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I don't know what to do. Crying isn't helping. Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next      CakeCentral.com Forum Index » Cake Decorating Author Message arsing1 Junior Member Joined: Jul 15, 2008 Posts: 58 Location: Calera, AL Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:16 am  Well, I got this bright idea to do a topsy turvey cake. I found the tutorial on here and followed it exactly. My cake is terrible. The tiers didn't fit right so the top of the lower tiers bulged out when I put the tiers on. The fondant won't smooth and is tearing. It's just one big bulging mess! I don't know what to do. I unstacked them before they crumbled. I've been working on this cake for 3 days and the figures for the cake for a week! I've never come to tears over a cake before but this one is killing me. Is there any way of salvaging it or should I just bake a new, regular, flat cake? gerripje Frequent Member Joined: Oct 19, 2008 Posts: 444 Location: Alberta Birthday: Apr 24 Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:37 am  I've never done one of those, but I found today that making the spackle for under the fondant helps with making it more stable. That's buttercream and cake crumbs mixed together, then you've got a more substantial coating. I can sympathize with you though, I am too chicken to try one, I have a heck of a time just with normal!! arsing1 Junior Member Joined: Jul 15, 2008 Posts: 58 Location: Calera, AL Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:38 am  Anyone? PLEASE! arsing1 Junior Member Joined: Jul 15, 2008 Posts: 58 Location: Calera, AL Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:41 am  Thanks for the fondant tip. This cake has seriously destroyed my confidence. Why the heck did I think I was any good at this?! lasidus1 Frequent Member Joined: Jan 08, 2006 Posts: 349 Location: Syracuse, NY Birthday: Oct 26 Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:51 am  oh gosh, i'm not a pro at topsy turvey cakes at all but let me see if i can help first thing's first, if the lower tiers are bulging it may just be a support issue. are your dowels/supports the exact height of the cake w/ fondant? if not, pull them out and put some in of the exact height. the bulging sounds to me like it might just be the weight of the cake distributing without proper support. as for the fondant did u make it or buy it? i know whenever i've made my mmf it sometimes is dry, only thing for it at that point is to add some shortening and knead knead knead. if your fondant feels like if u lift it it's just falling apart, there may be too much fat/shortening in it, in which case try kneading in some powdered sugar. if it's bought fondant i really don't know what to say, other than to suggest those methods. what is underneath your fondant layer? did you put a coat of buttercream? spreading some piping gel lightly over it may help the fondant adhere better for you. i'll be up a little while longer if i can help at all any more edited: it's late now, i'm off to bed. please just step away, take a breath, maybe sleep on it. in the morning with a clear head you'll know what to do Last edited by lasidus1 on Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:15 am; edited 1 time in total JessDesserts Frequent Member Joined: Aug 24, 2008 Posts: 270 Location: New York Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:52 am  Hi Arsing, I wish I had some great technical advice on how to fix the cake, but im more of a cupcake kinda gal. As far as destroying your confidence, im sorry you're in a rut. But that all it is honey, just a bad place for the moment. You can either trash the cake and start all over or try again with the same cake but a new attitude. I bought a book with little clay animals and they never seem to come out the way they look in the book. It was so upsetting the first few times, until I realized they dont have to look exactly like the book. If I make a giraffe and people recognize its a giraffe, thats great. Take a break. Have a good cry. Take a long walk. Eat something filled with sugar and very bad for you- without guilt. Then...... have a good night sleep and start all over in the morning. Im sorry I couldnt be more helpful. Good luck. Jess lasidus1 Frequent Member Joined: Jan 08, 2006 Posts: 349 Location: Syracuse, NY Birthday: Oct 26 Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:53 am  and don't cry, things happen. at least it's not surgery and it's yummy cake don't feel crushed by it. worst case, you have lots of cake scraps to make cake balls out of to eat away tears, and still have your fondant figures to put on a beautiful new cake RoccosMom Forum SuperStar! Joined: Mar 21, 2005 Posts: 5441 Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:52 am  arsing1 wrote: Well, I got this bright idea to do a topsy turvey cake. I found the tutorial on here and followed it exactly. My cake is terrible. The tiers didn't fit right so the top of the lower tiers bulged out when I put the tiers on. The fondant won't smooth and is tearing. It's just one big bulging mess! I don't know what to do. I unstacked them before they crumbled. I've been working on this cake for 3 days and the figures for the cake for a week! I've never come to tears over a cake before but this one is killing me. Is there any way of salvaging it or should I just bake a new, regular, flat cake? Just from what you've said... the tiers have to fit exactly to each other and to the supports for a topsy turvy so if you can redo that cake to then fit exactly, then try it again depending on the deadline if there is one and depending on if the cake is still resilient enough to withstand this. Because you will have to remove your fondant and carve and crumb coat and then apply the fondant. If not then yes re-bake -- or can you cut what you have there into a more easily managed shape? Hopefully you got some sleep and this will all look more doable in the morning one way or another. Hopefully a nice pathway will appear. Praying some cake angels over your way. (((big hug))) chilz822 Forum Addict Joined: Jan 13, 2009 Posts: 1000 Location: FL Birthday: Aug 22 Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 8:49 am  I cried with my first TT cake also. I wasn't happy with my carving and I was also trying Satin Ice for the first time. Disaster! I used 3-3 tiered sections (10, 8, 6). You can see it in my pics. Make sure you've got your supports in good (I used bubble tea straws) and make sure each tier is on a cardboard round prior to 'dropping' it into your carved 'hole'. I had soooo many issues with tearing that I scrapped the Satin Ice and made 2 emergency batches of MMF and then I was able to get through it. There's a video on youtube that one of our CC members did. I wish I had it before I attempted the cake, it helped quite a bit. Here's the link! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHY_F53ClJ8 Don't cry! arsing1 Junior Member Joined: Jul 15, 2008 Posts: 58 Location: Calera, AL Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:06 am  Quote: I was also trying Satin Ice for the first time Me too. This was my first time with Satin Ice. It tore all over the place and was dry. I tried adding shortening to wake it up but it didn't help. My cake sizes were the same as yours. I ended up just taking the top two, slanted layers and stuck with a plain, flat round cake. I may have to bake one more layer for each because they look too short now. I still hate it. I'm scratching topsy's from my list until I can have somebody show me how to do it. Maybe I can find a class for it. Thanks for all of your comments! KoryAK Forum Fanatic Joined: Apr 07, 2007 Posts: 2983 Location: Anchorage, AK Birthday: Sep 03 Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:44 am  For a 7" cake at the base I carve an 8" hole into the next cake down. You may need more depending on the angle of your sides. Make sure all cakes are well chilled before attempting to stack and of course the correct amount of support. If they are cold you can maneuver them around a bit to make them fit or remove the tier, cut the hole out a little larger, and try again. For what you can do in this moment... chill the cakes and cut the holes larger. Try to resmooth the fondant and then alter the design a lit if need be to cover any bad parts. sadsmile Forum Fanatic Joined: Jun 22, 2008 Posts: 2291 Location: The Treasure Coast Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 11:10 am  Oh no!!! I am no help at all as I have never done one. I saw the tip about spackle stuff and that sounds sturdy. I love that you tube video that is how I plan on doing when my turn comes around. I also read cool things about MFF(not MMF and can't wait to try that recipe. If all else fails you could do a small stacked round and then grind all that cake up and make cake balls or cake pops. {{{Arsing}}} Don't cry love! Just have some more champaign! And take pictures even if it's a disaster because some day you will be able to laugh about it and maybe even post in disaters. I am really hoping to see a pic of the disaster and then a gorgeous pic of how you rescued it all beautifully! I am sending possitive thoughts in your direction right now!!! SS385Monte Junior Member Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 92 Location: Glen Burnie, MD Birthday: Aug 13 Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 11:26 am  I feel your pain. My first topsy turvy cake toppled totally over! It was a DISASTER...haven't gotten up the nerve to try another one. Maybe someday soon. sugarshack Forum Fanatic Joined: Jul 16, 2004 Posts: 2586 Location: LA Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:38 pm  Topsys can be quite the buggers to master. My first few sagged to infinity and beyond. 1) cake must be super firm 2) u need at least 3 inch differenccne bewteen tiers, preferably 4 to have stable sides 3) make the hole a bit bigger than needed until you master them so u can be sure the cakes will fit together, and use a big border. The better you get, the smaller you can make your hole 4) make sure you have enough dowels and they are very level and not cut too low i am sorry you are going thru this. i have been there and they brought me to tears too. But you WILL get it if you practice. nannie Forum Addict Joined: Feb 26, 2005 Posts: 802 Location: evanston, IL Birthday: Oct 01 Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:43 pm  And of course Ms SugarShack knows all this because she's making a new Topsey Turvey DVD ???? Maybe, please, pretty please Or maybe that's just in my dreams Display posts from previous:   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year  Oldest FirstNewest First     CakeCentral.com Forum Index » Cake Decorating Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You can attach files in this forum You can download files in this forum Translation: