WHen I make a cake: tort, fill, top, cover, fondant etc everything seems to look great. Then the next day I see the cake has settled and therefore the fondant looks "rippled" for lack of a better word. Like you can see where my two cake pieces are under the fondant and where the filling is. Does that make sense? Is it because I'm not squaring the cakes all the way around before covering? Do you all do that? Is there a step I'm missing?

Are you letting your cakes settle after you fill them before you ice them?

After you have torted, before you apply your fondant, apply some gentle pressure to the top of the cake pressing down or, as in some previous posts, take a 12x12 inch tile (covered in plastic or foil) and place it on top of the cake let this sit for a bit and that will "settle" your cake layers and get any air or space out from the between the layers. I use the gentle pressure method. Then you should be safe to fondant without any bulges.

oooh! No I've never done that....at least not for an extended period of time. I suppose for some I have and those cakes have come out just fine. But sometimes I do tort, ice and then fondant all within about 30 minutes so I'll definitely try letting them settle longer! Thanks so much for the tip!

How long does it usually take for a cake to settle? Are we talking an hour? several hours? over night?

Here's a great video about troubleshooting problems with fondant:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SweetWiseInc?feature=pvchclk#p/u/6/NwlMfX_mnEU
The video that pops up should be Fondant Survival. HTH

I would press the layers down gently then let sit out about 30 -45 minutes, others might say longer, still others shorter!

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-633571-tile.html

Check out this post...

When I do my cakes, I fill them, then let it set in the fridge for around 20 minutes. Then dirty ice, then again, let it sit for around 20 minutes. Then do a good coat of frosting, and then let it sit in the fridge again for around 30 minutes. I think all of this really helps it to let it settle before I put any fondant on!

Excellent video from Sweetwise.. thank you for posting that!

I got this tip somewhere (maybe on CC) but when I take my cakes out of the oven, while they are still warm and in the pan, I set the next size pan on top of a piece of wax paper on top of the warm cake and weight it with a box of salt. This pushes the dome down (less to cut off), and takes some of the air out of the cake, but it also keeps some of the "steam" from evaporating and makes my cakes moister. I let it set for about 10 minutes and then turn out on a baking rack.

I also learned that if you cut a piece of waxed paper and put in the bottom of your pan before you grease/flour it, it keeps the cake from sticking better. You don't even have to cut it round, a square will do, just make sure it covers most of the bottom of the pan and to peel it off when you get ready to ice it.

I also dirty ice my cakes after filling them and put a piece of wax paper over the top and set a flat plate with a ziplock bag full of those flat glass marbles on it and set it in the fridge to set up. When you are ready to do your final icing, just peel the wax paper off and voila...smooth top.

HTH

I've heard of bakery flipping the whole cake pan over right out of the oven and this keeps the moisture in the cake and from evaporating into the air. If you can see your fillings through the fondant (in a bulge) then your fondant is too thin, and your cake's aren't perfectly level or they wouldn't bulge like that.

OP- I forgot to add, the video I posted from Sweet Wise specifically talks about sagging at about 2:37

Very good video!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!! This is all GREAT advice!!!!!