Several of you came to the pity party that I held on Friday night. I have decided to be more proactive about my BC issues, so I'm asking for help from the collective brain of CC.

I have attached (I hope) a picture of a cake I did about a month ago that got the droops. I worked really hard on the little fondant plaques, then the BC oozes down the side of the cake! This also happened to the Friday night cake, (I didn't get pictures of that mess) but I scraped it all off, made new icing, and re-decorated. The icing next to the cake was oozy, gooey, liquidy.

What is going on????

I use-and love-Indydebi's recipe and this has NEVER happened before until the last month or so.
I wrap my cakes loosely in wax paper while they cool, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. They stay wrapped until partially thawed when I torte, fill and crumb coat.

Are my cakes too moist??
Is my icing too soft??

Can someone with more experience than me give me some insight??

Thanks for helping.

You mention that you torte your cakes, but do you level them on top? I ask because the top of this cake looks to have a dome, or at least not a flat top. In that case, gravity would pull the top icing downward, putting force/pressure on the icing on the sides, which could cause it to collapse. Not sure that this is the problem, but it might be.

Are your cakes room temp before you ice them? Are you letting them settle at room temp for a few hours before you ice them?

Thanks for such quick responses. I'll try to clarify some stuff...

Johnny cakes-The cake was flat/level and so was the icing before the slide. It slid down from the top edge of the cake and gave it that domed look.

TexasSugar-After I crumb coat and that crusts, I place a sheet of wax paper on top and then a book. This cake set like that for about 4 hours before I tried to ice it.

Have you changed any of your ingredients for your recent cakes? A different brand or anything?

How thick is the icing on the cake? From your description of the top tier, it looks like it is 1/2 inch thick or more. If so, weight of the icing itself is causing the slippage.

Don't be offended if I'm being too basic here...just trying to think of things that could make this happen.

Do you put each tier on a cakeboard? Do you support the tiers with dowels/straws? It seems to be happening to the top tier, and if you don't have that tier on a cakeboard and/or supported, I wonder if the top cake is sinking into the bottom tier and actually pushing the frosting upward instead of it drooping? (Since this drooping doesn't appear to be happening to both tiers, I can't imagine that it would be because your cake is too moist or the icing too runny.)

Don't worry about getting too basic...I'm looking for answers.

Tastyart-no changes in any recipes or ingredients. We have had some hotter/more humid weather, but I didn't have this trouble last spring/summer

JohnnyCakes-Yes, each cake is on a board and supported.

eme926-I do start with pretty thick icing, but scrape a lot of it off as I smooth.
Maybe it is still too thick, though. That's something I can certainly work on.

The droop is mostly on the top tier, but if you look closely, you can see the bottom starting to slouch along the bottom. (between Mother Goose and the dish/spoon)

Thanks again. The CC brain is working!!

poohsmomma,

I have had this EXACT same problem lately! So glad you posted this. I hope we can both get some advice! It's so frustrating. (look at the red/black tiered cake in my photos, and you'll see that is was starting to go)

It looks more like bulging than slipping to me.

I understand how thick icing could cause it, but how why is the icing next to the cake so slick? I've actually had it where I crumb coat, and when I go to put on the "final coat," the crumb coat slides underneath my spatula, and the icing doesn't want to stick. Is my cake too moist? (is that even possible? )

Upat2am-I'll certainly work on getting it thinner. Somebody already mentioned that, and I think that might be part of the problem.

Deb-The bulge is below the filling-and I used a really still dam. The filling was only BC with some strawberry jam-nothing especially gooey. I wasn't around when it was cut, but my DIL told me the filling was where it belonged, not "squooshed out" (her words)

millermom-the slick part is especially puzzling to me, too.
Why was my icing so loose/almost foamy right next to the cake????? Is there some reaction going on?

Thanks again for your help.

I don't know the recipe you are using. Does it have vegetable shortening in it? I have found that I can't use Crisco or any other vegetable shortening with NO transfats. It causes the icing to be too soft and make the cake unstable. Just a thought.

I was wondering if it was the transfat problem as well. Just because you didn't change brands doesn't mean they didn't change formulas on you. Check your shortening and see if it has any transfat...in the world of icing transfat = good ....no transfat= bad...unlike the rest of the world You might even try generic store brand shortening vs crisco if you're currently using crisco. Good luck.

I agree. I usually stick store brands also. But I didn't realize that the store brand I usually buy did change to No Trans Fats. I saw a difference.

Oh, by the way Poohsmamma The cake you are showing the problem with is really cute. It's a shame that you a had a problem. I can tell you put alot of work into it.

For what it's worth, I suspect Aldi brand shortening has changed. It seems a lot softer now. So far, it still seems to be working for me but I have to add a lot less liquid to my buttercream. I made a batch today and piped swirls on cupcakes. It has crusted nicely even though it's raining here today.

If she's using my icing recipe, then trans-fat makes no difference. This is why the recipe is getting so many good reviews because while everyone was complaining about what their icing was doing after the formula change, I was sitting back asking, "What? What? There's a change? No sh*t? Really?"

In my years, I've also developed a stance of using crisco only ... no off brands at all. I sound like a commercial but "I used one of those cheaper shortenings once ......" and the roses kept falling off of the cake .... and I only used the store brand once .... and ONLY once. This was YEARS before the trans fat formula change .... like 25 years ago.

I have only used Indydebi's recipe-exactly as written-for the last several years, and like I said earlier, this has only happened on the last few cakes.

I will try to put it on thinner next time, but I'm still thinking it's a cake problem, not an icing problem.

Once again, many thanks for your responses.

Are you cutting your cakeboards the exact same size as your cakes? I've read on cc that alot of people trim the cakeboard to fit the cake. When you do this there isn't anywhere for your icing to "rest". I buy the precut cardboard cake circles and I have about 1/4 inch or less around my cake. Once it's iced I have just enough room for my border. If I trimmed my board to be the size of my cake that icing wouldn't have anything supporting it. Just a suggestion. Your cake is adorable btw

Could be the weather. My last cake had started to show problems of drooping. I turned the AC up a couple of degrees and every thing was better and didn't have any other problems.

Are you letting your top tier firm up before stacking? I too agree continur working on getting those exterior coats thinner, not only for a smoother finish but will cut down your costs too! Win, win!

I can't believe you said Aldi's (I didn't mention it because I didn't think anyone would know what I was referring to). That's the brand that has changed. I agree that AC has alot to do with it. You have to have a cool house when you are doing cakes!

Crud! Well, thanks for confirming it for me. I know where I can get hi ratio in a 50 lb. box, but I don't have near the volume for that. I heard that another store sells it in smaller chunks, so I guess I'm going to have to make a trip soon. If they have it, I suppose it's better than paying for it to be shipped to me.

Hee, hee. Maybe now I have an excuse for my topsy turvy failure? "It wasn't my fault. It's was Aldi's." LOL

In regards to the icing being to thick....

Sharon Zambito has a Buttercream DVD showing how she ices her cakes. She states that the icing is about 1/2" thick on her cakes.

All of her cakes are AMAZING!

I also place icing about 1/2" thick as well..


Sorry you are having issues...

I was thinking that even if the icing is thicker than the board underneath, the lower tier should still hold it up. It really must be something with the cakes themselves.