Doing my first stacked cake and have a question!
I am getting ready to make a cake that has a 10 inch round on the bottom and a 6 inch round on the top. Would most of you bake just one cake each and then cut each one in half for the filling or would you bake two tens and two sixes? This is my first stacked cake and by judging pictures I can't seem to tell if cakes like this have two stacked of the same size or if they are just cut in half.
Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Denise Rico on
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Hi Kate,
There are a couple of things to take into consideration. One would be how many people are you expecting to serve. Another would be how deep your pans are. If they are 2" deep, you may want to bake 2 of each. If they are 3" deep you might be able to get away with just 1 of each b/c of the height. When I made this Star Wars cake (see attachment) I used a 12" round 3" deep pan for the bottom tier & a 9" round 2" deep pan for the top tier. I only baked 1 each b/c I had the same idea in mind as you. After I froze my layers and they settled that 1 layer for the top looked lost by itself so I hurried up and made another batch of batter and baked another one. It was a good thing I did too. That xtra cake was much needed. Attaching another of a 2 single layer cake so hopefully u can see the difference. Hope this helps. I'm sure you'll get input from others & that will better help you make your decision. Good Luck.
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starwars 37 bd.jpg, 345 KB -
choc grooms cake.jpg, 61 KB
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Permalink Reply by Kate Rhodes on
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Thank you so much! This was extremely helpful. Would you suggest using some sort of dowel rods inside the bottom tier?
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I did in mine to keep everything level/stable. It's always best to be safe than sorry. Cut 4 pieces the depth of your bottom tier, I have one of those serrated knives to cut mine. You know the kind they advertise on tv that can cut cans in half? Take the cake board you'll be placing your top tier on (don't put your top tier on it yet) & center it on your bottom tier so you'll know where to place the dowel rods. Put your cut dowel rods in. Make sure they're just below the surface of the cake & not sticking out. Then you can ice your bottom tier or cover it w/fondant. Place your top tier on the cake board & ice it or cover w/fondant. Then place it on the center of your bottom tier. Your top tier will now sit nice & level on the bottom one. Take another single dowel rod & sharpen the bottom of it like a pencil. Put it through both tiers (you might have to help it w/a small hammer) & mark the excess sticking up out of the top. Remove it & trim off the excess then put it back in. This dowel rod should also be just below the surface of the top tier. This will help keep both tiers stable & the top tier from sliding. It's usually a given to use dowel rods when doing tiered cakes. Hope I haven't made it too complicated for you. If you have any more questions or need help, just give me a holler. Looking forward to seeing pics when you're done :)
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Was just re-reading and you can also run that last dowel rod through both tiers before icing or covering w/fondant. Just make sure all your layers are stacked as they would be after icing them & that it goes thru the cake board that your top tier will be sitting on as well. There have been a few occasions where I've run into the problem where I've put it thru afterward and wasn't able to get it back out again to trim it w/o messing up the icing/fondant. I hope I haven't confused you.
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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on
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Excellent advice from Denise, Kate
I agree that it depends on what the cake is for & how many servings required as to whether you slice & torte your layers. With the sizes you mentioned. This is what I would do. I would put about 4 cake straws around the perimeter of my bottom tier. 2 on either side about 1-1 1/2 " in, spread about 2-3" apart. After stacking the 2 tiers, push ( lightly hammer ) 3 cake safe wooden dowels, sharpened right through your two layers. If your dowels are sharpened, easily done with a knife, they go right through your cake board, no problem.
Best of luck. Post pics when your done.
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Permalink Reply by Katy Nott on
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Firstly I want to thank Denise for being such a wonderful contributor to this site already. She knows her stuff, obviously and is really joining in the spirit of the forum.
Kate - I am just in the process of making a two tier now. I also have a 10" round for the bottom and a 6" round for the top. As Denise said, if the top tier is the same height as the bottom, it can look a little odd and rather flat. I suggest your top tier is taller. What I did was to bake the quantity of batter for an 8" in a 6" tin and just cooked it for longer. Both tiers have just two torted layers. My top tier is on a thin board the same size as the cake for support, but I won't be dowelling them as they don't have to travel (it's for my husband's 70th at home). Also, I want to remove the top tier for use at a second party. If I were transporting, then I would definitely dowel them.
Good luck and look forward to seeing the finished article!
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Permalink Reply by Machelle on
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Hello everyone just wanted to add a quick trick that one of my wilton teachers taught me. I have templetes (cake boards) of cake sizes 12" to 8" that I have made holes in to help to place dowel rods. I Just take my templete and put it on my cake and I know right were to put my supports for my next layer. This would not work for off-set cakes but it makes stacking alot easier for straight tiered cakes. I made these myself by taking the cake board and placing it on a styrofoam dummy. Marking where the dowels should be then using a sharpen dowel to make the holes. Trim the holes out with a exacto knife and make a little bigger than a dowel rod and they slip right through.
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Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I was watching a YouTube video where a girl uses those really big smoothie straws as support. Do you think that is a good idea? Also, Katy, basically what you're saying, is you overfilled the pans and sliced the cakes in half? I would much rather do this than cook two of each. The client only needs this cake to feed 30 people and I've already given her a good price as she is a co worker who is on a tight budget. I think cooking more than two cakes would be over kill.
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Definitely Kate, yes. If you end up with too much cake for your top tier, you can always cut it twice (thus into 3 layers) and fill twice, adding more interest to it. Your cakes as they stand will more than feed 30.
I believe the smoothie straws will work well too, but someone like June will probably know better than I.
Kate Rhodes said:Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I was watching a YouTube video where a girl uses those really big smoothie straws as support. Do you think that is a good idea? Also, Katy, basically what you're saying, is you overfilled the pans and sliced the cakes in half? I would much rather do this than cook two of each. The client only needs this cake to feed 30 people and I've already given her a good price as she is a co worker who is on a tight budget. I think cooking more than two cakes would be over kill.
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Great tip Machelle :). Kate, I would think that the smoothie straws could be enough to support a 6" top tier, especially since it will only be 1 layer. I'm with Katy, though, and would get June's opinion on it as well.
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