Okay anytime I make a cake, I think I may be using too much icing. Sometimes after they are stacked and all pretty and smooth, after they sit a bit, it seems to look like some in the middle is trying to squish out for lack of a better way to put it!! I worry about not getting enough in the middle, but I think maybe I am putting too much? I use all butter buttercream if that makes a difference. Maybe I am puttting too much all over too? Or just not doing it right? Please help!! Thanks!

oh no....the dreaded "cake has reached middle age bulge"

a very normal thing for both cakes and people (don't I know )

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the key -- fill and then let gravity have it's way with it BEFORE you finish ice/frost/fondant it.

1) fill and let sit overnight and gravity does it's dastardly deed.

2) fill and put a ceramic tile on it that is equal in size or larger than tier and leave for 2 or so hours while gravity has at it.

3) fill and take a large cookie sheet and press down on it until the goo comes out the sides all the way around (works best with a stiff icing dam placed at least 1/2 to 3/4 inch from edge) (this method for the impatient -- gee I wonder who that is!?)

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patience (1 & 2) or impatience (3) to get the cake to settle (get that middle age waistline) is the key.

once it has settled and the bulge has happened, you can easily scrape the excess off, or if it is the same as the crumb coat or finishing icing, just spread it out over the cake.

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HTH

I use an icing dam to keep my filling in. I learned it from Sugarshack's buttercream DVD. It's just basic buttercream mixed with enough powdered sugar to REALLY stiffen it up. I use an icing bag and a coupler (without the slit) to apply it. After I have a full circle of the dam, I put my filling in.

I then let it settle for 8-12 hours and carve off any bulges.

Works fantastically!

We use a really stiff WT icing.... just butter and PS.... really, really stiff. We use SMBC to cover the cake, which is delicious, but that kind of gross icing for the dam.