I could use some expert opinion on this one..
I've made a few topsy turvy cakes and on two of them I have had the same issue.
1. I use sturdy cake and make three 2inch layer cakes per tier.
2. I freeze the layers individually, wrapped well. When I'm ready to assemble, I get them to room temp, dam and fill, stack and carve, then in the fridge with weight to settle overnight.
3. The next day, Out to room temp, ganach and leave out on counter overnight to set.
4. Here comes the problem... when I place fondant on the tier, it begins to get soft and bulge to the point I can't continue. :
I use 3:1 for white and 2:1 for chocolate ganach. The temp inside is 73-74 degrees. I use both mmf and satin ice.(depends) I dam per Sharon, and don't use soft fillings. I can't seem to find the connection between the two caketastrophies. Different flavors, fillings etc. Any comments would be greatly appreciated BTW, I have had successful TT"s but obviously not consistent. TIA

This happens to me sometimes when I torte (it doesn't happen when I don't cut the layer in half) Try this, after you dam and fill/torte press down on the top layer firmly.. some people use a brick or something equally heavy on a cookie sheet, then fridge. Doing this makes sure that the cake is totally settled before you go to fondant and should take care of those bulges. That's all I can think of!

Settling doesn't happen in the fridge. Settling really only occurs at room temp. And it's not a brick, it's a ceramic tile.

Leah, should I settle at room temp as opposed to placing the tiers in the fridge?

Yes, a tile.... a brick would settle it all the way down the the base! Thanks Leah

Hee-Hee (brick) But should I settle out of the fridge?

Yes, settle outside of fridge... just torte, press down firmly or use the "tile" method... then crumb coat. If you are applying the fondant that same day there is no need to put it in the fridge unless your trying to speed up the crusting of the crumb coat? If your house is a comfortable tempurature about 20, 30 minutes should do it for crusting then your set to add fondant.

Oh thank you!! Giving it a try now!

If you apply slight pressure when placing each layer onto the filling than you shouldn't need to place any weight on top of the cake.

people may throw rocks at me for this but oh well,

if i am covering a cake in fondant i typically do not use a dam, i use filling all the way to the edge, applying pressure as i layer, then a good crumb coat. i do this because any filling that gets mixing in the icing will not show through the fondant covering and i do not have any problems with bulge or air bubbles this way.

Ok, so I now have a filled 3 layer tier no crumb coat because I plan on tapering and ganaching, in the freezer. After I taper is it wise to "tile" the tier prior to gananching to avoid bulging as I dont have time to wait over-night for it to settle? I will be short on time as the cake has alot of detail and is due tomorrow. I just don't want another redo, so your tips are super appreciated!!

I would just press down (gently but with pressure) and scrape off any bulging filling.

As I said earlier I never place anything on top of my tiers, I just apply pressure and continue on.

I don't dam either, I spread the filling to within 1/4" of edge. If you're dam is too thick that could be why you're getting so much bulging.

Cakestyles, hmmmm interesting about the dam. Makes me want to go scrape it out!! And sure makes sense too. Let me fetch my tiers and violate them!!

lol I'll never tell. hehe


Seriously though if your filling is thick enough it won't go anywhere.

Oh those poor layers... they never saw it coming!! I hope Sharon doesn't read this... oh the shame! Now i will wait for the "firm" and attack them with a serrated knife and seal their tapered fate.