Does anyone have input for me about a SQUARE Topsy Turvey cake?
I have tried to avoid taking any work that involved TT cakes because I just think it is too much work and I deal mostly with wedding cakes and that is stressful enough without adding TT to it. However, I recently agreed to do a wedding cake for someone, got the deposit and contract, but he wanted the design to be a surprise for the bride and did not mention TT until a week later when I met with him without his fiance.
I think I could handle a TT as there are enough instructions and tutorials out there to get by but this one is to be square. I was not able to find any help with that. I was thinking about doing it with wedges, but not sure how the cakes would hold up. They are not very firm cakes. I read that the cakes for TT's should be sturdy and a bit firm.
Now it is just one problem after another and I need to meet with him next week to discuss further. If I refuse to do it as TT, he may cancel the job. So any advice, tips, suggestions and info would be appreciated. If you know where I can find a tutorial with good instruction, let me know. As I said, I have never done one of these before, so I need all the help I can get.
The event is October 15th, so I need help ASAP. Thank you.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Deah on
-
I can't help you with the square TT, I've only done round ones. I think if I had to do a square one I would go the wedge route also. Your cake does need to be sturdy but it doesn't have to be pound cake sturdy. I don't know if you are a scratch baker or box baker but I use the WASC variation and it turns out a great cake with holds up to a ton of man-handling.
IMHO, TTs are more labor intensive and require more internal structure therefore cost more. Be sure to discuss that when you meet with the groom.
-
Permalink Reply by Cathy Wanat on
-
Thanks for your reply. Can you tell me what kind of internal structure you use? Are you talking about dowels or PVC? Is that in each cake or through the whole stack? It is to be 4 tiers. You are the first one to send me any useable information. I hope you don't mind me asking more questions.
What does IMHO mean? I am not too technically literate.
-
-
IMHO = in my humble opinion
If you decide to do wedges you will need stryofoam and you'll have to cover and/or hide them during the final assembly (extra work, extra cost). You will also need dowels or bubble straws in each tier to support the cakes above - use more than you think you need. You'll need a cake board between each tier (just like normal and then once assembled you will need 1 dowel from top to bottom. Be sure to sharpen the end of the dowel so you can drive it through the cake, boards and wedges without any trouble. Make sure you do a test run to get the angles of the wedges cut correctly.
Some folks would, but I wouldn't attempt to travel with it fully assembled. Way too top heavy for my liking. You could assemble the bottom 2 tiers and the top 2 tiers and then complete the assembly on location.
Now if you want to go the PVC way you'll need to do some construction work. There are some tutorials on this but frankly you can purchase the system from cal-java and save yourself a headache or 2. http://www.caljavaonline.com/cakestudy1.htm.
-
Permalink Reply by Eileen S on
-
Cathy - thinking about the way TT's are made (and keep in mind I've never made one, just watched the tutorials - over and over and over again trying to talk myself into it), I would think that squares would be exactly the same as the rounds. You cut out the wedge and then stack it opposite to make a sharper angle, cut out the section where the next cake would go and then stack it all straight - TT"s are not any more unsturdy than regular stacked cakes as it's all just an optical illusion. Hope that helps. (And IMHO stands for "In My Humble Opinion" :) )
-
-
Thank you Deah
and Eileen for your replies. Very helpful, I appreciate it. How would the angles be cut wrong? I'm trying to understand everything you are saying. Sorry if I sound like a dunce. I am a traditional cake person.
Deah said:IMHO = in my humble opinion
If you decide to do wedges you will need stryofoam and you'll have to cover and/or hide them during the final assembly (extra work, extra cost). You will also need dowels or bubble straws in each tier to support the cakes above - use more than you think you need. You'll need a cake board between each tier (just like normal and then once assembled you will need 1 dowel from top to bottom. Be sure to sharpen the end of the dowel so you can drive it through the cake, boards and wedges without any trouble. Make sure you do a test run to get the angles of the wedges cut correctly.
Some folks would, but I wouldn't attempt to travel with it fully assembled. Way too top heavy for my liking. You could assemble the bottom 2 tiers and the top 2 tiers and then complete the assembly on location.
Now if you want to go the PVC way you'll need to do some construction work. There are some tutorials on this but frankly you can purchase the system from cal-java and save yourself a headache or 2. http://www.caljavaonline.com/cakestudy1.htm.
-
-
Thanks Eileen. I don't know now if it was smart of me to avoid learning this, I guess it is baptisim by fire this time around.
Eileen S said:Cathy - thinking about the way TT's are made (and keep in mind I've never made one, just watched the tutorials - over and over and over again trying to talk myself into it), I would think that squares would be exactly the same as the rounds. You cut out the wedge and then stack it opposite to make a sharper angle, cut out the section where the next cake would go and then stack it all straight - TT"s are not any more unsturdy than regular stacked cakes as it's all just an optical illusion. Hope that helps. (And IMHO stands for "In My Humble Opinion" :) )Thank
-
-
http://www.cakeswebake.com/photo/topsyturvy-garden?context=user
Take a look at this photo. It is my cake so I can pick on it :-) This is the first and only time I've used a wedge. You see on the left side where cake meets cake? I didn't have enough wedge in there so the top tier smooshed into the bottom tier.
Now, look at the hamburger cake here - http://sugaredblog.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-08-17T16%3A... (So not my cake!)
You see how each tier doesn't touch the tier below. That is the way it should be. It's all in the wedge.
-
-
Is the hamburger cake by Sharon Z. ? I have not been following her for a while, but it seems like she has done a lot since I last looked her up. My question, how do you keep the cake from touching the cake under it? It seems like that was the problem with your cake, have you found out how to prevent this from happening? This is really helpful to me, don't go away Deah, I'm sure I'll have more questions, as I process each reply.
Popular Cake Searches
© 2024 Created by Theresa Happe.
Powered by
