Okay....I made my first stacked (3 tier) cake for my son's birthday last month. It turned out okay but I got that bulge in the middle of each tier where the buttercream filling was. Then, I read somewhere that you need to let the cake sit for a few hours so it can settle before frosting it. Thinking that would fix the bulging issue I did that with my daughter's birthday cake and I still got a bulge after I frosted it.

What am I doing wrong? I'm a relative beginner and I'm teaching myself...so you guys are my ONLY expert advice. I've learned soooo much from you already! Any ideas as to how to avoid the bulge?????

Thanks!

I push my cakes down into place and then let them sit for a while before I frost. Seems to help but I still get bulging filling every once in a while.

Could be you are putting too much filling in. I make a thin, but tasteful layer and press my layer down. I don't think I've had a problem with my layers. HTH

Have you tried making an icing dam around the perimeter of your cakes before you fill them?

As the others said, 1st you let the layers settle - preferably over night; then you add the filling. IF it is anything but b'cream you need to make a dam - this is simply a line of icing around the edge of the bottom layer of cake, then put the filling inside that. Now place the top layer of cake on and gently but firmly press the two layers together. If there is any space/opening between the layers that is not filled in w/cake or icing fill it w/icing. Smooth around the cake. Ice and smooth.

I agree that you might be overfilling the cakes. I also make sure to have a damn before filling and once filled I place the next layer and make sure to press down to get out any air and to create a good suction. I used to have the bulging problem on my cakes when I first started; it does not happen any more. That last time it did happen was when I made a cake on a hot day and the cake slid around a bit, it caused the bulging. I might have not pressed down enough, who knows. Also, if you are making a tiered cake, you might be cutting the dowels (I use straws) too short causing the top tier to add too much weight to the bottom tier and therefore, causing the fillings to squeeze out.

was the cake even a little frozen? i had that problem with a baby shower cake

I torte my cake a little higher than midway. With a spoon, I remove (scrape out) some cake leaving a half inch border around the bottom cake. I fill that little area with my filling and put the top back on. You can't tell that the cake has even been filled.

I'm not sure if this makes sense so I'll mention it is like cutting a melon in half, scraping out the seeds, putting your filling in there and closing it up.

I hope that helps. No bulges for me that way!

Make sure you are leveling your cakes. If they arent' leveled that also can contribute to the dreaded bulge!

I had this problem before even when using a damn. So I took the cake apart, took some of the cake off of the top of the bottom layer to make a well and then I put a bigger damn around the edge. I had to travel 3 hours with the cake, so I wanted to make sure it was secure. Turned out fine after I redid it.