How do I avoid the Nasty Bulge in between the layers of my cake? I smooth and smooth and yet I still have the bulget, especially when traveling with a cake.

Thanks.

are you using a stiff buttercream between your layers? Are you using any other filling?

My questions exactly- are you using a stiff buttercream for your icing dam if doing a filling? Are you putting in too much filling?

Try moving your buttercream/filling & icing dam in a smidge from the edge of your cake, then when you place the other layer on top and press down a bit- it shouldn't squish past the edge of the cake.

HTH

I hate bulges too! Most of the time they occur because of gravity. As the cake relaxes and gravity pushes it downward, the icing and/or filling is pushed outward. You need to make an EXTRA stiff buttercream dam (add alot more powdered sugar) and use it just inside the cake edge. The dam will keep your filling on the inside. Another CCer recommended that you place a tile or other weighted item on top of the cake after you've crumb coated to help gravity along. Don't use anything too heavy or your filling will all mush out. You can smooth out the bulge then before icing your cake. I use this alot and it works like a charm. I have also read pn here where some CCers ice their cakes frozen or semi frozen and have no problems with bulges. Personally, I've never tried that method. Hope that helps.

I think that may be the problem. I have not been using a "Stiff" buttercream. I just use the regular buttercream that I use for the icing. We have lots of humidity here so maybe making the icing more stiff will help that.

Thank you!

Check that your cake pans do not nest together. If they do, the sides are not perfectly straight, and you will always have the buldge unless you physically trim the cake until the sides are straight.
I'd took me forever to figure out that was the problem with a lot of my cakes. The Wilton pans are bad off on some of them. I've started buying Magic Line instead, thanks to tips received here on CC.