My buttercream on a small smash cake is cracking and bulging! How do I fix it!? I have about 2 hours before its due for pick up! I tried smoothing on some new buttercream, but it just make it worse!! PLEASE HELP!! Oh, large smash cake, its 3 tiers!

I don't understand, usually a smash cake is small in size. Just enough for the baby to sink his hands into. How big are the tiers in inches around and high? Did you put boards in it. For every 4 inches up in height it should have a board and supports. Maybe there is to many stacked without support. Need more info.

I'm confused also. A smash cake is generally a 4" diameter, 2" tall cake just for the little one to, well, smash.

Other than that, cracking buttercreme is nearly **always** a sure sign the board underneath the cake is not strong enough.

The smash cake is a 6,4,and 2 inch, and I have supports between every tier, each tier is about 2 inches high. The customer wanted a mini version of her large cake! Really cute...The crack in the buttercream happened at the top, there is a small gumpaste loopy bow, I think the weight of that did it...there is a center dowel going from top to bottom so it doesn't slide, I assumed that would be enough support for the bow! just need to know if its possible to try something else to smooth the buttercream even though it has already crusted!

Have you tried removing the bow and running a hot cake spatula over the buttercream. How badly is it cracked. If it is just surface cracks, you may be able to smooth it this way, but if it is a deep crack you'll need to find out how badly the cake is crack. The center dowel may have cracked the cake, which caused the buttercream to crack. Hard to say without seeing it. But a 2" piece of cake having a dowel pushed down through the center of it is not going to hold up so good. This may not be the issue at all, but I am concerned. You may need to replace the top tier and re-ice. But if you do, you may want to remove the center dowel first (at least in the top tier).

Plus...not thrilled with the thoughts of something like this in a child's cake anyway. What if he sticks his face in it.

Thanks for your replies! Yes, I warned the mother that there would be a center dowel, she insisted on it not falling apart! (she lives down a long dirt road...) I did get it smoothed just in time for pick up..it was the bow causing the bulge. The tiny cake just could not handle it! I am new to the cake world, so this is a learning curve for me I will post picture soon!