devoured by friends and family..and hubby's co workers. I will grab supplies tomorrow afternoon to bake another one. Thanks once again!!

Time to do the dishes.... my most dreaded job!
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post #26 of 47
11/20/12 at 9:35pm
Thread Starter 
In the meanwhile, I will be looking out here periodically if there are any more suggestions/advise..
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post #27 of 47
11/20/12 at 10:56pm
Definitely too much filling, and very likely too much weight on the cake for the settling process. In my original thread I noted to use 1 ceramic tile ( not marble, too heavy) and talked about previously using an empty cake pan and a paperback book. That should give you an indication of the amount of weight, which really is not much.
With a chunk of cake broken off and all that filling I think you need to rebake. Also, I'm sure that some people use pie filling successfully, but its awfully, loose/gooey and fairly unstable. There are cake fillings in a sleeve sold in cake supply stores that are developed for cake.
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 #28 of 47
11/21/12 at 7:37am

Leah, I am glad you came back on this one.  I had thought that was a lot of weight to settle the cakes but wasn't certain enough to comment on it.  Glad you clarified that for her.  And me too.  Go ahead and use the wasc that you originally used.  It wasn't the cause of the problem so no need to try another recipe.  And when you rebake, cut a circle of parchment paper (or wax paper if you have no parchment) and put it in the bottom of the pan.  That way you are assured that the bottom won't stick and you will have an intact cake.  Jiya, I hope you got some good sleep, try not to stress too much about it, you still have time to get things straightened out.  How are the other two tiers coming along?
 

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post #29 of 47
11/21/12 at 9:28am
Also, did you level those layers before you assembled them? Because frankly, the top does not look level. But it may just be the picture.
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 #30 of 47
11/21/12 at 11:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by leah_s View Post

Also, did you level those layers before you assembled them? Because frankly, the top does not look level. But it may just be the picture.

I have a Wilton cake leveler and thats how I torted them.. they sure looked even but with all the goey filling mess.. everything fell apart. I patched it up and did two coats of icing.. will pipe a turkey on top and its going to hubby's work tomorrow! (He s working tomorrow)

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by leah_s View Post

Definitely too much filling, and very likely too much weight on the cake for the settling process. In my original thread I noted to use 1 ceramic tile ( not marble, too heavy) and talked about previously using an empty cake pan and a paperback book. That should give you an indication of the amount of weight, which really is not much.
With a chunk of cake broken off and all that filling I think you need to rebake. Also, I'm sure that some people use pie filling successfully, but its awfully, loose/gooey and fairly unstable. There are cake fillings in a sleeve sold in cake supply stores that are developed for cake.

 

Yes.. I dont know what I was thinking.. I was estimating the weight of the top two tiers and put weight accordingly but now it all makes sense.. that's why there are the dowels!!! Oh stupid me! Will use a book now..

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by denetteb View Post

Leah, I am glad you came back on this one.  I had thought that was a lot of weight to settle the cakes but wasn't certain enough to comment on it.  Glad you clarified that for her.  And me too.  Go ahead and use the wasc that you originally used.  It wasn't the cause of the problem so no need to try another recipe.  And when you rebake, cut a circle of parchment paper (or wax paper if you have no parchment) and put it in the bottom of the pan.  That way you are assured that the bottom won't stick and you will have an intact cake.  Jiya, I hope you got some good sleep, try not to stress too much about it, you still have time to get things straightened out.  How are the other two tiers coming along?
 

Thanks Denetteb, I just came back from my class and got the supplies to bake another. I am fresh and re-energized now! I have parchment.. The other tiers look pretty.. one thing i noticed is my top tier is about 1/2 an inch shorter that the other.. I hope that works..

 

Thanks,  did got some sleep as I still had to prepare for my class today... Man piping basket weave is a pain..!! but the cake turned out pretty cute!! I will see if I can post a pic of that for some constructive criticism from you guys!

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