dumb question about stacking a tiered cake.

Hi Kianna. I too am self-taught and I’ve only been decorating cakes for less than a year. I have made and stacked cakes up to three tiers. What do you mean when you say pot-bellied? like the icing oozes out the sides of the cake when you put the other layers or other tiers on top?

Well i have done that before but i fixed that. But idk.. they just looks kinda sloppy… not tall flat and crisp like some other cakes. This is a cake i workes on with some 4-H kiddos so excuse some of the decorations… they where not my doing and im not quite sure what they are. Aspen tree maybe? Idk… anyways… the tiers kinds show what I mean. They just arw not megga crisp… the cakes just seem to blob and wave. Maybe i am using to much frosting? Maybe not enough? Maybe my cake is not dense enough? ..

What are you using between your cake and fondant? Ganache may be firmer and support your cake more than frosting. If your cakes are bulging before you stack them, they may be too light to support the weight of your fondant?
If you live in a warm climate, the heat may be making your cakes, frosting or ganache too soft?
If you are aiming to make wedding cakes, perhaps saving up for a class, would be an investment towards a successful future. It will give you access to the knowledge of someone who has been training for years, and also allow you to meet people in your local area that might be able to help you out.
A wedding cake is a big part of someone’s special day… I believe you should be comfortable in your ability and skill level, before you take an order.
Keep at it… never stop learning. The best decorators did not get there overnight. Best of luck. xxx

Make sure you have good support. I would use the wooden dowel rods you can get from Michael’s, and make sure you use enough. Also, you might be using too much icing on the outside of the cake, the icing should be inside not outside. I use just enough so the fondant will stick to it, otherwise when the cake warms up to room temp and the icing softens up, the weight of the fondant will collapse it a little. Make sure the cake is cold and the icing hard when you cover with fondant.
I’m still working on getting sharp edges on my fondant-covered cakes and I’m getting better, so just practice.
Hope this helps =)

Thanks all!!! I do know a lady who helps me a little but she is in the process of moving and dont want to bug her right now. It is funny cause I am very artistic and love the decorating and molding… and she loves the baking/frosting/stacking etc witch I loath haha. I keep telling her we need to start a shop where she cooks and stacks the cake, makes the fondant, frosting etc.. and i decorate lol… I hope to have more time to practice after college. I tested out of high school and have been in college since I was 14. Now I am in some pretty high level courses and there is not much time for caking. :-(

Plus I get projects like this little guy from work. (Attacked by coyoties causing a hurnea down his side to be fixed and a lrg to be amputated) I must tend to… leaves little time for other thing.

Another trick you can try to help with the oozing is fill your cake and before your ice the outside put it in the fridge with some weight to help the settling along so it does not settle with the weight of the tiers.

I also agree with Julez that dirty icing with ganache will help with the oozing and getting sharp edges.

To get sharp edges on your fondant you want to make sure it is not took thick and I always use the upside down method on my ganache and my fondant. Check out Jessica Harris out she has tutorials on this method. Not sure if they are free but if you can catch a sale on craftsy it will be fairly affordable.

Hope this helps!

Okay, all very good tips… i do wonder if my fondant has been too thick!

Any one used this technique? Very different from mine… But I may give it a spin! "":http://vivalasugarcake.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-to-covering-cake-in-fondant-my-way.html

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