My First Attempt At A Two-Tier Cake And My Mis-Steps

Yesterday was the first hot day of the year here in Abbotsford so I chose to ice and decorate a cake! 

To be fair, I would have iced the cake whether it was hot or not. You see, I was asked by colleague at work if I would make a two-tiered 50^th anniversary cake for his parents at the end of July. July on the West Coast can be hot and humid so I was concerned the icing may not make the trip from Abbotsford to Whistler.

I started researching icing types and decided on Swiss Meringue Buttercream and buttercream for humid temperatures. Thankfully, I had one 6” and one 4” mini cakes in the freezer so at least I didn’t need to bake the cakes in this heat.

I am not a professional baker by any stretch of the imagination. I have not taken any decorating classes. I have watched a lot of youtube videos. That is it. The purpose of this post today is to let you know what my mis-steps were along the way. Maybe it will give you the courage to try making your own cake creation.

For the filling, I decided to make strawberry cream cheese filling since for the anniversary cake I was asked to make raspberry cream cheese filling.

• My mis-step here was I didn’t cook/break down the fresh strawberries ahead of time so they had time to cool properly.
• I also added a touch too much water when cooking down the fresh strawberries. This made the cooking time take longer.
• I think I would also like to have a thicker layer of filling in between each cake layer. Not too sure if my filling would need to be thicker in order to do this?

For torting the cake, which is a fancy way of saying cutting each cake in layers so you can put filling in between each layer.

• My mis-step was not having my cake on a level surface to start. This made it difficult to tell if my cake layers were actually level or if it was my counter. Let’s just say it was a bit of both!

For the icing, my mis-steps were not knowing my timing.

• Next time I would definitely do my other steps first and then make the icing right before I need it. You can make the icing ahead and keep in the fridge and then just re-mix it. I just like the texture of fresh made icing best.

For assembling and decorating the cake, I had a number of mis-steps.

• I did not make the simple syrup for my cakes ahead of time and give it time to cool. I read a lot of information that says using simple syrup on a cake is up to you but it does keep the cake moist. I chose to use it because my vanilla cake seemed quite dry, especially since it was in the freezer.
• I didn’t realize how long you need to chill the cake in between coatings. I estimated that 1 hour between each frosting layer is about right for me.
• Having each layer of cake on a cake board for easier handling would be significantly easier since I do not own any plates which are flat.
• Having a pruning shear would be great to cut the dowels since they are harder than they look. I had to saw mine with a knife. Doable but would easier with pruning shears.
• For my cake drip I decided to just use candy melts since it was last minute thought to try it. What I didn’t realize is that you need to thin the candy melts down a bit with whip cream. That is why my drips look clumpy instead of nice. Live and learn!
• The chocolate maple leaf on top was one I made a few weeks just for fun ago using candy melts. I had printed off some leaf patterns from the internet and then put the paper underneath parchment paper. I traced the design with candy melts and left out on the counter to harden. I need to figure out a way to make them sturdier but overall I thought it was cute.

When I make a cake next time, I will do things in this order:

The weekend before (or at least two days ahead):

• Cook down fruit, cool and put in fridge
• Cook simple syrup, cool and put in fridge
  • Simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of water and sugar cooked until the sugar crystals dissolve
• If you need to make any garnishes for your cake, if they can be done ahead, do them now
• If you are transporting your cake, make sure you have the cake drum, cake boards, dowels and cake box
  • Cake drums are much thicker and make it easier to transport, get one that is at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) than the bottom cake layer
  • Cake boards should be the same size as your cake layer
  • I found the dowels that look like thick straws were the easiest to find
    • Dowels help to prevent the top cake from squishing the lower cake
      • This will especially be important for the anniversary cake as they would like a fruit cake on top and chocolate cake with raspberry cream cheese filling on the bottom. Fruit cake is HEAVY!
• Make an extra batch of icing and practice doing anything you aren’t sure about
  • NOTE: I have a stand mixer which has the paddle and whip attachment however, I cannot, for whatever reason make icing in it. I use a hand mixer which works much better for me.
• Bake cakes and cool. Once fully cooled, I would cut the cake layers and then freeze each layer
  • I will wrap each layer in plastic wrap and then wrap the two pieces together in foil
• Make sure you have everything:  ingredients, tools, etc and pull them out.
  • Don’t assume you have anything.  Pull them out and put them on the counter.  You can always put them back when you are done but this way you KNOW you have them.

The night before decorating:

• Take out the butter for the icing and cut it into cubes and put in a bowl covered with plastic wrap
• Make the filling and put in bowl covered with plastic wrap
  • Remember to take the cream cheese and butter in advance to allow it to come to room temperature/be softened for mixing
• Take the cakes out of the freezer and let thaw on the counter

The morning of:

• Take out the butter cubes to allow it to come to room temperature
• Put simple syrup on cakes, if using, and re-wrap until ready to use
• Make room in your fridge to put the cake in as needed
• Get decorating bags and tips ready
• Get out all the tools you will be using and make sure you have a big enough workspace
• Make icing
• Ice/Frost cakes leaving at least 30 minutes to 1 hour between each coat to allow the icing to set
• Give yourself LOTS of time.

The most daunting thing about trying something new is trying to do everything at once. I try to break it down so you don’t have to do everything in one day. I hope you try decorating a cake. It doesn’t have to look perfect to taste delicious!

P.S.  My husband preferred the icing for humid conditions.  This can be found on the Wilton website.