Ok so I have made several cakes so far and some of them have developed a bulge around the center where the layers are stacked together. Not exactly my idea of perfection.

Any suggestions of what I might be doing wrong or ways to not have this happen will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.
Lacey

My geuss is you aren't letting them settle long eough after filling before icing or they are cold/frozen when you ice them.

I also use a stiffened BC dam for the filling....

What tiggy2 and sugarshack said. I do both.

Have you tried ganache under the frosting or fondant? It's more solid than bc crumb coat, so offers a more firm base to keep the filling in place, I think.

Try putting less buttercream filling between the layers. That happens to me sometimes too.

Two things...one, put a VERY stiff icing dam around the edge of your layer and then after filling make sure your cake has at least two hours to settle (overnight is even better). I torte, fill, crumbcoat and then let my cake settle for about 3 hours before covering with my last coat of BC or fondant. It helps with the bulge as well as any bubble that may form as the cake comes to room temp. HTH. Cat

Thank you all so so much for the suggestions! I am still learning so much about cake decorating.

Lacey