I just torted and filled an 8in with raspberry puree and it collapsed. I don't know what went wrong....I put the frosting dam around the edge- none leaked out, just one side totally collapsed. Maybe I used too much filling. Are you supposed to use just a little and not torte so many layers (I torted each cake for a total of 3 layers of filling). Any ideas? I'm doing a wedding cake in Oct. with the same recipes and filling. Now I'm terrified!

I also torte each layer and end up with 3 layers of filling, 4 layers of cake.

How thick was your filling? With raspberry and other red fruit fillings, I usually put a very thin layer of bc down first then the fruit filling on top of that. Be sure to use a very thick butter cream for your dam or else it won't hold up for you.

Were your cakes torted evenly? Was there a crack in one of them? Sometimes that can cause the cake to collapse. Did you take a picture?

dkelly...what's the purpose of the bc under the fruit filling? I've never heard of the before and am curious

The purpose of the buttercream under the fruit filling is to avoid the cake to be soggy.

Exactly...Thanks Rylan!

I do it so that the "red" fillings don't seep into the cake layers, it sort of forms a "barrier" if you will. I just think it makes for a nicer presentation when the cake is sliced you see cake/filling/cake/filling etc.

I probably just used too much filling. Hey, I like raspberry! I bought the 2# bag and it only filled 2 6" and 2 8" cakes. Three layers of filling each. I felt like the frosting dams were thick enough in consistancy and width. To clarify the callapsing picture...it appeared to become more and more unlevel on top and then I tried to move it off the turntable and one side just slide off to leave a mess! I also think my torte layers were uneven. I like the idea of a thin BC coat first. All this makes sense, thanks.

I use the thin layer of buttercream method when using a fruit filling . I also make my fruit filling pretty thick with a little extra cornstarch while cooking the gel.

I made this one yesterday torted ( I cut the cake layers while they are Frozen ,easier the cut straight) for 3 layers of filling and I always put a pretty thick layer of filling minimum 1/4" . I use a very thick BC dam then the thick fruit filling . let that set for about an hour before crumb coat for settling then apply icing.

In my opinion there can never be too much filling I fill almost to the top of my dam, which is a good 1/4" of filling.
Now I'll share my secret............

On each tier, my middle layer of filling is butter cream. This helps a lot with slipping.

So my cut cake looks like....top layer of BC/cake/fruit filling/cake/BC/cake/fruit filling/cake.

So 4 layers of cake...3 layers of filling (but middle layer of filling is butter cream).

Letting the filled/crumb coated cake sit for a while is also a good idea. I place a piece of parchment paper on top of the filled cake and put a book on top.

I usually torte/fill and crumb coat at night and allow the tiers to sit over night. If there are any bulges I'll see them before my final coat of icing/fondant goes on.

Oh wow dkelly I love your hint of using BC in the middle I bet that looks really pretty when cut! I am gonna try that.

It really does look pretty when it's cut, and it's great to have that extra layer of butter cream to eat with the bottom 2 layers of cake.

I started doing this after I served a 14" tier one time. While cutting the tier I realized that all of the "middle" slices of cake only had 1 layer of butter cream WAY at the top of the slice. I really felt that people were getting cheated out of their rightful share of butter cream. LOL!!

So now the way I assemble the tiers, every slice of cake has 2 layers of butter cream and nobody has to fight over those end pieces any longer.

Hahahahhah . I would be fighting for the end piece ahhahah

Awesome idea dkelly!! Fantastic

I have kind of a weird question though, do you tell clients this or is that not necessary? I was just curious.....I am totally doing this from now on, either way, lol.

Ooohh I am trying that on my next cake too - sounds good!

leanrr,
Was the cake for family or a customer? If it was a family cake, make parfaits! Spoon the collapsed cake into pretty glasses and you'll have a beautiful and delicious dessert. No cutting necessary.

Thanks for the BC filling idea and the parfait idea. It was unfortunately for a customer. I was rebaking at midnight and finally to bed at 2:30am! I did go ahead and give the fallen cake to the customer just as an extra. I didn't know how she would take having a cake with bc filling instead of the raspberry (I ran out and didn't want to make from scratch-go to store etc) She was fine with the whole thing. Plus, we just celebrated a birthday and anniversary in our house and I'm a little tired of cake. shhh..

leannrr said "Plus, we just celebrated a birthday and anniversary in our house and I'm a little tired of cake. shhh.."

That's an unspeakable truth sometimes. I hate to admit it, too. My son's birthday was the same day as the reunion, so there's cake everywhere!