I need to use a dam for next filled cake as filling will be caramel (condensed milk version), Will canned frosting stand up to the task?
Should I thicken it with powderer sugar before piping?
First time I have used a dam so all advice is welcome.
Thank you so much.
The last time I used carmel filling in a cake I used canned icing for a dam. It worked for about 10 minutes. Then my carmel starting oozing out the sides. I would thicken it to be on the safe side. HTH.
What are you icing your cake with?
Usually you should use a stiff consistency buttercream to make your dam and then thin the rest to ice the cake.
But...I don't see why you can't use the canned stuff but maybe just double up..
IMHO you will damage your cakes taste if you use canned icing for the dam. I know I really dislike the taste of it, so maybe I am just biased. Also it's just too mushy. I would use your favorite buttercream recipe and mix it as liste below....
I attended a tier cake class last monday and we talked about torting and stacking. :
First to build the dam on the outer rim of the cake, the teacher used a combination of cake crumbs and BC he called it mortar (I would say about 3/4 cup cake that he crumbs up and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of BC - he piped it out of a cone) He used this for the dam and it was really yummy and more stable than just buttercream itself.
Once you have your dam, you can add your flavor and your simple syrup if you decide to use some.
Then he said if your cake it not even you trim it.
After this he crumbcoated the sides with more of the mortar and the top he used plain BC.
If you want to make each of the 2 layers in 2 small cakes that would probably work, I would just make sure to level and then use a simple syrup to make sure you have good flavor.
I would only torte between the 2 top and bottome layers and in the very center I would use buttercream so that it's clear they can give the top piece to someone and the bottom to another. If you want to make it really simple that way.
Depending on the colors, I would make the cake as simple as possible, just so you dont spend too much time on it. It you will have some Flowers on the top.
I did a search in the gallery with : wedding round rose strawberries and there was only 1 cake example.
But you could put the simple border on the top and bottom of each cakes and let the strawberries decorate the sides.
I hope this helps.
It turned out really nice.
Good Luck.
Will be 3 tiers, each covered in (Satinice) fondant.
Sweetness_221...that is what I was afraid might happen. The last time I used the Caramel/carmel it tasted fabulous - but it is beast to work with...my top layer was on the move all by itself - near disaster averted by serving the cake earlier than planned though.
Gateaux...thanks for the tips and cake description, but is not a wedding cake, no -one is taking anything home, and won't be a flower in sight.
JoanneK...thanks for the Wilton idea...how does it taste...I know their fondant is nasty, but what about their frosting?
How thick is your caramel? If you use a thick caramel filling that isn't runny at all and you torte and use a thin layer of the caramel you don't even need a dam, even for a stacked cake. I have done this many times but the trick is a thin layer and you assemble the cake and then let it rest for 30 min so you can then see if you have any areas of leakage. This is good advice for any cake with a filling. Gives you time to see what's going to happen before you ice the cake and fix any problems them.
If you are having slippery slippage (try saying that fast 5 times! 
) issues you may be overfilling the layers. fill below the level of the dam.
Buttercream is so easy to make. Is there a reason you don't want to make your own? It would be worth it even just for the dam. You could even use some of the caramel in the bc.
hth!
I make the carmel the same way but then add cream cheese to it untill it reaches a stiff consistency. Keep tasting it though so that it still has the carmel taste. It doesn't take too much cream cheese. Sometime when I have a "slippery" filling I take out about a quarter inch of the tier that the frosting would go on an istead of spreading the filling on the top of the layer it goes inside. You have to cut in about a fourth inch from the edge all the way around the layer, lift it out and fill.
Gateaux...thanks for the tips and cake description, but is not a wedding cake, no -one is taking anything home, and won't be a flower in sight.
Sorry about that, I thought I edeted the wedding stuff out, I just wanted to write about the dam.
Good Luck.
Dam (pun intended) you guys are good....
Dodibug thanks for tips on caramel consistency and need for dam - or not. I do the condensed milk caramel, the longer it boild the thicker it gets. Just letting the cake sit for a bit after filling to watch for slippage or oozing makes absolute good sense - will do that from now on...and so obvious - duh.
I love the idea of making a shallow well as Fearlessbaker describes - the edge of the cake becomes the dam...so neat.
Thank you all for inspiration and guidance...everything I have learnt about cakes I have learnt right here.
Happy baking to one and all. 
I also do what fearless does - create a little pool in the bottom layer for the filling to go in. This way, I'm gauranteed that the filling won't spill out.
And as for canned icing.....all I can say is, "WHY would you want to use that junk!!!!?????"
NASTY!
I bought 4 cans of store bought icing last week just to see if there was anything that remotely tasted like bc. Oh mygosh.....I couldn't believe there was ever a time in my life when I ate that crap. It was horrible. Just horrible!
First to build the dam on the outer rim of the cake, the teacher used a combination of cake crumbs and BC he called it mortar (I would say about 3/4 cup cake that he crumbs up and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of BC - he piped it out of a cone) He used this for the dam and it was really yummy and more stable than just buttercream itself.
By the way, this is the same technique that Toba Garrett uses, except she refers to it as her own 'invention' and calls it cake spackle. She also goes over the crumb coat with it as it fills in any imperfections really well.
First to build the dam on the outer rim of the cake, the teacher used a combination of cake crumbs and BC he called it mortar (I would say about 3/4 cup cake that he crumbs up and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of BC - he piped it out of a cone) He used this for the dam and it was really yummy and more stable than just buttercream itself.
By the way, this is the same technique that uses, except she refers to it as her own 'invention' and calls it cake spackle. She also goes over the crumb coat with it as it fills in any imperfections really well.
By the way the teacher my teacher told me this is the technique he was thought in pastry school so who knows where it comes from.
Last fall I took a class from this place and they were talking about using very thin rice noodles to make stamens instead of using un-edible stamens. He said that a student in another teacher's class had brought this up. Well that was me. I just sat there 
it was so cool. I later told him, he was impressed. 
So I dont know where the origin of this is, other than pastry school.....
It's good to share, it's nice to give credit where credit is due but unless you copywright your stuff, the true origin might fade!
Good Luck.
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