I am making my first four tiered wedding cake, and since it is a very simple design, there isn't much I can do to hide any faults (eg. BULGING)...some cakes I have made don't have this problem, and then some pesky ones do....how do I consistently make sure I don't have this problem, and consistently have clean work?? Please, all you master's out there, share your wisdom!! I don't want to let the bride down! Thank you!

Be sure to let the cake settle, don't over fill and use appropriate supports ... good luck!

I have to totally agree with KristyCakes, you have to let the cake settle. After I fill a cake I put something heavy on top of it and let it settle for about 20-30 minutes(something I learned here on CC) and it has helped soooooo much! Good Luck!

what type of heavy thing do you put on your cakes to help the settling?

that a good idea-never thought of putting something heavy on the cake to help settling. im sure this speeds it up too.
thanks

I've also read here that people put thickened frosting or fondant along the outside of the filling, level with the sides, so the filling doesn't come out and bulge. I haven't tried it, but I thought it was a marvelous idea.

A VERY stiff buttercream dam will also help you alleviate the bulging problem.

I always seem to get bulges

Somebody mentioned freezing cakes seems to 'help' cause this problem, and I always freeze. Thoughts?

Try the ganache shell under fondant - makes the fondant taste great....holds the cake/bulges in....no need to frost the outside with buttercream!

also a fan of the ganache (setting, not pouring kind). nothing is getting thru that sucker. but it's more expensive than BC.

the only thing that worked for me is using an agbay to tort each tier 3-5 times so that each layer of filling is really thin - the reason my cakes bulged before was because i only had one tort and a big thick layer of filling which instantly bulged under the weight of the fondant.

is it a fondant cake? not sure.
definitely not a master here, but not sure how new you are to decorating either. make sure those cakes are perfectly level before sandwiching them together. the bulge usually comes when the center is humped and the sides settle. if you level them and use a thick dam, you should have no problems. Also, if you chill or freeze them once assembled, you can "carve" the sides and shave off any imperfections that will mar your icing. I also chill may cakes after icing them, but that is just a personal preference.

This is the best article I've seen on preventing bulging. (You may have to cut-n-paste it rather than being able to just click on it):

http://www.cakeboss.com/PreventBulging.aspx

Making sure your filling layer isn't too thick will help a lot with not getting bulging. I have never had to let a cake sit overnight, but pressing down on it will speed up the settling. I usually just fill then press down on the layers and then ice immediately and pop it in the fridge. I also torte my cakes so there is 4 layers of cake and three layers of filling and the filling layers are thin.

Good luck with your cake.