So I have agreed to do a wedding cake for an acquaintance. She won't be paying me or anything like that, which is fine since I'm not a cake decorator! I wanted to be, tried and tried, but I'm not good at it. It's ok, I like to bake all sorts of things, and do pretty well in other areas. Anyway, the cake she picked is not that complex in terms of decorations, but I have 2 areas of concern: getting the cake perfectly square and level, and that "bulge" in the middle once I add the filling. Can anyone walk me thorough some basic steps/tips to getting a perfectly square cake? Like: bake, cool, cut, fill, freeze, ...?? And why am I getting that bulge of filling? Thanks for any help you can offer, I sure appreciate it

My first suggestion would be to check out youtube. They have many videos that will show you step-by-step how to ice and fill cakes. Secondly, I would like to suggest that you bake your cakes ahead of time so that they have time to rest. This will allow them to "settle" so to speak (allow the excess air to escape from the cake. Mix and bake and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and let them settle overnight or up to 24 hours. Unwrap and level, fill, and crumbcoat. Allow the cake to settle again. Use a good sturdy icing to create a dam of icing before filling. Some people put some type of weight on the cake to squish out excess air, however, I do not. When putting fondant on a square cake, do the corners first and then smooth the fondant between the corners. As I said, if you check out youtube you will see how to ice the cake via video and how to put icing on a square cake. I also have these videos on my blog, if you would like to check it out. The blog address is listed below. It is easier to understand the video then it is to try and explain it with the written word.

Thanks, cabecakes, for being the only member to take pity on me and try to help me out lol! And for the good advice-just what I was looking for.

Also check out www.wilton.com for decorating tips and advice. They have a whole section on using fondant, square cakes, and damming first before filling to stop the bulge. I'm sure your cake will be great. Good Luck!

Once the cake is baked and cooled make sure you level it completly flat, this extra cake if not trimmed can many times be the culprit in the excess bulge, it pushes your filling to the edges when you stack your cake and it has time to settle. Great advise listed by Cabecakes, good luck.

I recommend the DVDs by Sugarshack (aka Sharon Zambito) The DVDs are step by step and are excellent quality. Of all the decoratin DVDs I own Sharon's are my favorite.

Thanks so much everyone! Also, I just re-read my first "thank you" post and I sure didn't mean that to sound the way it does; was just trying to be funny. I know everyone on this forum is super helpful, and didn't mean to sound un-gracious