| BTILTED CAKE INSTRUCTIONS & DIAGRAMS BY Michelle Hechanova |
Here are a few instructions
to go along with the diagram:
- I like to use three layers (2 in tall each) per tier. You can also do it with 2 layers, but I think the cake looks "squat" unless you are working with small diameter tiers.
- The cake layers should be well chilled so that they are easy to carve.
- You will need to bake three large layers for the green tier, two medium layers for the yellow tier, and two small layers for the pink tier.
- 1. On the largest (green) tier, stack and fill the first two layers.
- 2. Put the third layer on a baking sheet. Cut out a circle of cake from the center, using a round cake board as a guide. This circle should be smaller than the diameter of the layers you baked for the second (yellow) tier. How much smaller will depend on how angled you want the sides to be. Try to keep the cut neat, using a sharp knife held vertically.
- 3. Gently lift off the outer ring of cake (Very important that the cake be very cold, even frozen, so that it doesn't break during this step). Place this ring on top of the first two layers that you've already stacked. Cut the top at a slant, and the sides angled downward and inward.
- 4. The center that you cut out will be the bottom layer of the second (yellow tier). Place it on the cake board that you used as a guide.
- 5. Repeat for the rest of the tiers.
- Also some answers to questions people have asked about these instructions:
- The cakes are covered with fondant BEFORE stacking.
- When you cut the circle of cake out for the hole, make sure the hole is slightly larger than the diameter of the next tier, to compensate for the thickness of the fondant. If you don't, the hole may not be big enough.
- There may be a slight gap where the tiers meet - that's why the borders on this type of cake are usually pretty large.
- Yes, you can do these in buttercream, absolutely! I have pictures of two smaller size whimsy cakes on my site, both done in buttercream http://celebcakes.tripod.com under Special Occasions. The procedure is the same - you still cover in icing BEFORE stacking. I don't put icing in the hole - I just use a very thin crumbcoat inside that hole. But that is a personal preference. To stack, stick a dowel in the hole, mark the height, and then pull it back out and cut. Cut the rest of your dowels to the same height. Use an uncut dowel to make holes in the cake where your supports will go. Insert the cut dowels, but only partway, leaving them sticking out about an inch. Then, take the next tier (chilled well, so that the buttercream is firm), set them on top of the dowels and let go, allowing the weight to push the dowels down the rest of the way. If it needs a little help sinking down, stick an uncut dowel into the top tier until you feel the board and use that to push the tier down the rest of the way. If your buttercream coating is chilled and firm you should have minimal to no damage on the icing. Any dents or finger marks can be patched up using an acetate strip (See my post on the Help Line topic, under the subject line "How do you get your cakes so smooth?" for an explanation on the acetate). The only advantage to fondant on these cakes is that it is easier to get a smooth covering. Some have a difficult time icing the slanted sides and the slanted top smoothly. I actually prefer the buttercream, since I can adjust the thickness of it when covering the cake , so that I can exaggerate the slant even more. Hope all of this posts correctly :)
- Again, long, sorry! I'm cuttin and pasting from another location:
- Hi! Sorry I did not see this earlier. To make cutting the slanted sides easier, do this with your tier UPSIDE DOWN. Chill the layers well (very important!) Then stack the three layers as follows: cake, cake, filling, cake. Now lay a circular template on top - one that is an inch smaller in diameter than your cake, or a little more, depending on how much you want the slant to be. Then holding a serrated knife vertically, cut down at a slant from the edge of the template to the bottom edge of your cake. Do this all the way around. Then flip your cake, remove the top layer (that is why no filling was placed in the first step), and then proceed to cutting the hole out of it. Spread filling on the middle layer, then replace the top layer. Voila! A perfect, even slant all around the cake. TP has said the cutting the top slant was a bit tricky since it has a hole in it. If you don't mind baking an extra layers of cake for the subsequent tiers, you can get around this problem. Cut the top slant first, and then the hole. Just discard or eat the cake from the hole Before you cover with fondant, it really helps to chill the trimmed tier first so that it is firm. That way you don't distort the cake's shape because of the weight of the fondant. You may get some condensation/moisture on the fondant surface because the cake is cold, but this dries quickly with the help of a fan.
Michelle Hechanova wrote
this and drew the diagram.