Omg! What Do I Do, Cake Falling Apart-Wedd Tommorrow!!!
Decorating By sugartopped Updated 19 Aug 2006 , 3:12am by mkolmar
ok, my crown cake is literally falling apart!!! The cake is covered w/a layer of fondant and then there is a fondant 'crown wrap' around that....just along the sides of the cake...not the top. The bottom layer of fondant (what is covering the cake) keeps tearing along the top of the cake....I'm guessing the fondant crown wrap w/all the fondant decos is just too heavy...even though I made sure the fondant was pretty thick. But can place dowels through the fondant into the cake?? Will this help stabilize the fondant and keep it from pulling my bottom layer of fondant off??
BUT THE BRIDE IS PICKING UP THE CAKE IN THE MORNING AT 10AM AND HER BOTTOM TIER (the only tier of actual cake) IS FALLING APART AND I'M OUT FONDANT TO REPAIR....AGAIN!!
It is a 12" tier w/actual cake and then two tiers of dummy cake. I'VE NO PROBLEMS W/THE DUMMY CAKES!! This is the 2nd time this is happening to the same cake!! I'M SO WORRIED SHE ISN'T GOING TO HAVE A CAKE B/C I CAN'T FIX THIS!! 
please help!
I am trying to visualize this and unfortunately it will be too late for you by the time you get this post. They have what is called a cake collar that is used to keep fillings in cakes like a boston creme cake, you see them on cheese cakes sometimes. I thought maybe you could wrap the bottom of the cake with this collar and then cover it over with your fondant. You would have to tell the customer that it wouldhave to be removed before they sliced it, but also let them know it was used for extra support. Some of these collars are made of a flexible cardboard and some a clear plastic like book report covers. I hope you were able to come up with something. Good Luck.
Is it too late? Could you put a picture so I can see what the problem is and try to help?
here are the pics. this is the second time this has done this on this cake!! the first time I didn't catch it in time and fondant fell off the back...so I had to completely redo the WHOLE thing (except bake the cake). but i'm soooooo lucky this is actually the back of the cake!!! so you won't be able to see it if they place it against a wall or something!! 
but you can see where i've tried to patch and connect the two pieces of ripped fondant w/another one...it looks like S&%$...but i couldn't do it over b/c I have NO MORE FONDANT!! And what's worse...she is picking this up at 10am this morning and taking it to Tallahassee (a 3hr drive from P'cola). AND the wedding is on Sat. Morning....i have a very bad feeling about this!!!
any ideas how I can cover this mess up??
PLEASE HELP...SHE'LL BE HERE IN 1 1/2 HRS!!!
Can you move the crown up so that it covers that top part of the cake?
Or, is the crown attached over the middle part of the sides or is it resting on the board? Maybe if you had time you could re-cover the cake in fondant and wrap the crown around with the bottom of the crown resting on the board.
good luck! The crown is beautiful.
EDITED to add:
At any rate. maybe you could phone the bride and tell her you will deliver it to the destination. That could possibly buy you more time, as she is probably not picking it up on her way to the chapel. You could even honestly tell her that you had a glitch and you want her cake to be picture perfect!
have u tried actually stacking it...cuz i'm more afraid that it will collapse once its stacked. if it's doing this now, what's going to happen with the other 2 tiers on top??
is she travellign with it assembled or unassembled?
the top two tiers are dummy cakes....so not as heavy as if it was cake...but still heavy. I still need to place a few more supports into the bottom layer. I like the cornelli lace idea....but she wanted a smooth finish on top of the tiers...NO DECOS at all!! maybe she'll change her mind wehn she sees the mess!
the wedding isn't until tomorrow, but the destination is over 3hrs away. She'll be traveling w/the top two tiers together (you can kinda see them in the background pic above) and will stack them ontop of the bottom for the wedding.
this cake has been a nightmare from the beginning and i'm already in the hole $100 b/c I had to next day air the flowers for the top!! But I think I'm going to have to eat the price of the cake (I have a feeling she'll either ask for a refund and just leave it OR want me to fix it and deliver tomorrow for the wedding....which I will be out another $100 in gas and more fondant)!!
it's a pretty big area...although from the front of the cake you can't see it at all!!
AND I HAVE NO IDEA THAT IT MY TERRIBLE PATCH JOB IS EVEN GOING TO HOLD AND THE FONDANT NOT TEAR ANYMORE!!
I just have no idea what you can do other thqn pipe over it. I'm sure she isn't going to like the way it looks now.
What is the crown made of?
Any way you can make inserts out of the same material to fit into the scallops? Sort of an "extension of the crown and carry it up just a bit higher?
Aww, Pink Honey..
Sorry this is happening and I can just feel your stress and sweat!
Ok, here is my take...
The bottom fondand my be too thin. That is a common mistake when the fondant is rolled. If the fondant is too thin, it will TEAR and also pleat when it's draped over the cake ( betcha didnt' know that..lol)
your assessment of the heaviness of the "crown" is on the money...this one, you could've rolled thinly since it was just for decoration. Also, the best thing to do next time you are going to do this gorgeous cake ( man, is it pretty even unasembled!) is to let the bottom layer of fondant set a bit ( harden ) before you cover it with the second one.
When the fondant is still fresh it will pull off the cake like that.
HTH
I'm so sorry this is happening, but the crowns are BEAUTIFUL! Remember that as disappointed as you are, the WORK that you've done so far is gorgeous! This was such a crazy cake to do and you have made it spectacular with a few MINOR glitches. I wish I could wave my magic wand for you, but it's not working at the moment.
I hope I'm in time1 Fixing this is easy - make a row of beads and edge the top of the crown with them so they look like pearls. Either make them by hand or with a bead maker if you have one. Paint them in some kind of shimmery white lustre dust and your problem is over - hope I made it in time!!
I'm so sorry this happened to you! I just wanted to say: Breath and Relax... you'll make it through. First of all, you can see how beautiful this is all going to look together so don't worry too much. Emma's idea is great and also the cornelli idea is a good one too. If the bride says anything you can say you had to make that executive decision because you wanted it to look picture perfect and you felt that's what the cake needed. The bride will love it. Please keep us posted.
Inma
I was going to say the same thing about the beads.... follow the top of the crown all around and maybe put beads (or any other neutral-ish edging). This way the top stays smooth. Or just put a little bit of cornelli on the sides where it is exposed out of the crown (still leaving the top smooth)
I have my fingers crossed for you!!!
well I just keep making it worse!!
i like the bead idea...but they would have to be very big beads. but had this bright idea...see pic!!
I think I'm not even going to discuss this w/the bride and tell her I'm doing the tier over and will deliver it to her tomorrow morning!! If it were me I wouldn't a mistake like that showing on my cake!! It's just unacceptable and very tacky!!
just a VERY EXPENSIVE MISTAKE!!
Your cake is very beautiful..I love Gold, That's my favorite color.
Are those "diamonds" real or are they candy ? very, very, very nice. 
That is gorgeous!
Hey ~ don't we all turn the cake to where the mistakes are in the back? 
I agree, the cake is beautiful. She's gonna hack into it anyway, so if the mistake is hidden in the back, nobody's gonna know. 
I agree take a deep breath your cakes are beautiful you can fix this. I agree try the crisco if you have not already done so. I am sorry this was such a mess it does not look that bad. But you might have to do the corneli lace to cover it. Let us know what the outcome is good luck
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