I'm in trouble possibly.

Client paid $300 for this cake, and you can see the issue. Top tier measures level, but obviously somehow I've cockeyed the middle tier. My DH cut the legs of the SPS to size, they were all equal. I'm guessing I somehow managed to make the cake itself lopsided, although how I managed that without seeing it is beyond my capacity.

Now I have to deliver this thing TODAY at 4pm and I don't have the time to redo the whole thing....I don't think. It took me ALL DAY yesterday.

What would you do? I don't want her to be unhappy. Would you destroy this cake and try to do it over? Or deliver it and cross your fingers?

To fix it I would have to destroy the whole cake. The belt is adhered to all 3 tiers to hold it up. Taking off those karate figures would destroy them. The only thing to survive is possibly the patches.

Oh, man, I really need this not to suck. I KNOW this woman from the dojo. What would you do?

Wow that is a beautiful cake...I really don't know what to tell you other than it looks kind of like the new style of "topsy turvy cakes" I really like it!

It looks like a topsy turvey tier. It doesnt look like it sank because the fondant isnt sagging or out of place at all. The details are quite nice BTW.

I would not do it over, you dont have time. It sounds to me like you are going to have to deliver it as is. Is there no way to "shim" it. Lift ever so slightly on the low side of the cake and put a piece of fondant under that area to shim it. Then cover that "fix" with something i.e border, fondant pearls etc.

Just an idea. I am sorry this happened to you.

Just a question, is there plastic on the top?

Can you possibly get a wedge in between the bottom and middle tiers? Then just give her a discount because you had to wedge it? I'm thinking if you wedge it you won't have to completely disassemble it.

I would leave it for sure - and say "I made it fun, the new topsy-turvy look!" Be excited about it instead of timid - say, "I can't wait to post this on my site, or to have a picture to show off!" Not to mention that we are all such cake "snobs" - we see things that the average person would never see, you know? : ) It looks great, seriously. And I am PICKY. Put it in the fridge to keep it from sinking or the fondant from rippling if you are worried about it... BE CONFIDENT! People read into our reactions.... : ) Great job, good luck!

First let me say that besides the issue, the cake looks awesome.

As I see it, you have three options:
1)deliver it as-is.
2)deliver is as is and offer a discount/refund
3)fix it

I can't tell from the pic. Is it just the middle tier that is off? I am not sure how you tacked down the belt. Has it dried hard? Maybe you can slowly get it to release from the cake and set it up on top of something to let the belt dangle. Then just redo the middle tier. You would have to peel up the fondant and redo that, but if you have any cake scraps you can try to add it to the top or bottom of level it. Or turn the bottom tier upside down and cut off some of the bottom. If you know the top tier and bottom tier are fine, then maybe you can add longer supports to the one side and cover it with an extra thick border that goes all around the middle tier.

I don't know what the answer is. It just depends on how you put the find together/What you can save/how you can hide or if you even want to try. HTH.

Your top tier does appear level now. If it's level on a crooked middle tier, then it must also be crooked in the opposite direction. In other words, you can't just wedge the middle tier, because then the top tier (which is now level) will no longer be level. They must both be off in opposite directions.

I think the only way you can fix this is to un-stack your cakes, flip them over and trim the bottoms to be level if they are not. Then recheck the heights of your supports to make sure they are all the same height.

Do you use a carpenter's level or a laser level to do your cakes, or do you just eyeball it? That could be your problem.

Yes, there is plastic wrap on top, I've got holes in the cake to hold the topper and I didn't want it to dry out, even though there are straws in there.

I could try to shim it....but I don't know if it would torque the belt enough for it to crack. It is on there good. I tried to move it and it won't budge.

Basically....I'm afraid if I decide to shim and it cracks the red fondant that I'd end up having to do it all over again.

If I were to offer a discount, how much would be appropriate? This thing serves 72, 3 tier hex.

I want desperately to fix it, but am so scared to touch it. I truly wish I knew what I did. I don't recall it looking this cockeyed when I was making it.

I've got to run the boy to karate, but I'll come back and see what I can do with it.

The other issue is: if I shim the middle tier, it will make the top tier topsy since it is currently measuring level. I'm such an idiot.

i agree with the middle level appearing topsy turvey. in fact when i looked at the cake it seemed perfectly alright to me. just my small opinion looks fantastic trust me

I wouldn't touch it. The top looks level. It looks like you did it on purpose! I wouldn't want to risk messing something else up.
By the way-- you did a nice job!

I agree with the other posters. It looks like you meant to make it topsy turvey. Play it off that you meant to do that.

The cake really looks great otherwise. Again agreeing with another poster, be excited about the new style or making it whimsical. I bet the customer will LOVE it

Okay, maybe my eyes aren't seeing this right BUT the most obvious/fast fix is move the belt. Since the top tier is level - If you adjust the bottom part of the black belt you can give it the illusion of being level. You won't see all the border detail where the middle and top tier meet but it seems like a quick compromise, especially after you add the topper and no one will notice! Make sense? Of course this comes from a person who uses a high heel for a hammer....

edited cuz I noticed that you wrote the belt (fondant?) is attached to all three layers. But it would still work. Just add some more "belt" to the front - beneath the ties in front - an illusion that won't require much work.

This cake looks amazing! It really looks like you did that on purpose and that it's part of your design. If you can't fix it then honestly don't worry about it unless your client complains (but I doubt they will!)

Do not take the cake apart. If it's going to damage it and you will not have time to repair it is not worth it.

I would try and play it off like it is a topsy turvy. Hopefully she will think that's cool.
If she doesn't like it then offer a small refund or gift certificate for the next cake.

I see that the middle is somehow topsy turvy looking, but I don;t think that the customer will pay much attention to that.

I would not touch the cake, if anything add something to the left side of the middle tier bottom to trick the eye....maybe some karate plaque or a medal or something like that?

I'm no expert, but could you just leave the bottom layers as it and shim just the top layer on the left?

That would level out the bow and make the middle and top layers "topsy-turvy".

It Looks GREAT! I can't see anything wrong with it... looks like those cool topsy-turvy cakes. I wouldn't do anything with it!

I totally agree, the cake looks great! It looks like a topsy-turvy! The person will probably be very impressed with it, it's beautiful!

How did you make out??

The cake is beautiful, your details are amazing.