I just made my first topsy turvy cake this past week, and I have a ton of questions as a result. I haven't taken any formal cake decorating classes, so I am basically learning to do by doing (and scouring CC and YouTube).

So, here they are... all the snags that I hit, that I'm hoping I can avoid in the future.

1. Cake size - I used 10" and 8" pans (three layers for each tier), but aside from the top, I didn't do any carving, as it seemed a bit intimidating. I'm thinking I should have carved now... what base size should I have ended up with? Oh, and is it as hard as it looks?

2. Optimal difference in size of tiers - I only had two inches difference, and it didn't feel like enough?

3. Rolling out and draping fondant on bottom 10" tier - impossible. I just about lost my mind trying to do this. Any and all tips are greatly appreciated!

4. Side of bottom tier buckling under the pressure of the top tier - I put supports directly underneath the second tier, but the side of the ended up doing this weird buckling thing. Ways to avoid?

5. Buttercream icing - Super super sweet, too sweet in fact. Does anyone have a favourite icing for crumb coating that doesn't put you into sugar shock?

Hmm... I think that's about it (for now). Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to help me improve my topsy turvy cake making skills!

I tried to upload a photo of the cake with my post, but it wouldn't work. I do have a picture of it on my profile... thanks!

Your cake turned out nice! - love the colour combo

when I made my first TT cake i used the same measurements as you did but i did carve the sides as well. so the boards i used were roughly an inch smaller then the cake and i tipped the cake over so the base was face up and carved down in sections using a good knife. You dont need to be afraid of carving if you use a sturdy cake recipe - i use the original wasc recipe and it tastes great

Your cake looks great. I just tried making one in March of this year. It was hard. Originally, it was supposed to be a BC top tier and fondant stripes on the bottom tier. I panic and put fondant on the top tier, I didn't want to stress making the BC smooth, carve a cake in an angle and put all these decorations on.

Here's my first topsy-turvy I did this past weekend. It was very tricky - my first one went in the trash! I tried to carve without the cake being frozen and it turned into a crumbled heap. On my second attempt, I made sure both layers were frozen before carving and it went much smoother. After sitting on the counter for a day, however, the top tier started to sink a bit into the base tier but I attribute that to not enough support. I only used one bubble tea straw and I figured it would be enough support since the top tier was a 4". I used the same WASC recipe I always use but this time I used a strawberry mix. I also used a crusting buttercream recipe and made sure to get it as smooth as possible before applying the fondant. I baked my cakes in two 6" and two 4" pans and after torting them both, I froze them in order to carve a slight taper.

guess the attachment didn't attach... ill try again.


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If you check out my photos, it's the pink and blue zebra stripe cake. I can't get it to work.