I have been watching "Fabulous Cakes" and see that a lot of the bakers use what looks like 1" layers. For example, a 6" round. Would I make 2- 2" layers and torte both of them? Does this make the frosting/filling and cake ratio better? Why do they do that? Is it worth the trouble? Does anyone else do this?

That's exactly what I do.

Yep. Actually, I use 4 layers that are slightly less than 1" each. That way, when you add the filling, crumb coat & fondant, you have a tier that is exactly 4" tall...the industry standard size.

I also do it that way.
- I think it looks nicer when cut.
- I think it allows you to use a thinner layer of filling, thus reducing the chances for bulging/sliding that one thick layer of filling between two 2" layers can cause.
- Let's folks get a little filling with every bite of cake.

For those of you that use 1 inch layers, how much filling do you use? I think I may be overfilling, although I don't get any bulging since I crumbcoat with ganache all the time. I did a bridal shower cake for a friend and when the cake slices were served I felt that my cake was overwhelmed by the amount of filling. Everyone else seemed to like it, but it was too much filling for my taste.

My 8 and 9" pans are 2" but more more often used 6 and 10 are 3". Is it ok to use less batter so I won't be wasting so much? I am going to be making a 6x3 and an 8x2 rounds next weekend. So I would fill the 6x3 1/2 full and the 8x2 3/4 and then when I torte them (I always measure) make each layer about 1"?

Good question jmr531 about the filling. Customer wants strawberry filling, so would it be best to put a thin amount of buttercream and then a thin amount of strawberry filling on top of that?

I dam with ganache and my filling is around 1/4" thick, in a cake torted into 4 3/4" layers. So my overall height is just over 4", depending on how thick my ganache crumbcoat (generally thin) and fondant is.

hmmm...not sure why your quote says that I wrote that Lalla. It actually was written by artscallion.

oh yes, that's right, I made some mistake and corrected later, but not all of it it seems
I'll do it now.

so when you say you are using ganache for your dam, or crumb coating...what recipe? Obviously, not a pourable ganache? Please help a newbie! Thank you!!

If I'm using semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, I use 1 part heavy cream to 2 parts chocolate. If I'm using white chocolate, it's 1 part heavy cream to 3 parts chocolate. Heat up the heavy cream and then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute or two, then stir it until all the chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth. Let the ganache sit until it is the consistency of peanut butter. Sometimes I put it in the fridge to help it move along faster, but you have to remember to stir it from time to time. If it gets too thick or hard to spread, you can melt it a bit over a water-bath. Any unused ganache can be frozen and used at a later date.

thank you jmr531 !! I am going to have to try that on a cake this next week. I am doing one today, with the pourable version of ganache. First attempt, but looks so good I had to try it.