I'm about to attempt a topsy turvy cake. Do I need a special cake recipe and if so can anyone recommend one? I tried this once before and the angle of the first tier flattened out when I put the fondant on but before I added the second tier.

Be sure to let your cake settle before laying the fondant, make sure your fondant is thin enough, 1/8 inch the extra weight doesn't help. The wasc recipe is okay for this or you can google "dense cake recipes" I found the denser cakes easier to cut. Good Luck and good for you for trying again! hth

Thanks for the info.

Tony, when you cut your angle did you flip the cut piece onto the angled piece?
This will give you a more severe angle so it doesn't flatten so easily.
You can see pics of what I mean here.

This wasn't a true topsy cake but I wanted the angle on the top tier.
http://www.keeponcaking.com/2011/03/christening-cake/

Also have you read the thread on using ganache under fondant? It makes a very stiff cake to lay the fondant on and no squishing or bulging. It does add cost to your cake but for topsy turvy cakes I think it's worth it for stability.

This is the best chocolate cake recipe I have ever tasted...but I might be a bit partial as it is a family recipe handed down from my grandma...It is pretty basic but comes out very moist and dense! It keeps beautifully!

Iowa Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 stick melted butter
3/4 to 1 cup hot water
1/3 cup hershey syrup

combine dry ingredients and then add in wet ingredients with the water last. Add the water according to what the batter looks like. It should not be too thick but should pour easily and NOT leave a dimple when you dip a spoon in it. pour into greased 9x13 pan or 2- 8 inch rounds and bake at 325 for about 20-25 minutes. Knife inserted in middle should come out clean when done.Hope you like it!

Tony, for a TT I use the Durable Cake recipe submitted in the recipe section by heartsfire. I've used it for both chocolate and white cakes, and it's great for carving. It's dense, but moist and tastes really good. I'd recommend it.

I also totally recommend you ganache your cake. It makes a fantastic, strong "shell" to lay your fondant over and no worries about the weight of your fondant crushing your cake. It does look really good, though, to roll your fondant quite thinly.

Also, if you have time/finances, I'd get Sugarshack's TT dvd. I used it and I know it made all the difference. She goes step by step so you're not guessing on what to do next. It's a huge help for me.

Tony, here's the link. It says chocolate, but I've made it using white cake/vanilla pudding, and it came out fine. If the link doesn't work, just go to recipes, and do a search using the word "durable." Then look for the recipe submitted by hearsfire.

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/6093/durable-cake-for-3d-in-chocolate

Regarding the ganache, there's no need to crumbcoat. I simply iced my cake in ganache as if the ganache were my regular icing. The ganache does add a couple of steps to the process, but to me, having the insurance is worth it! I wasn't scared that my cake would collapse...the ganache made such a firm shell. Hope your cake comes out GREAT!

Hi all,

Well thanks to all your good advice I finally succeeded in made my first Topsy Turvy cake. It's iced in MM fondant with a white chocolate ganache crumb coat. As an experiment I did something that I guess is pretty unorthodox, I made the second tier from the Durable Cake recipe and the bottom tier from the Iowa Cake recipe just to see how each would do. Both were great!

I thought I had attached a shot of my cake but when I submitted my reply there was no picture.