Bubble Guppies Disaster

Those aren't the same cakes...the ruined cake is 3 tiers and has seahorses on it, while the original is 2 tiers with no seahorses.  I'm so confused.

looks like

 

the bottom tier slid apart

 

the top tier slid off

 

so it looks like three tiers

 

maybe

 

but how did the sticks the letters were on jump from the top tier onto the second tier??

 

the seahorses are the 's' in the name sasha that's on the top tier before delivery

It's the same cake, it's just so damaged it's not recogizaable. I don't see seahorses, I see whatever was holding the little figures. What looks like a third tier, is just the two layers of the bottom tier come apart.

 

OP, why on earth would you shake your cakes? What are you using for support that would cause so much distrust in their ability to hold up a small two tier cake?

K8 the two layers of the bottom tier split apart. Making it look like three tiers. Was your buttercream shortening or butter based? Was the cake firmly chilled before its long drive? Many things could contribute to this.

I must need more caffeine today!  Thanks ladies for seeing what I couldn't.  I went back and forth between the two for a good 5 minutes LOL!  The seahorse I'm seeing on the side of the "center" tier must have been a smear of the icing holding the figure to the side. 

What was the support system inside this cake?  With ANY sort of dowels inserted into the bottom tier, I can't see how it would split like that.

nora, you don't have to say one way or another

 

but this has been a possibly related concern of mine for some time

 

if someone uses straws and inserts them into the cake and clips them off

 

then the cake might not be stable

 

(because i've seen them do this ^^^ on tv and elsewhere)

 

the correct way is:

 

• you insert one straw

 

• remove it

 

• cut all straws to that same length

 

• re-insert the straws

 

that's the only way a cake can be stacked securely

 

if the straws are all the same height to each other

 

not the same height as the top of the cake

Are you *sure* you put supports in the bottom tier?  I just don't see how the layers could separate like that if there were dowel or straws in it, UNLESS something really severe happened, like the cake was dropped, slid off the car seat into the floor, etc.  It looks to me like the cake got too warm and suffered from rough roads and/or being on a slanted surface, or worse.  Maybe the sun was hitting it while on the long drive, and they slammed on their brakes for something?

 

I think the topper ended up on the first tier from the second tier sliding backwards into the side of the box, which pushed the topper forward causing it to fall onto the bottom tier.

 

The only time I ever had a tier slide off is when my cake was not chilled and I was forced into a lane I usually avoid due to a severe slant in that part of the road.  Then the whole 2 tiered cake slide right off it's board! 

Edited by CakesByJen2 - 1/22/13 at 5:57pm

going a step further

 

i lay the cut dowels/straws side by side

 

i take a ruler and touching the cut ends scoot them from each side

 

back and forth with the straight edge

 

making sure the cuts are not on a random angle that will throw things off

 

you can tell if they are true or not then you can trim them so you see them all move as one unit

 

cool, nora!!

 

but those letter pieces are stuck back into the belly of the bottom tier

 

that was some brake job!!

 

seems like someone was c.y-ing their a

i think pastry pride is not strong enough to hold the layers together

 

you needed a dam of icing icing-- buttercream icing so it holds fast/tight

 

or have the cake delivered so that it stays fully chilled and that might not work without the dam

 

the long ride and gravity took it