I notice that a lot of the Lambeth Method techniques require you to bevel the edge of the cake, either on the top or the bottom.
My question is for beveling the edge on the bottom. How do you do that? I mean, how do you get the edge to go out? Are you building it up with RI or what?
Rachel
You can do several things for the bevel. It should measure 4" larger than the cake itself at the outer edge of the bevel, you can cut a styrofoam round into a bevel shape with a serrated edged knife or heated styrofoam cutter and then smooth the edges with a spare piece of styrofaom used as sandpaper.
You can use a cake board 4" larger than the cake, ice the cake with royal or buttercream, ice the board with the same type icing and measure up 1" from the base of the cake, make a mark on the side of the cake at say 12 places as you go around the cake. Fill in the icing on the board to create the bevel by holding a spatula from the outside edge of the cake board with the tip of the spatula touching the mark you have made on the side of the cake. This is very time consuming because you have to continually smooth, get down at eye level and check to make sure it is even all the way around, no humps or dips in the icing.
Better yet, if you can find a styrofoam specialty shop that still makes the bevels, buy one 4" larger than your cake size.
I have rarely done a Lambeth cake where you had to bevel the top edge of the cake itself, but if you want to do this, measure in 1" at the top edge of the cake and 1" down the sides of the cake, hold your carving knife at at angle and saw off the cake from the bottom mark to the top mark all the way around the top of the cake. Crumb coat and do your finish coat of icing. If you look at these two photos of Lambeth cakes I have done, the one iced in royal icing is a dummy and I made the styrofoam bevel. The other cake is real cake iced in buttercream without a bevel. Similar design but royal icing and the bevel make the real difference in doing a true Lambeth design.
Royal with bevel
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=69299
Buttercream without bevel
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=69297
I'm trying to wrap my head around that. LOL Thank you Shirley.
So the bottom bevel comes up about 1 inch up?
Rachel
Take a look in cakemommy's photos, She posted a whole bunch of pictures of her Lambeth show cake (lavender colored) and she has a photo of her bevel before it's covered in fondant. Between Shirley's explanation and cakemommy's photos, maybe it will be a little clearer for you. 
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=336413
Thank you sooooo much!
Those photos are just stunning and it really helped. Now I just have to get through the Fall Festival cakes I have to do and then maybe I can actually get started. SO EXCITED!
Rachel
Rachel,
The icing only comes up the base of the cake if you are making your own bevel with straight icing rather than styrofoam. If you are using a premade bevel or even cutting one of your own, say you are doing a 10" round cake. The finished bevel will be 10" round in the center, 14" round at the outside edge. Here is a way of getting an idea of how it will look. Turn a 14" round cake pan upside down, lay a 10" round pan upside down in the center. Now lay the blade of a serrated bread knife on the outside edge of the largest pan and angle it to the bottom edge of the smaller pan and you will get an idea of how the bevel is slanted. Good luck.
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