What Went Wrong??? Graduation Cake Slid :(

Decorating By got4boyz Updated 28 Jun 2010 , 12:45pm by LindaF144a

got4boyz Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
got4boyz Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 6:32am
post #1 of 16

I made a graduation cake for this weekend and it started sliding off to one side! OMG what went wrong??? icon_cry.gif What can I do to prevent this from happening?

It was double layer 10", 8" and a 6" grad. hat on top. For butter cream I use
1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups butter
2 tbs spoons of flavoring
2lbs of powdered sugar.

The filling was a chocolate pudding. I doweled the bottom layer, the middle layer and i put a dowl through the grad cap all the way down. The picture is in my photos, the architect cake. icon_eek.gif WHHATTT HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!! any tips would be greatly appreciated!
thank you!

15 replies
eneq Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
eneq Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 6:44am
post #2 of 16

chocolate pudding will do that especially if its a thick layer. did u have a thick dam? were your dowels cut evenly? also, if your cake board was at least 1/2 and the center dowel hammered through it, it may hold up better.

indydebi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
indydebi Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 7:07am
post #3 of 16

Agree with eneq on the pudding and the dams question.

2.5 cups of fat to 2lbs of p.sugar? icon_surprised.gif Wow! I would imagine that icing pretty much slid down everyone's throat! icon_lol.gificon_lol.gif I only use approx 1.3 cups of fat to 2 lbs of p.sugar.

Tried an alternate icing recipe once that had double the crisco of what I normally use. Holy crap, it tasted like crisco! I then understood why some CC'ers say they dont' like crisco-BC, if THAT'S the icing they tried! I've been making crisco icing for 30 years and if that was the first time I'd ever eaten it .... I'd be a butter-only-in-my-icing gal! icon_lol.gif Thank goodness I had my recipe so I know it can taste great! thumbs_up.gif

Pinkest Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Pinkest Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 7:16am
post #4 of 16

Best guess would be an engineering issue... too much pudding, not enough support for the cake on top, and incorrect buttercream ratios.

mamawrobin Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mamawrobin Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 7:30am
post #5 of 16

I agree with Indydebi and Pinkest on the buttercream. . 2 1/2 cups of fat to 2 pounds of p. sugar??
You may want to try another recipe and see just how much better your icing can be with the correct sugar/fat ratio.

I also use Indydebi's buttercream recipe and like she said, it's 1 1/3 cups crisco to 2 pounds p. sugar.

I also agree with eneq on the pudding and dams. thumbs_up.gif

JanH Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
JanH Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 9:17am
post #6 of 16

I've used the highly rated Whipped Cream b/c recipe which uses 2-1/2 cups of shortening and 1# of powdered sugar without experiencing any sliding/slippage issues on my assembled cakes:

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/2019/whipped-cream-buttercream-frosting

In fact, leah_s recommends it because it's stable in the heat:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-681924-.html

Think that the pudding filling could be unstable especially if the frosting dam is too narrow/weak or too much filling was used, but not evenly cut dowels can also cause sliding....

Here's a sleeved pastry filling usage chart by cake sizes:
(So you can compare how much they recommend and you actually used.)

http://www.countrykitchensa.com/ckideas/ckidea.aspx?Occ1Id=&ideaId=168&idea=494&occasion=General%20Cake%20Instructions

HTH

JaimeAnn Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
JaimeAnn Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 9:23am
post #7 of 16

I think the pudding may have been the problem also. You have to have a really good buttercream dam to use pudding as a filling and even then I make my pudding kind of stiff. By that I mean if the pudding calls for 2 cups of milk I only use 1&1/2 it makes it set up firmer.

got4boyz Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
got4boyz Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 2:16pm
post #8 of 16

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Maybe I over did it on the pudding? Shoot. Lesson learned icon_smile.gif! And perhaps i did need a stronger dam.

What is Indydeb's BC Recipe?

thanks everyone icon_biggrin.gif

CWR41 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
CWR41 Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 2:40pm
post #9 of 16

I'd agree... overfilled with too much pudding (it's bulging in the photo).

cupcakemkr Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cupcakemkr Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 2:58pm
post #10 of 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by got4boyz

What is Indydeb's BC Recipe?




http://cakecentral.com/recipes/6992/indydebis-crisco-based-buttercream-icing

mamawrobin Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mamawrobin Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 3:00pm
post #11 of 16

[quote="got4boyz"]Thank you everyone for your replies.



What is Indydeb's BC Recipe?

You can find it in the "most saved" recipes here on cc. Here's a tip if you try it. Beat the crisco for at least 15-20 minutes BEFORE adding any other ingredients. (It will look like sour cream when you're done) Start by adding the LEAST amount of milk that the recipe calls for...adding only about a tsp. at a time until you get the right consistency. I also warm my milk (I use half and half) before adding.

It's really good. Never used "all shortening based" buttercream until I tried this recipe. thumbs_up.gif

ddaigle Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
ddaigle Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 3:01pm
post #12 of 16

It was definately your (over)filling. It is so tempting to slather a nice amount of gooey fillings in our cakes. In my experience, I always make my center layer of icing buttercream when surrounded by layers of gooey fillings. This creates stability (for me). Also, don't go above your dam with your filling.

leah_s Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
leah_s Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 3:19pm
post #13 of 16

Just to clarify, I've cut the fat to sugar ratio in that recipe, but I only use hi-ratio. I use 3/4 pound of Alpine to 1" of ps. I have no idea how Crisco would react. And that recipe is meringue based also.

Dolledupcakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Dolledupcakes Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 3:35pm
post #14 of 16

I am sorry this happened.

PiccoloChellie Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
PiccoloChellie Posted 22 Jun 2010 , 4:56pm
post #15 of 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by CWR41

I'd agree... overfilled with too much pudding (it's bulging in the photo).




I concur. The bottom tier is bulging pretty good at the midpoint and it looks like it's bulging around the whole circumference. Even good, sturdy doweling isn't going to keep that from slipping apart. icon_sad.gif

I (fourth? fifth) indydebi's buttercream recipe and, yeah, avoid thin puddings. Reduce the amount of milk next time, maybe try a sleeve filling, or a lightly whipped ganache would be yummy too.

That was a cute cake; I'm sorry it slipped. icon_sad.gif

LindaF144a Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
LindaF144a Posted 28 Jun 2010 , 12:45pm
post #16 of 16

I would also suggest that you may want to use chocolate ganache instead of pudding. It hardens to a more stable filling. I have not used chocolate pudding for a filling, so I don't have experience using it. I just know that my chocolate ganache filling cakes are very stable. I also make a buttercream dam to hold it all in, but I believe it is the ganache that is doing all the work and not the dam. The dam keeps it from oozing out and showing.

I also either let it settle or weight per Leah's great newest trick suggestion.

For my AMBC I use 1.5 cups to two pounds of butter. But I only use it to frost cupcakes. I have never used it on a cake and I don't think I will. I prefer Indydeb's recipe or SMBC. Both are more stable than AMBC, with Indydeb's being more stable than SMBC.

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%