The wedding cake I have made for a co-worker has been the world's biggest disaster. Bulges on both tiers. Scraped off the icing last night and redid it. Thought all was good, considering, then turned around and the top tier was bulging big time. I scraped out the hole and then patched it as best I could. I have a bird that will cover it. I am not sure what the cake is going to do next. I have a 30 minutes commute to transport it, which scares me. Part of me thinks I should put it in the fridge to help firm it up but then what happens when it gets room temp again? I have wired branches to put on it once I get to the church and it really cannot be moved after that, meaning they cannot store it in the fridge. Any advice? This has been a nightmare. I mean I had it iced and decorated and had to scrape all of it off on both tiers and start over. I am in so much shock after seeing a bulge after I had reiced it that I cannot even cry. :0(

It sounds like the cake didn't have enough time to settle. There isn't much to do about that at this point though, sorry.

I normally deliver my cakes cold, but I'm not sure in this instance. I'm sorry, I'm no help. Hopefully someone else can help.

Hang in there!

I may be of no help either, is this bc or fondant? I had a problem with my bc bulging last week, and just took a toothpick and poked holes into it to let the air out and then smoothed it the best I could before using the VIVA paper towel after it crusted.
I delieved it 2 hours away in FL summer heat, but I also had it chilled before delivery.
Good luck! I hope someone here is able to help you

Whether to refrigerate it or not depends on whether it is BC or fondant, and also where you are. I'm in Florida, and with the humidity here, if we refrigerate fondant it sweats horribly once you take it out. But other people have said they have no problems with this. BC is fine to refrigerate regardless.

I know just how you feel! We had a cake about a month ago that was giving us fits! Take a deep breath, you can do this!

I agree with everyone that if it is bc that you should stick it inthe fridge. Good luck & you can do this!

What is the bottom border for each tier like?

Leah_S posted a tip that you can help prevent bulging if you "break the seal" between the cake and the board. Run a spatula or an x-acto knife flat around the bottom edge of the cake so that the frosting separates from the board a little giving the cake a place to breathe. You can cover this with ribbon or a piped border once you are at the venue.

I would also recc putting it in the fridge. It will be much more stable for transport. I don't think the coming back to room temp problem is as big a concern as the bulging.

Good luck

Kristy

Well the cake made it to the church. It was buttercream and did just fine. Thanks for all of the feedback. I learn so much from all of you. I'll try to attach a photo of the cake. I will say I do not like the border at all. Way to thick but I had to cover a few things as part of my disaster repair. The bride provided the topper, which I do not like either. The bird concept came from her as well. I made the cake like the photo, except that I did it in buttercream instead of fondant since she hates fondant. The topper took away from the cake but again, that is what she wanted. Aside from that and the yucky border, I think it turned out okay considering.