Ok ... I'm doing a wedding cake for tomorrow. It's iced in buttercream. It's WASC with lemon curd filling. On the top tier, the icing completely broke the dam, and it's so wobbly, I can't crumb coat it! I just put it in the fridge to firm up a bit. So my question is, should I scrape off and start over? Just spread fresh icing after it's chilled? I don't want there to be a big bulge in the side of the cake. Please Please tell me your opinions.
Thanks

alright, in my stress ... I'm realizing that it's the FILLING that broke the icing dam. Sorry if anyone was confused!!

I'm not a pro, so take what I say with a grain of salt...but your cake symptoms seem to point to way too much filling. If it broke the dam and it is wobbly and it is a wedding cake, I would not hesitate to take it a part, scrape some of that filling out add to your dam and re-crumb coat. Just firming it up in the fridge is not going to give you the stability you need for a cake like that.

Just a little filling. A very thin layer. You know?

thanks, that's what I was afraid of. Do you think my crumb coat icing could be too stiff? Would that be causing the "moving" problem? I still think I do have a little too much filling. At least it's not the base layers, only the 6in. top that's having the problem.

I also think you have too much filling. The icing for your dam should be very thick and applied with just a coupler (no tip). I don't think your crumb coat would cause the moving. How thick is the filling layer?

gosh I had this same problem last night. I took the layers apart, recreated the dam where it broke and it still slightly broke again but only in one spot that I was able to fix. I feel your pain. Someone suggested to me use a stiffer icing for the dam which I think would have helped. Maybe you could try that? Good luck, I know it's frusterating!