I'm finding I have more difficulty with the cakes themselves than the decorating. What works best to transfer the second layer of cake--especially large ones--onto the iced/filled first layer? I'd love to torte, but can't imagine successfully stacking those thin layers without breakage and disaster. Does it help to freeze the cake first? If so, do you wrap it to freeze?
Freezing is one way. I've done that successfully with large layers. Just make sure that you wrap the cake before freezing to prevent drying out, and make sure the frozen layer is defrosted before you finish icing the cake.
You can also use a flat baking sheet to slide the layer onto then off of. A sprinkle of powered sugar (or cocoa power for chocolate cakes) on the sheet will help prevent sticking.
i find that is helpful to transfer a layer that is cold, not necessarily frozen, but at least out of the fridge. Also, what i like to do, is add the filling to the bottom layer and then stick the cake in the freezer for ~5 min, so the filling "firms" up. that way when i do transfer my top layer onto the cake, the filling doesn't squish out, and i can also carefully move the top layer around so it is directly on top.
it is also helpful to have an extra pair of hands around when moving sheet cake size layers!
For smaller layers I bought a cake lifter. It is a 10 inch spatula like thing. So I think 10 inch cake is as big as you could go with that. But it slides on and off great! I love it. For larger cakes I have used just a cardboard cake board/circle. The cake slides off of it pretty nicely too. I tried a baking sheet once and it kind of got stuck on it. Maybe i have too much baking goop on it.
I don't worry about the squishing - in fact I very firmly press on each layer as I place it to make sure it is level and firmly adhering to the filling. I like to keep my fillings to less than 1/4" which seems to let me avoid unnecessary movement in the layers after assembly. I also use a cake board and/or a flat (no rim) cookie sheet to move the layers around.
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