Fondant Bulge

Decorating By Molly69 Updated 16 Jul 2014 , 4:10pm by SweetDreams98

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Molly69 Posted 12 Jul 2014 , 4:15pm
post #1 of 8

Can anyone help me with a bulging sides problem - I know this has been addressed before but I have followed all the advice and still seem to be getting this problem so I must be doing something wrong.  I have a wedding to do next week and I am so worried about it happening as it is a pretty plain cake with just a few floral decorations on top.  So smooth sides are important.  Here's what I do - day 1: after baking and cooling I wrap and chill layers in the fridge for an hour or so.  I then tort, create a dam, fill and crumb coat.  I then wrap and put back in the fridge overnight to settle.  Day 2: In the morning I put on a second coat of buttercream, chill for half an hour then fondant cover.  Day 3. Dowel & stack but usually on this day my lovely smooth cakes have the dreaded bulge. :-(   Should I be resting the cake out of the fridge for longer?  I make sure my torted layers are straight and flush against each other and not domed and I also avoid putting too much filling in.  

Can anyone spot a mistake I am making that will help me avoid this?  I would be so grateful for any advice! 

7 replies
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DoubleO Posted 12 Jul 2014 , 5:27pm
post #2 of 8

Your cake won't settle in the refrigerator. Level, torte and fill your cake, wrap it in saran wrap, put a large book or tile on top to settle it at room temp before you crumb coat for at least 2-3 hours or overnight so it's ready to go the morning. It's the weight of the fondant and buttercream that is condensing your cake and pushing the filling out making the bulge. 

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Amylou Posted 12 Jul 2014 , 5:30pm
post #3 of 8

AMake sure your dam is very stiff. I wouldn't put the cake to settle in the fridge unless the filling needed to be refrigerated. Bake, cool, torte, fill, press down good on each layer, crumb coat. LeahS has a thread about using a tile to get the cakes to settle faster. After the cake settles, you can ice and then stick in fridge to firm up before applying the fondant.

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bilbo Posted 12 Jul 2014 , 5:37pm
post #4 of 8

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoubleO 
 

Your cake won't settle in the refrigerator. Level, torte and fill your cake, wrap it in saran wrap, put a large book or tile on top to settle it at room temp before you crumb coat for at least 2-3 hours or overnight so it's ready to go the morning. It's the weight of the fondant and buttercream that is condensing your cake and pushing the filling out making the bulge. 

^^^ this. Exp;lains it perfectly.

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Molly69 Posted 13 Jul 2014 , 2:14pm
post #5 of 8

oh wow thank you both so much - this does explain it perfectly and makes complete sense.  I realise where I was going wrong now, very grateful THANK YOU!! X :-)

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SweetDreams98 Posted 16 Jul 2014 , 5:53am
post #6 of 8

I had the same issue until I started using the tile method.  I torte and use a STIFF dam (where you can almost roll the frosting in a ball between your fingers), fill, stack, wrap in plastic and place a ceramic tile ($.80 at Home Depot) on top over night.  The next day I frost and then cover, this has completely eliminated the unsightly bulge on the sides of my cakes.

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Molly69 Posted 16 Jul 2014 , 7:54am
post #7 of 8

thanks sweet dreams - I'm doing a trial cake today and will be doing exactly that :-)  fingers crossed!! 

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SweetDreams98 Posted 16 Jul 2014 , 4:10pm
post #8 of 8

ANo prob! I also freeze the frosted cake 10 minutes before putting on fondant

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