Hi all,
I'm making my first EVER wedding cake today. So far so good, only the top layer of my bottom tier (14") started cracking before I could put it on the bottom layer. It cracked into relatively large pieces, so I was able to "puzzle Piece" it back together, place it on the bottom layer and buttercream them. This is a fondant cake. Am I going to be okay? Will the buttercream and fondant hold everything together????
Thank you!!
I would rebake that layer if possible. The cracks could really affect stability when it's stacked.
Personally, if it pieced together well, I wouldn't rebake. The upper tiers will be supported by dowels, not the actual puzzle cake. And once it's covered with fondant, along with the solid bottom layer, the dowels should hold firm.
In the future, you might consider using a sideless cookie sheet or cake board dusted with cornstarch or powdered sugar to transfer large cake layers onto tiers. It works well for stacking 12"+ layers.... I ran into this solution to the breaking problem recently myself.
Good luck with your first wedding cake!
If it cracked and you have time to rebake, I would. This is your first wedding cake. You don't want to take any chances. The bottom layer is also your foundation. It needs to be stable. When you start putting supports in the cake, they may not be as strong. This is a time to show off your work. Why chance it? (Just my opinion)
oh my! Now I'm torn! Thank you all so much for your feedback and suggestions. I just love this forum!
i'm likely too late for this reply... but here it goes anyway!
if you have 3 or 4 layers in your tiers, put the cracked layer between 2 good layers (not as the top layer). with buttercream filling in between, this will help stabilize it and the other non-cracked tiers will support the dowels just fine.
i've done it a million times... all good!
I HIGHLY recommend this lifer from Pampered Chef! It is a retired item and no longer available new. It is very certainly in my top 5 cheerished cake tools
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=pampered+chef+lifter&_sacat=20635&_odkw=pampered+chef&_osacat=20635&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313
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