The Crooked Cake Instructions!! Please Look!!!
Decorating By Sarsi Updated 11 May 2008 , 3:07am by Sarsi
Thanks Sarah for offering to e-mail every one. Although I couldn't see it on my e-mail I was able to print this post out fine. Your method looks much easier and less stressful.
Well, I have to be honest, when I first read about this technique, I was excited because it seems so much easier, but I was a little skeptical about not building the cakes into each other for support. It just seemed a little too risky for me. I had plans to meet some friends out of town this weekend, so I did an experiment.....I made a cake exactly as specified & then put it in the back of my car as I would when I deliver any other cake. Then, I proceeded to go out of town for the weekend to meet my girlfriends. I drove 130 miles with that cake in the back of my car, not being any more careful than I would be with any other cake. Actually, I was a little more careless just to see if the cake would survive! Part of my drive was through a curvy mountain road & then I carried the cake through a EXTREMELY crowded bar (twice) before finally making it to our reserved table. The cake was still standing and hadn't moved an inch! I don't know how that piping gel works, but it sure does hold on like glue, I was very impressed! So for anybody who's wondering....YES, it really works!!!
Still wondering... would RI work better than piping gel, or is there some majic in the piping gel?
AZCakeGirl, what an excellent test! Thanks for sharing your results with us! I feel so good about this! I also have some ideas to work in for added stability!
Don't know if RI would be a benefit or not. I'd be afraid that after it dried you'd run the risk of it cracking and then providing NO support.
You're very welcome!
Melvira - I would love to have you share your ideas with me if you figure anything out for added stability! (You can never be too safe ya know!)
Just curious, has anyone used the Whimsical cake pans??? I wondered how they could bake evenly & how long it would take? Looks like they may be harder to get out of the pan too. I'm thinking they would be too hard to fool with. Anyone know???
You're very welcome!
Melvira - I would love to have you share your ideas with me if you figure anything out for added stability! (You can never be too safe ya know!)
Well, what I was thinking was simply with regard to dowels. I considered, and I am not saying this is a good idea, it's just something that I may try, putting the upper tiers on separator plates and using the hidden pillars in the lower tiers so that the feet of the plates have a place to nest right in there. See, this is my bad, but I never do the center dowel thing. (You would not be able to do that if you tried it this way.) I don't know why, but it always seemed like a lot of work to me to sharpen a stick and try to drive it down through all the layers of cardboard, etc. I am quite sure I would destroy the cake in that process! I am sure eventually I will find a style of cake to do that absolultely requires it!! At that point I'll do my best!
Wow, I'd be scared not to do a center dowel, you're a brave woman! I do get nervous sometimes when I'm driving them in though so I know what you mean.
Thanks for posting your results, AZCakeGirl!! I'm so happy it worked out for you!!! Thanks for the help in reassuring all the uncertain!! I also was a skeptic, but thought "why not try!!" and was so happy with the results!!!
I'm posting in here to also try'n get this post to the top, I've been getting a lot more emails asking for the instructins.....so they're on page 1....
Ok, I'm quite certain I am jinxing myself right now, but I've NEVER done a center dowel, and NEVER had a cake fall over. But... when I do anything taller than a 2 tier cake I don't deliver it assembled. I stack it on site and apply the border. Maybe that's why I've never needed a center dowel. I'm sure if I were doing a topsy turvy that was more than 2 tiers I'd have to center dowel it because you really don't want to complete those on site. But I'm guessing I'd be cutting a sufficient hole in the cake boards. My eyes just pop out of my head when I hear people talking about 'pounding' a center dowel through the cake boards. Sharpened or not, that's a lot of stress on the cake, isn't it? I like how I've seen them do it on AOC... the dowel is there and they are slipping the tiers onto the dowel instead of vice versa. I think maybe that's the route I'd try to go.
Hmmm...I've never had a problem hammering a dowel through the cake. I've even done it through a cake that was 4 tiers high!! every other tier was styrofoam even, so that's harder to hammer through....
Hmmm...I've never had a problem hammering a dowel through the cake. I've even done it through a cake that was 4 tiers high!! every other tier was styrofoam even, so that's harder to hammer through....
HA!! Melvira!! I just looked at page 2...saw your cake!!! THAT IS TOO CUTE!! I love the pregnant super woman!! HAHAHA!!! Good job!!!
Thanks Sardi for sharing the intructions.I can't wait to try ithis myself.By the way ladies all your cakes look awesome
I really need to try this - I've been cowardly about doing it so far - just seems like so much work! I am going to give this a try very soon!
Ok, so I don't have "placenta brain" like Melvira - but I have a question...Are the dowels cut to the same length (like you would in a regular stacked cake) - or are they different heights according to the slant of the cake? Does this make sense? That is the one thing I don't understand...
Carson im glad you asked becuase i have the same question.
Also, If you do it three tiers do you still transport it completed?
Yes, cut the dowels to go along with the slant of the cake. ....
I've transported a three tier about 30 minutes away without a problem. I sent a 4 tier that was everyother tier styrfoam with someone and never heard that it fell over or anything
Ok, so I don't have "placenta brain" like Melvira...
Duuuuuude... that is so wrong... I've become the butt of the joke. Waaahhhh!!
AWWEEE!! MELVIRA!!! ITS OKAY!!! We all love you!!! We do...how can we not?!?!? Just look at you in the cupcake forum!! LOL!!! I almost joined you!! HEY! I just saw in the grocery store, an advertisement for bread, and they had a lady on it...with a FULL mouth. I thought of you RIGHT away!! LOL!!! You're so cute!! HUGS!!!
Hehehehe... let's not point out my temporary insanity to too many more people. Bless you, I was just in one of those moods, and someone made the mistake of saying, "I dare you". I don't take those words lightly in most cases! Hehehe.
I have a quick question. So do you put the piping gel in a small circular area on top of the cake and then stick the dowel through the center of that? or would you poke the dowel into the cake and then put the piping gel down around the dowel? I guess what I'm asking is does the dowel have to thru the piping gel? I've done this before but never used the piping gel. Does it make that much of a difference? Thanks, everyone you're all awesome.
I guess I don't really understand what you're saying....
You have your cakes covered in fondant... on the bottom tier, right on top of the fondant, spread a little piping gel, then place the next tier on top... then poke the sharpened dowel all the way through both tiers.
Cakeflake... I think I understand the question... what you should do is put your dowels down into the cake, (evenly spaced) then put just a dab of piping gel (or whatever you're using) around them as glue, then place the next tier on top of that. Then, if you're doing a center dowel, you would drive that down last. Hope that's what you were getting at!
Don't worry Melvira - I still wish I could claim placenta brain and my baby is 18 months old!!! I would never of mentioned it if you didn't point it out earlier - trust me - your question was not that silly! All in good fun! LOL!
Don't worry Melvira - I still wish I could claim placenta brain and my baby is 18 months old!!! I would never of mentioned it if you didn't point it out earlier - trust me - your question was not that silly! All in good fun! LOL!
Oh yes, I know, but I have to give you some grief!! Hey, at least I can use placenta brain as an excuse right now!! Then for a while it will be 'lack of sleep'. Hmmm... what else? Oh yes... then it's "I have two toddlers".
Omigosh... I'm going to have two toddlers. I am so excited!!
Well - I just recently went back to work (after a year off) at a new job and am having a heck of time getting my brains back! LOL!
Thanks Sarsi - I am going to give it a try very soon!
Thanks melvira and sarsi. I guess what I wanted to know was if the piping gel was to hold the cake layers to each other or to keep the dowels in place. You'd think I'd be better at asking a clear question- I know I ask enough of them!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%