it was very difficult to serve!

I made a chiffon cake that was torted so that there were 2 layers of whipped cream filling. The tiers were about 4' high and when I cut the cake, the pieces kept falling apart at the whipped cream filling. I let it come to room temp before serving because I didn't want my SMBC to be too cold. Could that have been it?

I was totally embarrassed - red-faced in front of the hungry group that was waiting for cake while I was trying my best to cut nice-looking pieces. It was one of my biggest fears - having trouble cutting in front of a crowd. I could feel my face getting redder and redder!

Everyone was really nice and complimented me on the taste/texture of the cake, but where did I go wrong? I'm sure that the cake was not supposed to fall apart like that.

I suggest, in the future, you cut your cakes like Indydebi.

http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake-cutting

I ALWAYS cut cakes like that until I started doing cakes for others. For some reason, I thought it was the amateur way of cutting cakes.

So, I tried the outside wheel technique. Hated it. Tried the grid technique. Hated it.

At a recent gathering, I was commissioned to cut the cake (that I brought). Well, I had already had several glasses of wine by that time. I didn't even think about how I was going to cut the cake. I just did it the Indydebi way (regression maybe?) and never looked back.

I always use Indydebi's method - but when I tipped the slice over to cut it into smaller pieces, it cracked. That's why I'm wondering what happened.

Hi, sorry this happened. I always use indydebi's method. In my opinion, it is the best way. Remember , she is the queen on this site. everyone loves her b/c and her method of cutting the cake.she shows on her site, she uses the cake comb along with the knife to cut and move the cake slice to the plate.

Thanks, Costumeczar. I think I will have to practice!

When you say, "tip it over", did you just give it a nudge with the knife and yell, "TIMBER!", or did you support the other side as you laid it down?

The nice thing about this cutting and serving method is you can literally 'scoop' up the piece of cake, no matter what condition it landed in, as long as your serving tool is the right size.

costumeczar - I used to use the "cut the cake while standing and let the piece fall into the other hand" method. What I learned is that too many variables can go wrong. If the knife isn't sharp enough, squish. If the cake and filling are separating, the cake may not wait for you to catch it.

I used to send two pairs of disposable food-handling gloves with every cake. I wonder how many people actually used them. Yikes.

Icer: just to be clear, I'm not blaming Indydebi's method - I'm wondering why my cake fell apart. I was thinking about the cake comb, but I think it might just be a matter of what costumeczar was saying. There might not have Bern anything I could have done.

I have a feeling that even if I would have cut it standing up, it would have fallen apart while being moved to a plate.

Diane: I did not just yell 'Timber' (lol) and let it fall, I did support it. It was the bottom third that always broke.

Sounds like a cake comb could be a worthwhile investment.

just to add some comic relief . . . I am SO glad I finally know what the heck a cake comb is supposed to be for!!!!! I've seen them, and thought maybe it was for some kind of decorating technique, LOL. Wow, do I have a lot to learn

Thanks for the heads up!