Double Layer Sheet Cake Help!

Decorating By lolobell Updated 29 Nov 2013 , 3:55pm by cakedout

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lolobell Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:10pm
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I have to do an 11x15 sheet cake for my nephews 13th birthday this weekend. I need more height than the 2 inches the pan makes. I have never "double" layered a cake that size....any suggestions? Do i use dowels? Is this possible without too much trouble?? any help and suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance to everyone

Marianne

20 replies
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delisa01 Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:17pm
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It will be fine. I've doubled 12 x 18 with no problems. I would just suggest using a thicker filling so it doesn't slide around. You don't need dowels if you are not stacking.

HTH

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pattigunter Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:18pm
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I have doubled a sheet cake before and it came out extremely tall. The next time I needed one I simply added more batter to my pan to make the cake a little more taller than normal. I liked that way better and it was easier to work with.

For instance, a 9x13 pan usually takes 1 boxed mix. I use 1 1/2 to get the taller cake. Its a bit of a waste of mix but you could always use the extra for a few cupcakes or something.

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SugarLover2 Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:20pm
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I would bake 2 of them. Level the tops, add filling and put the other one on top. Should be fine. I know the tops of mine are domed (i have a crappy pan) so I'd definitely have to level them, but if yours are already flat, you're good to go.

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Caralinc Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:22pm
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I did a double sheet cake and it worked out fine. Very heavy but fine. It was very tall: see my Maxine Cake in my photos.

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Caralinc Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:23pm
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BTW, I used ganache filling and I did not use dowels. HTH

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matthewkyrankelly Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:27pm
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I make that cake all of the time. It is my standard family birthday cake. It works well. If you want height, that's the way to go. Make layers ahead and freeze individually. They are so much easier to work with then. No cracking or crumb worries. No dowels necessary.

One warning, do not use cardboard for the cake. Get foamboard at Walmart or craft store and cover with foil. The thinnest works and is so much more stable than cardboard.

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lolobell Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:33pm
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thank you all so much. I have never heard of foam board...do you think I can get that at Michaels? There are no Walmarts around me (if you can believe that)!!!!

Also, I have to travel this cake about 15 miles....still no dowels then??? Just double checking.

I will bake the layers tonight then per suggestion and freeze them. thanks for the tip.

I appreciate your help!

Mar

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matthewkyrankelly Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:46pm
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Ok i'm going to come completely clean.

This is a do-ahead cake. I make it about ten times a year for birthdays at home and my wife's work. She doesn't understand why there is a brake pedal in her car so I can assure you, you don't need dowels and it will transport well.

Get the foamboard at michael's. Cardboard can bend along those lines it has under the weight of a cake like this. Cut it to be bigger than the pan. cover with a cake foil. If I remember, cutting it in half should work perfectly. If your frosting is OK in the freezer, this is a cake that you can crumbcoat and freeze. I have even made this completely decorated and frozen it. It needs about six hours at room temp to defrost, or overnight. Always defrost uncovered to let condensation out.

If you are not sure about your frosting in the freezer, just freeze the layers individually and continue with you method.

Have all of the confidence in the world that this will work. It does.

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Pebbles1727 Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 6:56pm
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I don't do single layer cakes, so the sheetcakes are all double layer, but I make the layers thinner. 4 inch sheetcake just looks odd in my opinion, so I try to hit somewhere between 2.5-3 inches in height. I don't do any dowels, it's not really necessary. Any size past 9x13, the layers really need to be refrigerated as a minimum, frozen maybe even better. Otherwise they may break on you when you try to work with them. Also, I don't use foamcore, it's too expensive here. I just went to Lowe's and found me a sturdy MFD board, it was about $6.00 for a sheet. I got them to cut it in rectangles just a tick smaller than my boxes. It ended up 6 boards out of one sheet. I then wrap them in white contact paper. The cake is placed on regular cake board (glued with icing) that it does not slide on the board and then the cake board is taped with packing tape to the MFD. Once it's placed in the box, the cake is secured in the middle of the box, so even if the box slides, the cake does not get hurt. I also noticed that alot of people grab the cake by the sides instead of the bottom which causes unsturdy board to give and cause cracks in the icing. MFD prevents that as it's does not give even under the heaviest cake I've done. Good luck, P

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indydebi Posted 9 Jun 2009 , 7:46pm
post #11 of 21

Long before any of us decided to learn to make "decorated" cakes, we made 2-layer cakes all the time and never doweled it. Just because it's a longer cake, doens't mean it's a heavier cake that needs dowels in it. The weight per square inch in a 12x18 cake is the same as the weight per square in on a 6" square cake.

no dowels.

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lolobell Posted 11 Jun 2009 , 8:44pm
post #12 of 21

thanks everyone. As always I can count on you to help me when I'm in need!
I read the several suggestions of freezing or refrigerating prior to filling etc....... I was planning on a buttercream(indydebis of course) and then covering with MMF....I've never covered a chilled cake with fondant...can I do this with no problem?

Take care everyone
Mar

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ThreeDGirlie Posted 11 Jun 2009 , 8:52pm
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And since nobody mentioned this yet... You don't need as much cake if you have 2 full layers - that's TWIVCE as much cake! so they won't need a big 2x2x4" piece. Just something to keep in mind.

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sadsmile Posted 11 Jun 2009 , 9:23pm
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I have done several two layer 1/4 sheet cakes for family and friends. I bake one recipe take out and let cool while baking the next recipe. I level the cakes which is very important when stacking. I never have used the cardboard for sheet cakes because it just isn't strong enough without something else under it. I just use my tempered glass cutting board no cake board...LOL
LL

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artscallion Posted 20 Jun 2009 , 1:38pm
post #15 of 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by matthewkyrankelly

If your frosting is OK in the freezer, this is a cake that you can crumbcoat and freeze. I have even made this completely decorated and frozen it. It needs about six hours at room temp to defrost, or overnight. Always defrost uncovered to let condensation out.




If you defrost a cake wrapped, condensation will not get on the cake ito begin with.
Condensation does not come from the cake. It comes from moisture in the air in the room around the cake. Moisture in the warmer air of the room is drawn to the cooler object (the cake) where it will gather and condense on its surface. If a cake is wrapped, the moisture from the air will condense on the outside of the wrapping. If a cake is uncovered, the moisture from the air will condense on the cake itself.

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cylstrial Posted 20 Jun 2009 , 2:54pm
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Sadsmile - your little mermaid sheet cake is ADORABLE! I love it!!

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SweetSinsationz Posted 29 Nov 2013 , 3:45am
post #17 of 21

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthewkyrankelly 

I make that cake all of the time. It is my standard family birthday cake. It works well. If you want height, that's the way to go. Make layers ahead and freeze individually. They are so much easier to work with then. No cracking or crumb worries. No dowels necessary.

One warning, do not use cardboard for the cake. Get foamboard at Walmart or craft store and cover with foil. The thinnest works and is so much more stable than cardboard.


why not the silver cardboard cake boards?? I have a cake order im doing tomorrow, 1/2 sheet  and I bought a think cardboard silver cake board - please let me know :)

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SweetSinsationz Posted 29 Nov 2013 , 3:54am
post #18 of 21

I bought a thick silver cardboard cake board from bulkbarn for my 12x18 ( 2-9x13's side by side) I am doing  1 & 1/2 my recipe to torte it, will my board bend?? cake order tomorrow, please help asap

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Smckinney07 Posted 29 Nov 2013 , 6:02am
post #19 of 21

A

Original message sent by artscallion

If you defrost a cake wrapped, condensation will not get on the cake ito begin with.

Condensation does not come from the cake. It comes from moisture in the air in the room around the cake. Moisture in the warmer air of the room is drawn to the cooler object (the cake) where it will gather and condense on its surface. If a cake is wrapped, the moisture from the air will condense on the outside of the wrapping. If a cake is uncovered, the moisture from the air will condense on the cake itself.

Yes! It's so much easier to torte/level a cold or partially frozen cake. I bake, wrap with Saran and foil then let them sit in the freezer overnight. The next day I pull them out and let them sit on the counter still wrapped so the condensation forms on the outside, rather then on your cake.

SweetSin-Those thick boards should be fine for your sheet cake. You just want to make sure the baseboard will hold the entire weight of your finished cake.

When I make cakes I use a board underneath each tier. The foil covered board you purchased would be something I'd use as my final presentation board (I'd also cover it in fondant just because I think it's a more professional finish-just a personal preference). Anyway, the presentation board won't always fit inside your fridge or you'll want to avoid getting that dirty. The cardboard cake circles (or sheet sized in this case) are very flimsy and can soak up moisture easily which will make them bend. I use foamcore (cut to the same size of my cake) and ice, when smoothing or between coats this will support my cake as it goes in and out of the fridge until my icing is smooth. I move it to my final presentation board when finished, box and deliver.

I hope that makes sense. I do a lot of tiered cakes so they need to go on their own board, the edges of their base board also helps me have something to put my bench scraper against when smoothing the icing. I suppose it isn't necessary to have that extra board for sheet cakes, that's simply the way I do it. Do whatever works best for you.

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morganchampagne Posted 29 Nov 2013 , 8:59am
post #20 of 21

ASMckinney 07,

So when you are icing cakes..let's say an 8". You have that cake on a regular cardboard round then you put that on top of.the foam core board of the same size?

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cakedout Posted 29 Nov 2013 , 3:55pm
post #21 of 21

Double-layer sheet cakes were my standard "kitchen cakes" for wedding cakes - when cut they looked exactly like those cut from the main cake.

 

The individual sheet cakes may be baked, leveled, wrapped well and frozen several days prior.  And ThreeDGirlie is right-you don't need to fill your pan quite as full when doing a double-layer so the cake isn't overly high (unless you need it 4"-5"!) I would defrost the cakes the nite prior to decorating: remove all of the wrappings, except for one layer of plastic wrap.

 

MDF is a great idea for a cake board, but I've just used either the 1/2" thick foamcore board(the thickness of cake drums) or a double-layer of regular foamcore board. My cakes are pretty heavy, so a single board isn't sturdy enough for a double-layer cake!  And be sure to use a new/SHARP Xacto-knife blade when cutting foamcore board!

 

Covering a double-layer sheet cake with fondant is not any worse than covering any large round tier...just make sure you have enough fondant colored!  I like to roll out my fondant on heavy duty clear vinyl - this just makes it easier for me to transfer such a large sheet to the cake.  and remember to measure your cake so you know your rolled out fondant is going to cover your cake!! You don't want to transfer a piece of fondant, only to find that it is 3" too short!

 

Good Luck!

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