hi all,

i have a three tiered cake to do and my pans are 8", 10", and 12" and each one is 3" deep...

would you torte in order to have 3 layers for each size or would that be too big? if so then when you put icing in each layer and put a crumb coat over each cake, should you refrigerate for a couple of hours before adding the fondant?

thx

anyone??

pretty please with sprinkles on top??

Personally, I always torte. Each cake I do is torted at 1" increments- so a 3" cake would have 3 layers with 2 layers of filling and a 4" cake (2- 2" cakes for one tier) would have 4 layers with 3 layers of fillings. HTH!

I don't think torting each 3" layer twice would make it too big.

If you are torting and filling, I would suggest you allow the crumb coated cake rest for several hours before adding another thin coat of icing and fondant.

Whether or not to refrigerate would depend greatly on what your filling is and what type of icing.

I think meringue buttercreams are covered easier if it's allowed to chill until firm beforehand.

If you are using icing as the filling or some other type filling that doesn't require refrigeration, I would just fill , crumb coat and allow it to settle while sitting on the counter.

I've heard others state that they prefer to chill their cakes slightly before covering fondant because in their opinion, it made the cake firmer and in turn made it easier to smooth the fondant.

HTH

Chilling does make it much easier...

I torte in 1" increments, too. If you are afraid of it looking too tall, just use thinner layers. Personally, I like the look of taller tiers.

Lots of tortes makes a good impression

wow! i do want my cake to look taller...i haven't tried the meringue buttercream but it sounds really good...i was just going to use regular butter cream but i wanted it to be firm by chilling it...
thanks so much, everyone, for the info

If you can get your hands on Frostin Pride or Rich's Bettercreme (in chocolate) it's so worth it! I whip them up with a package of pudding and it makes a great tasting, firm filling that can sit out for hours. You can mix just about anything in it - I've added melted white chocolate and rasperry filling and it was to die for!

I buy mine at Smart-n-Final. There are a ton of threads about it in the forums.