Has anyone made one yet?   We spent so much time mastering smoothing icing and now the hot trend is a naked cake - go figure!   Some have no icing and some have what appears to be a very light crumb coating.  A dear friend's daughter wants this and we did a trial run yesterday - you better have those layers perfect because icing does hide a lot.   

I did one or two yrs ago.  They think they are saving $$ by eliminating the icing.  Others think it's too sweet &/or fattening :(  It's those stupid magazine articles.

I wouldn't worry too much if it has a thin crumb coat as that seals the cake (keeps it from drying out.) but when there is NO icing of any kind I worry that me delicious, moist cake will be dry and then it eventually ruins your reputation!  Brides don't think about that!!

I hope this whole naked cake trend dies a short and painful death.

Ugly ugly ugly.

I told the prospective bride that the cake had to have at least a light crumb coating to keep it from drying out so she agreed to that.

They are definitely not my favorite look, but I have to admit you can put a cake together in no time.

i would make a glaze with gelatin in it to seal it -- or a cooked glaze with butter in it so it dries nice & crisp but still has the see through effect -- i mean every cake i/we ever made started naked right and tons of them never got iced but i don't think i've ever done an uniced tier cake -- and i doubt i ever will because i'd use a clear glaze on it -- just have to be uber careful to not let it crack --

but let me also say the ones with regular buttercream that's scraped on/off are nearly a disgrace -- hurts my eyes but like a train wreck i can't look away either -- troubling

@Jedi Knight --- Now tell us what you really   think.

I've never made one (hopefully never will), but if I did, I would do the very light crumbcoat.   I think the Agbay was probably the invention that made naked cakes possible (just kidding....) because your layers have to be P.E.R.F.E.C.T. with no domes, no shrunken, crispy outer edges, no differences in color between the outside of the baked cake and the interior of the baked cake.  

I've seen tutorials about using your finger the gently rub off the crumbs for the outsides for ombre colored cake layers, using Pam or other baking spray to provide the "sealant" to keep the edges from going stale, keeping the covered cake in a fridge until the last possible second to prevent drying out from the air.  A very light crumb coat would allow the "naked look" and provide sufficient protection from drying.  

This is a wonderful tutorial from ScratchSF on ombre naked cakes:

http://www.cakecentral.com/tutorial/34565/rainbow-ombre-cake-tutorial

Not a favorite of mine either.  I love to see all of the exquisite work done with buttercream, fondant, etc. But who can judge what makes a cake beautiful as "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" as they say.  I will have to admit I have seen some naked cakes that were very pretty though. 

so if i did a glaze i guess i'd have to assemble the tier then glaze the edges to minimize the chance of the glaze cracking -- or assembling the tier while the glaze is wet would be better yet -- just thinking this through --

i mean i was shocked at first but the clear sided really naked ones are pretty cool -- the scraped off buttercream ones, no not at all

I LOVE them because I can knock one out in an hour and take a nap, while  still collecting the payment for the cake that I'd get if I had to take the time to ice it and smooth it and decorate it. All of you who hate them, send them to me.

Just wrap the tiers in plastic wrap after they're assembled and there will be no problem keeping it from drying out. No biggie.

Ahhh, costumeczar, always the voice of profitable reason.  You are precious.

One would have to be *very!* careful if wrapping w/plastic wrap so there would not be any wrinkle in it.  And be sure the person cutting knew it was there & remove it before serving.  Still just don't like the whole idea. 

As ugly as they are, it was the easiest and most profitable cake I've ever made.  My peeve was that the layers baked a different color in the same oven!  I told myself that the color variation was part of the charm........not.  Lemon Raspberry as I recall - moist and delicious! 

my daughter's wedding cake was rough iced i loved it -- but no cake was peaking through anywhere

I've done two. Easy peasy. I brushed my naked cake generously with sugar syrup, letting cake dry between applications. This is the key to sealing your cake so it won't dry out. I did apply a very small scrape of icing. Both times I did cake 2 full days before serving, cake was lovely and moist, inside and out. 

Wrapping in plastic is just for the time until you deliver it, then unwrap it when you set it up, and go home to count your profits for an easy cake. ;)

Jchuck - what type of sugar glaze did you use?  Does it dry hard?

Just simple syrup. One part water, one part sugar. Heat up till sugar is dissolved. That's it. Let the syrup cool to room temperature before applying to your cake. I use a rubber brush to apply, don't want fibres from a brush in your cake.  You can add many flavours to your syrup as well. My last cake I added a tsp each of  lemon, orange and almond extract. You store in your fridge up to a year. Mine generally doesn't last that long. I use a old washed out salad dressing bottle to store it in.  Yes, it dries hard  but you  won't particularly notice on the cake. At least  didn't. To be honest, I never really "felt" the cake sides to see if they were hard/crispy. Hope this helps.

On a side note...I made some gumpaste berries, and those darn little berries kept falling off my circle of gumpaste!! I tried piping gel to make them stay, but the berries slide off. I got a lightbulb moment...use sugar syrup!!  I did, used a small paintbrush and the berries stuck, and the syrup left a nice shine.

Great - thanks so much!  I'm going to bake a cake and try it to make sure it's exactly what she would want.

Well Luby...let us know the outcome. .

I've done one 4 tier,but the bride wanted whipped cream and fresh fruit. I assembled on site-

I have one coming up that's basically pound cake and strawberries. The bride wanted to know if I would make a practice cake so they could approve it and see what it will taste like. I said no.

seriously they don't know what pound cake & strawberries taste like -- plus they want to bestow their approval -- uh ugh

@costumeczar  You didn't say, "Sure, that will be another $$$!" ?

Pastrybaglady posted:

 @costumeczar  You didn't say, "Sure, that will be another $$$!" ?

Haha! No, some things aren't even worth making them pay for. Plus, she's from out of town so she wanted to taste it and approve it as I was setting it up at the reception. I'm not joking. She's very nice but admitted that she's a real control freak. No kidding...

so what if it didn't pass check -- not that your stuff isn't great just if they got weirder

I don't mind naked cakes.. and I definitely agree with costumeczar; they're super quick to assemble.. I find it really depends on the decoration as to whether they look good or not..I like them better with a crumb coat and natural decorations (real flowers/ fruit etc instead of fondant/ gum paste etc) here's one I did for a winter wedding before it was delivered and set up that I was happy with (it was 2 tiers as the centrepiece with 2 single tiers on either side).

@Jessmabee   You're right, if they are decorated naturally like yours the cakes almost look like birch trees with the very thin crumb coat.  Very nice!

Jessmabee, those cakes look great.  I love the natural look of them.

Hmm, undecided on these. I much prefer a "normal" cake myself but I can see the aesthetic appeal of them, especially in a more rustic wedding setting.

Wouldn't fancy making one though :S