Leaning Tower Of Cake

Decorating By Narie Updated 23 May 2008 , 5:51pm by leah_s

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Narie Posted 14 May 2008 , 3:41pm
post #1 of 12

The picture below is of a experiment that tastes nice, but doesn't look very nice. The cake is DH French Vanilla, the filling raspberry and the frosting Chellebell70 "Decorator Frosting." I used 6 " pans because I wanted to use Indydebi's technique for leveling. (I've used it before and was impressed with the ease of leveling and with fact that you could get full two inch layers.) I had thought that the two inch layers would be easy to tort, something I rarely do. OK, why is the cake slip sliding around? The cake itself was very tender and tried to break when I torted the first layer. I suspect that I was a bit over generous with the filling and I should have thinned the frosting a bit as it was very firm and very hard to spread on my precariously stacked cake. I didn't bother trying to smooth the frosting because it would have just messed the cake even more.
LL

11 replies
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mcdonald Posted 14 May 2008 , 3:56pm
post #2 of 12

not an expert on this but from the information you gave in regards to your cake being "soft" ... the cake itself might not be sturdy enough to handle all those layers and then with all the filling on top of each of those soft layers. Different flavors of cakes have different densities to them and I would think you would need a pretty sturdy cake to be torted and then the jam filling. I don't usually torte (I'm afraid to!!!) so this is just my two cents worth. I would find a sturdier cake recipe (WASC is great) and try it againt to see what happens. I also put a small small layer of buttercream down before I put any filling down.

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confectioneista Posted 14 May 2008 , 4:02pm
post #3 of 12

Well, I'm no expert but it looks like there may be too much filling in the middle of the layers making the layers bow (at least it appears that way).

Also, white cakes seem to be less dense than other cakes like chocolate so they tend to be more willing to break apart. Someone correct me if I'm wrong!

Maybe, too, you needed to firm up the area around your filling with more icing making more of a dam. I've never worked with the type of icing you've mentioned so I don't know what it's like. HTH

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Auryn Posted 14 May 2008 , 4:34pm
post #4 of 12

did you make the recipe straight out of the box with any additions?? (did you add any pudding, sour cream etc??)

if its straight out of the box, the cake itself is too soft and crumbly for so many layers and so much filling.

did you let the cake cool and settle for at least a couple of hrs before torting, filling etc??

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VannaD Posted 14 May 2008 , 4:49pm
post #5 of 12

i use DH mix all the time, ive never had it do this before. I dont add anything to the mix, i torte them and fill them as well. Im no expert, very far from it, but i think maybe you used too much filling. Ive also tried using buttercream that was to thick and could have used some thinning and when i put it on the cake it would push them around and make them lean, this too could have been your culprit. Oh , I would love to know more about indydebdi's torting technique, so if you could share please, or Deb if you dont mind sharing, or is theres a post someone could direct me to. Thanks and good luck

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Narie Posted 14 May 2008 , 5:36pm
post #6 of 12

Vanna- I looked for Indydebi's posts about leveling. I couldn't find them; they may have disappeared with the crash. It doesn't help you torte, but it makes leveling super simple. Over fill the pan so that the cake rises above the top edge. Then use the top of the pan as the guide for cutting the top of the cake super level. You level before you remove the cake from the pan. You will have lovely scraps for anyone in the family who can't wait for the cake to be finished.

Yes, I followed the directions on the box- no additions. The cake was allowed to set overnight. Also the dams were stiff and thicker than usual which lead me to be over generous with the filling.
I will go back to my usual scratch cakes for torting. Mix cakes are just too 'fluffy' unless you make additions.

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kelleym Posted 14 May 2008 , 8:16pm
post #7 of 12

You can torte and fill a mix cake - the problem in this case is just way, way too much filling. You really only need enough filling to just cover the cake. I also level my cakes in the pans, here is a pictoral: www.cakeboss.com/PreventBulging.aspx

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andpotts Posted 14 May 2008 , 10:51pm
post #8 of 12

Wow thanks Kelley your tutorials are great, I do so much better when I have pictures to refer to!

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missmeg Posted 22 May 2008 , 8:07pm
post #9 of 12

Narie -

The easiest way to firm up a box mix is to add a box of pudding and an extra egg, or add 1/4c extra flour into the mix.

I also think that there is too much filling between layers.

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Narie Posted 22 May 2008 , 8:38pm
post #10 of 12

I agree there was definitely way too much filling- it was just a combination of errors. The poor cake decapitated itself later, the top two layers slid off ..Kerplop! Oh well, these things happen.

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Jayde Posted 23 May 2008 , 2:10pm
post #11 of 12

I use doctored cake mixes all the time, and I do agree that when I add the sour cream and the pudding and the other extra ingredients it makes a firmer cake. Also, another tip that I got from Debi is to sift your cake mix. It ends up giving you a finer crumb, and you dont have as many air bubbles.

I agree with the fact that it looks like its a little too much filling. What I started doing with my fruit fillings and anything that is a little more moist than the regular BC, is spreading a very, very thin layer of your bc over the top of the cake. Take a large round tip and make a circle around the outside edge of the cake. Put your filling in the BC circle that you made. Then stick your next layer on top, and repeat.

The little bit of BC on the bottom helps to keep the filling from soaking into the cake below, and the dam around the side helps to keep the filling in the middle and also prevents blowouts.

HTH

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leah_s Posted 23 May 2008 , 5:51pm
post #12 of 12

You have 2X too much fillng in there.

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