Few Questions I Need Answers To!

Decorating By pburgess68 Updated 17 Feb 2011 , 1:05am by pburgess68

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pburgess68 Posted 16 Feb 2011 , 4:40pm
post #1 of 7

I tried posting on separate threads but I didn't get any replies and time is of the essence so... hopefully someone here can help!

As we speak I have the doctored RV cake in the oven. When in comes out do I...nm the timer rang! Ok, so now it's out of the oven and cooling on a rack (in the pan still since it literally just came out as I was typing this)...

I am making an anchor cake by laying 2 flat sheet type pans next to each other. My thougts are to torte them when cool and lay a piece of parchment between the 2 layers on each cake, keeping them 2 separate cakes for now, then carve them when I'm ready to do so.

From what I read, I shouldn't fill the cake yet because it wil have the white chocolate cream cheese filling and frosting. Is this correct? I am trying to freeze this cake for my daughter's going away party before she leaves for the Navy next week.

For the anchor cake:

  • Torte and fill now, after it's cold, but before it's frozen?
    Torte now, put the parchment paper between the layers and then freeze?
    Freeze whole cakes and hope I can torte them later?



Hope you understand my train of thought here, have this cake, a birthday cake due a few days later after the anchor, and a wedding cake in my brain right now.

For the wedding cake:
I was reading about the Bettercream. Assuming my Sam's store will allow me to purchase it, which would be better for my situation? The wedding is April in on the South coast of the US. Weather is very unpredicatable as it can either be 70 or 90 that time of year, and generally it's very humid. Wedding and reception are outdoors.

  • Use Bettercream with the extra flavorings listed on that awesome spreadsheet
    Use buttercream and bettercream mixed together using those flavorings
    Use that horrid Crisco/butter buttercream (I literally just shivered thinking about that!), but add meringue powder to it for stability.
    Other unknown choices



Last year when I did a wedding cake in May, it was excrutiatingly hot, yet another outdoors wedding/reception, and the cake decorations and frosting melted. I had used what was requested, a high butterfat frosting like Almond Butter cream that had no Crisco whatsoever. I was depressed when my handcrafted paisleys slid not so gracefully down the cake icon_wink.gif

I will be using: fondant and/or gumpaste for decorations, but she wants the cake with BC and not a BC/Fondant covering. Design not set yet, but thinking fondant swags and some simple designs since they are simple people and don't want anything fancy. (I had to convince them to do the Tuxedo cake cause one wanted choc, the other vanilla, and looked like the bride was winning with vanilla! Compromise!!)

I would like to start THIS cake, at least the baking part, as soon as I can so I can concentrate on drawing out the design elements as well as plan the birthday cake for March...

6 replies
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pmarks0 Posted 16 Feb 2011 , 7:24pm
post #2 of 7

I'll see if I can help you out.

Anchor Cake

I'm trying to picture what you're doing here. Are you using two 2" layers placed side by side on a board and then carving out a 2D anchor or placing an anchor on the cake (ie buttercream, image, however)?

If you're carving, then I wouldn't bother torting at this time. Freeze both cakes and then carve them partially frozen. Torte and fill afterwards. If you're doing the latter, then I'd say you could torte and freeze now although you can torte a partially frozen cake. I'd even say fill but I'm not familiar with how well a cream cheese frosting will freeze. Someone else may be able to help. Just be sure to wrap your cakes very well when freezing them.


Wedding Cake

I can't get bettercreme in Canada so I can't speak to that. But, I know what you mean about the Crisco icing issue. I now use SugarShack's buttercream. It uses a high ratio shortening and taste really good. I don't like the sickly sweet American buttercreams but this one is really good. And it shouldn't melt on you. The meringue powder doesn't really do much. I've made Wilton's buttercream and left it out and it still will crust.

Sometimes you have to educate your client on what is realistic and possible. If you're in a region where the heat becomes an issue, you either tell your client an all butter icing isn't possible (ie SMBC) or your tell them the cake must be kept indoors, perhaps until the cutting. I have people who love the American buttercream I use (SugarShack's). They can't tell there's no butter in it, but I use the butter flavouring as well as whatever other flavouring I'm using.

HTH
Pam

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pburgess68 Posted 16 Feb 2011 , 8:50pm
post #3 of 7

To clarify: Yes, I was intending on putting 2-13"x2" deep or whatever the Wilton measurements are, side by side, and then drawing out the anchor outline, and then carving it.

However, when I took the cake out of the pan, we saw how thin it was (I used one recipe per pan, should have used 2, but didn't want or need that much cake as it wouldn't have been eaten, it's a small party). What I decided to do was to individually freeze each cake, thorougly wrapped.

I will be able to fill and stack them like layers (and not torting each cake) instead of going side by side, because we would have had to use the recipe x4 to get the correct size originally...WAY too much cake!! I had to alter the size of the anchor, obviously, to fit into the new dimensions, but when I drew it out it looked really nice!! I freehanded it and used a toothpick to gently scrape where I was going to cut later on.

Wish I was better at putting my thoughts on paper, or in this case, online. I'm sure none of this makes sense lol. This is how we originally planned it out: "x" representing one 2 layer cake, "o" representing the other 2 layer cake

xxxxoooo
xxxxoooo
xxxxoooo
xxxxoooo
xxxxoooo

It's now just the "x" size, and using the "o" as the top layer.

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pmarks0 Posted 16 Feb 2011 , 8:55pm
post #4 of 7

LOL - it made sense.

And yes, when you're carving cakes, you usually end up with more cake than you need, usually to accommodate the design, and much waste from the carving.

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cake_architect Posted 16 Feb 2011 , 9:08pm
post #5 of 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by pburgess68



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i thought you were giving hugs and blowing kissing when i first saw this! lmao!

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ChRiStY_71 Posted 16 Feb 2011 , 9:15pm
post #6 of 7

Haha! I thought you were blowing kisses too!

I live in the Southeast...I have never had a problem with regular buttercream and I have never tried the bettercream. How long will the cake be out in the sun?

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pburgess68 Posted 17 Feb 2011 , 1:05am
post #7 of 7

Boy, you're lucky if you haven't ever had a problem. The weekend of the melt-my-cake wedding was easily in the high 90s.

I'm unsure how long this one will be in the heat. This cake is going to NC (I'm in SC). I know the intend on refrigerating it for a period, but it could be out for a while if they run out of space in the fridge, I'm guessing.


Anchor cake update: back to my hugs and kisses! My daughter has invited a bunch more ppl I wasn't expecting!!! Making 2 more sheets...

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