Hi All,
I made this cake over the weekend and you can see a bit of bulging with the fondant on the lower left of it. I'm new to this, just started with this obsession in November, but this seems to be a recurring problem for me. http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2276366/youth-group-30-hr-famine-cake

I make my layers thin (sliced each of the two 8 inch layers in half horizontally), and used a butter/crm chesse crumbcoat and filling that was fairly thick. Anyone else get the bulging? And what did you do to fix it? Thanks for ANY suggestions!!! Funny thing is the kids didn't notice. They were thrilled and said I should be on Cake Boss. HA!
Debslynn

Your cake looks great!!! The bulge is barely noticeable - but I know that frustration- did you dam your cake? Add powdered sugar to your buttercream and pipe a thick bead around the edge of your cake add your filling so that it doesn't go over the dam- that should do the trick. It always takes much longer in the beginning to decorate cakes- you will get faster

Thanks for the idea Maurorless67... I had thought about that possibility but since the buttercream I filled with was a bit on the thicker side in density already (as opposed to being put on thickly), I'm not sure that was the issue. Do you always do a super dense piping even if you are going to fill the layers with something fairly dense?
Any other possibilities???

I always do a thick dam. I make my dam so thick that I have to roll it into ropes, it would be way too thick to pipe. That buldge looks like it was from frosting settling down the side, not so much from filling (though I don't know where your layers were so it could be. You don't want your frosting to be too creamy or it can smoosh towards the bottom. It's also best to through the cake in the freezer for 10ish minutes after you frost it, while you roll out your fondant, so it sets, then your fondant helps keep the frosting in place as it warms up... Don't know if either of those are your issue but it's worth a shot. Looks great though, something only us cakers would notice. Keep working at it.

I find that once I have stacked the cake, its best to let it sit for at least an hour to let it settle, sometimes I even put a plate on top to help it smoosh down a little, Id rather have to correct the problem before I get the whole thing crumb coated.

I don't think damming has anything to do with this problem since there is no bulging at the filling layers. It is strictly a settling issue. Try leaving your cake several hours or overnight before covering in fondant or buttercream. Some people also place a clean tile on top to accelerate this process.

At what point is it bulging? As soon as you apply the fondant? If so, it's probably the frosting getting pushed down towards the bottom. If it happens an hour or more (approximately) after covering with fondant, it's probably settling and you need to allow the cake to settle between filling and frosting it.

Thanks for all the great feedback. The settling happenned after an hour or so after covering with fondant. I think I need to do what you ladies have suggested... let it settle first, probably with a plate on top! Also, it occurs to me that I need to be totally sure that there is NO roundedness left to my cake when I torte.
Thanks to all you cakeangels out there!

The cake is turned out great and you don't really notice a bulge.