So I have done many cakes, and only done one that was just a tester and was filled with raspberry filling... and it was a huge disaster! Now I have an actual client wants a cake with three books stacked on each other and each of them filled. Won't all that filling just squish right out with all the weight? I am planning on using cardboard between the layers and a center dowel, but will that help to keep the weight of the bottom layers? I usually think of supports as helping to keep the cake from falling over or slipping, rather than for weight support. What do I do? Also, the books will be covered in fondant, so does that mean the fondant will help keep the filling from showing if it leaks? Or does that mean that the fondant will bulge where the filling leaks... I mean IF it leaks. Thanks for any help you can offer!

You are going to put the support dowels in too right? Not just the center dowel? If you are using proper support and a nice thick dam, then you shouldn't have any problems.

Hmmmm....I will try to help you out.

First, the fondant has a layer of BC under, yes? When you fill, put a stiff ring of BC around the edge of the layer, use the #10 or #12 tip, then put the filling inside that "dam" or ring. It has to be quite stiff BC, stiff enough to you can almost roll it.

Here's a photo link: http://www.wilton.com/wedding/makecake/fillinglayers.cfm

Second, when doing tiered cakes (book, wedding tiers, etc.) the weight is on dowels or other support system....the center dowel is only for keeping layers from slipping, not weight. http://www.wilton.com/wedding/makecake/building/dowelrod/dowel_stacked.cfm

If it helps, think about a bridge....it's held up by the evenly-spaced piers going down the the solid earth under the river....a cake is the same way.

how do you make a buttercream so stiff that you can roll it? (i also am scared to put filling in my.. i just layer it with buttercream

thanks

Just keep adding powdered sugar to BC until you can pick it up a little and roll into soft ball. I put it in a piping bag with just a coupler on it to put it on.

Take some buttercream and add A LOT of powdered sugar until it's like cookie dough. Then roll it into a log and wrap it around the rim of the cake, making sure it's high enough to hold the filling. Make sure there are no cracks and it works every time for me.

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions just pm me.

kathy

For a stiff dam, I mix a little BC into cake crumbs (usually what is leftover from carving). A member here told me that it is called a "mortar".

The ratio is about 3/4 cake to 1/4 BC--you just smoosh it all together with a fork and put it in a piping bag, then squeeze it around the edge of the cake and spread the filling inside the ring of "mortar".

Once you have placed the top torte over the filling, gently push down on the cake to help release any trapped air and to help the filling settle where it may. Then clean up the edges and crumb coat.

COuldnt you just roll some fondant and place it around the edge also? Or is that too stiff?

You all have great ideas! Thanks so much. Another question. How much filling do I put in? Just enough to cover the layer? Or do I fill it just below the top of the dam?

I fill mine level with the dam. But it will give you a lot of filling. So, Make your dam smaller you'll get less filling.

What I like about the mortar is that you still get a mouthful of cake as opposed to a mouthful of super-sweet PS.

I usually make one ring, fill thick, and then add another ring on top of the first one.