I am going to be doing a 3 tier topsy turvy cake (top tier will be RKT) for my daughters birthday for July 12. I have a few questions/concerns. Ok here we go:

1. The party is Sunday July 12. I wanted to bake the cakes that previous wednesday and fill and crumb coat and put them in the freezer. WOuld this be ok to do 4 days in advance? They will be filled with the sleeve cream cheese filling from fondant soure.com and frosted with cream cheese frosting I got on here (http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-4153-Decorators-Cream-Cheese-Frosting.html). Is it ok to freeze this frosting?

2. Should I carve the cakes before or after freezing them? Which one would be easier? Or should I freeze them then fill, crumb coat and carve while they are still semi frozen?

3. I will be covering the cake with fondant (maybe satin ice, not sure yet). Would it be ok to cover them saturday night and decorate them? Then keep the cake in a box in the basement where it is cool? I dont have room to keep it in the fridge and not sure about refrigerating fondant.

I want to try to get everything done saturday night and maybe put just finishing touches on sunday morning. I have made a topsy turvy cake before (photos) and I know from that what I did wrong and have watched tutorials on you tube and read them on here. Any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated, I want this to be an awesome cake for my daughter's 4th birthday. TIA!!

bump....anyone??

omg thank you so much Bluehue!! That helps me so much!! So I should crumb coat and then carve? Then apply another thin layer of frosting before adding the fondant? Thanks again soooo very much!!!

I would freeze, carve and then fill and crumbcoat. But I will carve before putting any filling/frosting in it.

Thanks for all the advice guys! Anyone else have any tips or advice?? Maybe some good tutorials to watch?? Thanks!!

http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how-to-make-a-topsy-turvy-cake

That is a great video! I hope it helps!

Thank you BlueHue, that info really helps me too!

Marie

Kaiah723 - your very welcome


hollyh [/b]...I would freeze, carve and then fill and crumbcoat. But I will carve before putting any filling/frosting in it.
holly, if you carve, then fill and crumbcoat - it will be too difficult to line all your layers up again where as in the video link you poseted you wil see that *she* torts the layers - then carves - then crumbcoats -
Excellant video clip tho for all to watch...

bourbs - you are also very welcome .

Just a side note - every cake i make and decorate - i freeze in layers of glad wrap (saran/plastic wrap) about 30 minutes of it coming out of the oven. That way it locks in the moisture and is easier to cut into layers or carve - they don't loose as many crumbs when torting into layers.... plus the cake is firmer for when you place your hand flat on top to hold it in place whilst cutting. (no dent on top from the pressure of your hand).


Bluehue.

I have a question on this topic now Last time I made a topsy turvy.. my first time ever... I made the layers, froze them, took them out of the freezer, layered and filled, cut the layers just like that video (i watched that video 3 times before attempting it!), buttercreamed, put fondant on, and about 6 hours later, the cake literally fell apart from all the moisture. It looked like a child's first birthday cake, it was sooo destroyed. Why did that happen? I've never frozen a cake since! haha! TIA!!!

You should definitely invest in Sugarshack's new Topsy Turvy DVD. It's unbelievably helpful. She carves the cakes upside down. Instead of buttercream she uses ganache which hardens and makes a great smooth surface for the fondant. She even gives a recipe for a firmer cake so it can handle all the extra weight. Her talents are remarkable.

I only use box butter recipe. Froze, filled with stiff buttercream, trimmed to turvey design, and crumbcoated. Kept frozen for a week while I worked on it. Was spectacular for a 4 yr old party. Tips: I find the chocolate layers are heavier. I put them on the bottom. When cutting to the "funnel" shape, remember it is the impression you are trying to create, while having as little of the cake hanging out as possible. Keep as much cake focused over that central column as possible. Be a little mean to your cakes. Let 'em dry just a little. I think you are right. The fondant really holds in the moisture. Any moisture from the BC will naturally migrate into the cake when covered in fondant - weakening the cake.

If your filling is going to be anything other than icing, I would recommend splitting,freezing,stacking the layers, carving, then damming, filling and assembling tiers. If one is concerned about realigning the layers, use the toothpick method(placing toothpicks aligned vertically on each layer as guides to repositioning the layers)

If you plan on filling with icing the same as the outside, do as is done in the video shared above by a pp.

Cheerio623 ...What type of cake did you make and was it what you would call a dense cake?

I make a dense cake - either Dark chocolate mud cake or a white chocolate mud cake.
When i torte and crumbcoat i use chocolate ganache - chill in fridge for at least 3 hours then begin decorating with regalice (type of fondant) then decorate.

Bh.

I used a box chocolate cake mix (easier for me as this is just a hobby ) Was it too heavy you think with all the moisture from the freezing and the icing? I have yet to attempt it again, as i'm scared all my work will crumble again and bring tears to my eyes! Also, do you put a cake base/cardboard piece in between the layers for the dowels to help hold up the upper layer? I've never taken a class... just read a lot and watch youtube videos I've never read anything about that though! I am now addicted to cc.com and can't stop reading all the forums/articles/recipes!

Yes, definitely put something in between the layers. I have used the SPS system and the dowel/cardboard method. You definitely need a cake circle in between the layers so when the cake weight comes down on the dowels there is something to hold it up. Otherwise the dowels will just go straight through your cake and it can crumble. I hope that helps.

Ok so I attempted to make the topsy turvy...had a total cake disaster I really thought I could do this and followed all directions and watched the video like 5 or 6 times and my night was horrible. The fondant was looking like elephant skin and breaking on me, the cakes were lumpy and the middle tier kept drooping-I told my mom I knew it wouldnt make it through the night. I know I am NO WHERE near professional but I know I can do better than what I did. I was a mess, my daughters party was about 14 hours away and I had no back up plan, no more eggs or other items needed to bake more cakes. The tears just kept comin and I went into panic mode. Well to make a long story short, I woke up at 6:45AM to go to my job (grocery store) and get everything I needed to start all over After this, I really dont think I am cut out for all this. Here is the only picture I have of the disaster cake from my phone so its not that good. But you can kinda see the fondant drooping on the middle tier. I am so embarassed by awful looking mess of a cake but here it goes anyway... The other one is the cake I put together last minute and was pretty happy with the way it came out...and advice or tips or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! (please dont be too harsh, I am still so embarrased by this )