Cake Bulging?

Decorating By Nicolle711 Updated 27 Jul 2008 , 5:03pm by weirkd

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Nicolle711 Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 1:27pm
post #1 of 15

Hello all icon_biggrin.gif

I have a question, I recently did a small 6 inch cake in a hurry! When I filled it with BC and crumb coated it, I only put it in the fridge for maybe 10 - 15 min while I got my table in working order to apply fondant on the cake. I applied fondant soon after and everything worked out fine and certainly looked flawless. Until the next morning when I noticed that the cake layers had somewhat shifted icon_eek.gif

Is this what cake bulging is? And how do I prevent this from happening? Do I have to make sure the crumb coated cake is well refrigerated before applying fondant?

Thanks for your help!

14 replies
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aswartzw Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 1:37pm
post #2 of 15

Sounds like your filling is the issue. I always do fondant on cakes at RT unless it's SMBC. Maybe your filling wasn't stiff enough. In the future, you can always do a dam.

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Nicolle711 Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 1:44pm
post #3 of 15

hmm? maybe my bc could have been stiffer. Do I make it stiffer by adding more powdered sugar to it?

Thanks for your insight! icon_biggrin.gif


Quote:
Originally Posted by aswartzw

Sounds like your filling is the issue. I always do fondant on cakes at RT unless it's SMBC. Maybe your filling wasn't stiff enough. In the future, you can always do a dam.


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SweetConfectionsChef Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 1:49pm
post #4 of 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicolle711

hmm? maybe my bc could have been stiffer. Do I make it stiffer by adding more powdered sugar to it?

Thanks for your insight! icon_biggrin.gif


Quote:
Originally Posted by aswartzw

Sounds like your filling is the issue. I always do fondant on cakes at RT unless it's SMBC. Maybe your filling wasn't stiff enough. In the future, you can always do a dam.




I normally add less water in the beginning to get my filling and then whip in a little more to thin it out for my crumb coat.....then I'm not going back and forth with the consistency. icon_wink.gif

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MosMom Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 2:47pm
post #5 of 15

Were your cakes level or did you match two domed tops in the middle?

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Nicolle711 Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 3:21pm
post #6 of 15

Hi MosMom,

I did level my cake and they were evenly stacked. Looking back I just think my bc was not stiff enough.

Next time I will try out SweetConfectionsChef idea and make sure my bc is stiff enough to prevent from this shifting & bulging.

Thanks for your help! icon_biggrin.gif

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weirkd Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 3:35pm
post #7 of 15

I always make a dam for my fillings to prevent this. If you have sugarshacks video, she shows you step by step how to prevent this. But basically if she is using BC then she takes and adds extra conf. sugar to it so its a bit stiffer. Then she rolls a log shape and puts it around the out edge of the cake. Then puts her filling in and then stacks the next cake on top. She will also put saran wrap on it to press it out some so that she can take care of any bulging problems before the final cake is put together. And believe me, it works. I use fondant to match the out layer and I rarely have any problems with leaking or bulging.

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Nicolle711 Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 3:55pm
post #8 of 15

Thanks so much for your suggestion! I am actually planning on getting sugarshacks videos this weekend. Just waiting for payday! icon_biggrin.gif I am still a newbie at cakes and learning as I go. I hear sugarshacks dvd are great and I hope to learn a lot from them. Thanks again for your advice! thumbs_up.gif


Quote:
Originally Posted by weirkd

I always make a dam for my fillings to prevent this. If you have sugarshacks video, she shows you step by step how to prevent this. But basically if she is using BC then she takes and adds extra conf. sugar to it so its a bit stiffer. Then she rolls a log shape and puts it around the out edge of the cake. Then puts her filling in and then stacks the next cake on top. She will also put saran wrap on it to press it out some so that she can take care of any bulging problems before the final cake is put together. And believe me, it works. I use fondant to match the out layer and I rarely have any problems with leaking or bulging.


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weirkd Posted 23 Jul 2008 , 4:20pm
post #9 of 15

No problem! And yes, she has a lot of pointers and good advice. Their well worth the money!

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caramelchef Posted 26 Jul 2008 , 4:46am
post #10 of 15

Not to sound stupid but what is a dam? and how do you make it im lost!

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weirkd Posted 26 Jul 2008 , 3:29pm
post #11 of 15

Kind of like what they use to hold water back (Hoover Dam, etc.) But in cake its a snake of either buttercream or fondant around the outer part of the cake to hold the filling in from leaking out.

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caramelchef Posted 26 Jul 2008 , 8:25pm
post #12 of 15

So then you just use stiffer icing for filling.

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weirkd Posted 26 Jul 2008 , 10:25pm
post #13 of 15

You can or you can use just the stiffer icing for the dam around the outside and fill the inside with jelly or whatever filling and the dam prevents the filling from squishing out the sides and making the bulging.

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caramelchef Posted 27 Jul 2008 , 4:49pm
post #14 of 15

Thanks!

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weirkd Posted 27 Jul 2008 , 5:03pm
post #15 of 15

No problem!

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