Help!! My Cake Is Bulging!

Decorating By vickylara2004 Updated 26 Sep 2010 , 7:52am by eve81

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vickylara2004 Posted 25 Sep 2010 , 1:14pm
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Does anyone have any tips for preventing cake layer bulge? Everytime I make a cake I can't seem to avoid my buttercream fillings from eventually forming a bulge underneath my fondant and it always happens several hours after the cake has been covered, stacked and has come to room temperature. This time its a topsy-turvy and the cake even started to take on a different shape then the way I originally carved it. I'm really stressing...PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

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CWR41 Posted 25 Sep 2010 , 1:55pm
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zespri Posted 26 Sep 2010 , 6:33am
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I have only filled a cake once, but I came on here and asked for advice throughout the process. I'll paste the advice I received for you, as I copied and pasted it into a file for future reference. Each paragraph is probably an individual post which I've just pasted all into the same document, so it doesn't have good flow!:

Pipe some stiff buttercream around the edge as a dam, then spread the filling

After you filled the cakes and did a crumb coat (a thin layer of buttercream that WILL have cake crumbs in it, just to seal them in before your final icing layer) the cakes are stacked and then left to settle.

You can hasten the settling by placing something with a little bit of weight to it on top of the cakes. Some people have used a wrapped up or clean ceramic floor tile placed on the cake. Others have used the cake tin, filled with dry beans for the weight.

You may see your filling bulge in the middle, around the cake. After the cake has rested a few hours, you can scrape that off and apply your final coat of icing. You will end up with smooth sides because you've already let the settling/bulging process occur, instead of having that happen to you after the cake is "all dressed."

With dulce de leche you have to let the cake sit for a while. You want to do that anyway in order to prevent the dreaded bulge (I push down on it as soon as I add the top layer and let it sit for about 4 hours - never had a problem doing it like that). I use it quite often so I can tell you his....if your BC dam is thick you only want to fill the cake with dulce de leche about 3/4. You want the dam to rise above it slightly. Does that make sense? Because once you add the 2nd layer it will create a perfect barrier and you'll have zero leakage. I only make my dam and filling level if I use BC or whipped ganache -basically a more sturdy filling.

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eve81 Posted 26 Sep 2010 , 7:52am
post #4 of 4

try ganache next time to cover cake. There will not be bulging! icon_smile.gif

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