Step By Step Help Please...

Decorating By cakelovincrazy Updated 9 Jul 2009 , 1:50am by MyDiwa

cakelovincrazy Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cakelovincrazy Posted 19 Jun 2009 , 1:08am
post #1 of 4

I've been browsing this site and YouTube and I've found some really great tips. I'm going to try to make a cake (flip flop cake) tomorrow and I was hoping you wonderful ladies would tell me if I'm doing everything right.

1. Bake the cake
2. Let it cool 10 minutes
3. Take out of pan let cool completely on wire rack
4. Place in freezer for 30-45 minutes
5. Slice cake in half and do filling or do you just bake another cake to go on top?
6. Carve cake if making a shape or do I carve it first then do the filling?
7. Crumb coat which is a light covering of frosting?
8. Do I place it in refrigerator for the crumb coat to set or leave it on the counter or what? How long should I wait before doing final layer of frosting?
9. Second layer of frosting. If I'm using fondant do I use a second layer of frosting and do I have to let it set before placing the fondant on top?
10. Smooth with Viva towel if just using BC
11. Decorate

Is that everything or are there any other steps I'm missing or any steps that I should change?
I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right step by step because it seems with the few cakes I've made I'm always messing up somewhere, so I thought step by step directions would be helpful.
TIA icon_biggrin.gif

3 replies
KitchenKat Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
KitchenKat Posted 19 Jun 2009 , 1:32am
post #2 of 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by cakelovincrazy

I've been browsing this site and YouTube and I've found some really great tips. I'm going to try to make a cake (flip flop cake) tomorrow and I was hoping you wonderful ladies would tell me if I'm doing everything right.

1. Bake the cake
2. Let it cool 10 minutes
3. Take out of pan let cool completely on wire rack
4. Place in freezer for 30-45 minutes
5. Slice cake in half and do filling or do you just bake another cake to go on top?
6. Carve cake if making a shape or do I carve it first then do the filling?
7. Crumb coat which is a light covering of frosting?
8. Do I place it in refrigerator for the crumb coat to set or leave it on the counter or what? How long should I wait before doing final layer of frosting?
9. Second layer of frosting. If I'm using fondant do I use a second layer of frosting and do I have to let it set before placing the fondant on top?
10. Smooth with Viva towel if just using BC
11. Decorate

Is that everything or are there any other steps I'm missing or any steps that I should change?
I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right step by step because it seems with the few cakes I've made I'm always messing up somewhere, so I thought step by step directions would be helpful.
TIA icon_biggrin.gif





I pretty much follow the same steps except I freeze it for about a day and then work with a slightly thawed out cake. i'm not sure if 35-40 minutes in the freezer will be enough to really firm up the cake.

to answer your questions:
5. Slice cake in half and do filling or do you just bake another cake to go on top?
>>>>>Depends on the height of your cake. If it's 2 1/2" - 3" high then I'd torte (split in half). Most cake layers however are about 1 1/2" high. Two layers are meant to be sandwiched together with filling. Also if it's a sheetcake it can be hard to torte so I suggest baking another cake layer to go on top.

6. Carve cake if making a shape or do I carve it first then do the filling?
>>>>>>>I fill, chill until very firm, about 6 hours in fridge or at least 2 hours in freezer and then I carve. Fillings for carved cake should always be sturdy ones that don't require an icing dam. Ganache or bc are ideal.

7. Crumb coat which is a light covering of frosting?
>>>>>>>>Correct. If I'm using only bc, I spackle the cake with a mixture of cake crumbs and frosting. The consistency is like a grainy peanutbutter. It helps to smooth out and level the cake's surface so that frosting goes on smoother.

8. Do I place it in refrigerator for the crumb coat to set or leave it on the counter or what? How long should I wait before doing final layer of frosting?
>>>>>>>>> I always place the cake in the fridge for about an hour after crumb coating/spackling so the surface really firms up.

9. Second layer of frosting. If I'm using fondant do I use a second layer of frosting and do I have to let it set before placing the fondant on top?
>>>>>>>>Yes. I always put a 2nd thin layer of frosting before fondant. Bonjovibabe (cc member) has converted to using ganache under fondant. With all my fondant covered cakes, I always let the cake rest overnight before covering with fondant so that it has time to settle and any stability issues like bulges will reveal themselves before the cake is covered in fondant.

As you can see my cakes takes time from start to finish but I'm a homebaker with occasional business and the luxury of time. I'm sure cc members who make multiple cakes per day will have a faster way of making cakes.

KitchenKat Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
KitchenKat Posted 19 Jun 2009 , 1:36am
post #3 of 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by cakelovincrazy

I've been browsing this site and YouTube and I've found some really great tips. I'm going to try to make a cake (flip flop cake) tomorrow and I was hoping you wonderful ladies would tell me if I'm doing everything right.

1. Bake the cake
2. Let it cool 10 minutes
3. Take out of pan let cool completely on wire rack
4. Place in freezer for 30-45 minutes
5. Slice cake in half and do filling or do you just bake another cake to go on top?
6. Carve cake if making a shape or do I carve it first then do the filling?
7. Crumb coat which is a light covering of frosting?
8. Do I place it in refrigerator for the crumb coat to set or leave it on the counter or what? How long should I wait before doing final layer of frosting?
9. Second layer of frosting. If I'm using fondant do I use a second layer of frosting and do I have to let it set before placing the fondant on top?
10. Smooth with Viva towel if just using BC
11. Decorate

Is that everything or are there any other steps I'm missing or any steps that I should change?
I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right step by step because it seems with the few cakes I've made I'm always messing up somewhere, so I thought step by step directions would be helpful.
TIA icon_biggrin.gif





I pretty much follow the same steps except I freeze it for about a day and then work with a slightly thawed out cake. i'm not sure if 35-40 minutes in the freezer will be enough to really firm up the cake.

to answer your questions:
5. Slice cake in half and do filling or do you just bake another cake to go on top?
>>>>>Depends on the height of your cake. If it's 2 1/2" - 3" high then I'd torte (split in half). Most cake layers however are about 1 1/2" high. Two layers are meant to be sandwiched together with filling. Also if it's a sheetcake it can be hard to torte so I suggest baking another cake layer to go on top.

6. Carve cake if making a shape or do I carve it first then do the filling?
>>>>>>>I fill, chill until very firm, about 6 hours in fridge or at least 2 hours in freezer and then I carve. Fillings for carved cake should always be sturdy ones that don't require an icing dam. Ganache or bc are ideal.

7. Crumb coat which is a light covering of frosting?
>>>>>>>>Correct. If I'm using only bc, I spackle the cake with a mixture of cake crumbs and frosting. The consistency is like a grainy peanutbutter. It helps to smooth out and level the cake's surface so that frosting goes on smoother.

8. Do I place it in refrigerator for the crumb coat to set or leave it on the counter or what? How long should I wait before doing final layer of frosting?
>>>>>>>>> I always place the cake in the fridge for about an hour after crumb coating/spackling so the surface really firms up.

9. Second layer of frosting. If I'm using fondant do I use a second layer of frosting and do I have to let it set before placing the fondant on top?
>>>>>>>>Yes. I always put a 2nd thin layer of frosting before fondant. Bonjovibabe (cc member) has converted to using ganache under fondant. With all my fondant covered cakes, I always let the cake rest overnight before covering with fondant so that it has time to settle and any stability issues like bulges will reveal themselves before the cake is covered in fondant.

As you can see my cakes takes time from start to finish but I'm a homebaker with occasional business and the luxury of time. I'm sure cc members who make multiple cakes per day will have a faster way of making cakes.

MyDiwa Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MyDiwa Posted 9 Jul 2009 , 1:50am
post #4 of 4

For me, pretty much the same as the previous poster except:

3. I usually wrap the cake in Glad press n seal while still hot and pop in the freezer right away to lock in moisture. There's a thread about this method with varying opinions. What I used to do before was wrap the cake and let it cool completely on the counter and then freeze. I also usually freeze for at least a day, depneding on whether I need to carve or not.

8. I use SMBC and I do the second layer immediately, after i'm satisfied the crumb coat has caught all the crumbs. I use one of those piping tips with the teeth on the one side. Once I'm happy with the shape etc, I put it in the fridge overnight to settle.

I also do this as a hobby so ...

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