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What are your biggest cake problems or
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cake frequently asked questions? Broken
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cake layers, trying to undo a decorating
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mistake, air bubbles in your icing or
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frosting, leaning cakes, sloping cakes,
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bulges. In this video, I'll share why
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these things happen and how to fix them.
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If a cake falls apart when you turn it
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out of the pan, don't throw it away.
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Wrap it in cling film or saran wrap and
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put it into the fridge to chill so it
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gets less crumbly. When you put your
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cake together, use buttercream as glue
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to attach the broken pieces together.
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When this buttercream sets, it will hold
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the layer firmly together. Use the
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broken cake as a middle layer, and the
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intact layers above and below it will
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keep the cake stable. The buttercream
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will even hold the slices together when
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you serve the cake. If you're
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intimidated by piping, you'll love this
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next quick fix. Before piping onto a
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cake, always chill it in the fridge to
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set the frosting. So that if you don't
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like your piping, you can scrape it off
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without damaging the frosting on the
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cake since that buttercream is cold and
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firm and will hold its shape. Now you
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can pipe again, practicing the same
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technique again or trying something
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different. You can do this on the sides
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of a cake, too, by chilling the frosted
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cake before decorating it. If you decide
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you don't like your decorations, you can
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scrape them off straight away while
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they're still soft without damaging the
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cold, firm buttercream frosting
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underneath. Using a warm cake comb makes
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this easiest. Dip the blade into hot
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water or use a blowtorrch or hair dryer.
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The warm metal will scrape the soft
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buttercream off effortlessly. Next, here
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are three ways to get rid of air bubbles
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in your buttercream. The first is to
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stir it quite aggressively in the bowl,
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knocking your spatula against the sides
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of the bowl to push any air out of the
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buttercream. The second way is to scoop
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out about a third of the buttercream and
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microwave it for 10 seconds. Stir this
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melted buttercream back into the main
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bowl of buttercream. And as it mixes
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together, it will create the perfect
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consistency for spreading and smoothing
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it onto a cake and get rid of any
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stubborn air bubbles. If you notice air
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bubbles appear as you smooth the
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frosting on your cake, use the third way
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to get rid of them, which is to heat the
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edge of your cake comb with a blowtorrch
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or haird dryer or hot water. Rub it with
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a towel or paper towel and pinch it to
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check it's warm, not hot. The warm metal
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will glide over the surface of the
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buttercream, warming the very outer
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layer and dragging it around the cake to
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fill in any air bubbles or shallow
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indents or imperfections. Leaning cake?
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Here's a quick hack to straighten it.
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Wrap the cake in cling film or saran
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wrap and then push against the lean to
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center all of the cake layers on the
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cake board. Now, put the cake into the
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fridge to set the filling and frosting,
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which will hold the cake in its new
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straight position. Once the frosting is
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cold, it will be firm, not sticky. So
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now you can peel the plastic off without
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pulling the buttercream off with it. If
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you see a cake's filling bulging out
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through the frosting, it's because the
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filling is too runny, and the weight of
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the upper layers of the cake is pushing
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it out. For runny fillings like this
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jam, you need what's called a
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buttercream dam, which is simply a ring
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of buttercream piped around the edge of
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each cake layer. This acts as a wall to
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hold the runny filling in so it doesn't
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ooze out. When you've assembled your
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cake, put it into the fridge to set the
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buttercream dams so they get firm and
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secure the cake layers in place before
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frosting the cake. And now, as you
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spread and smooth the frosting, the
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filling will stay where it's supposed
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to, and you shouldn't see any bulges in
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the sides of the cake. After taking all
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of the time and effort to smooth your
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frosting, this has probably happened to
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all of us. Poking a finger into the
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frosting or knocking the cake against
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something else. Don't panic. This is
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easy to fix whether the frosting has set
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or not. Just spread a bit more
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buttercream over the wound. And instead
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of smoothing it with your spatula or
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cake comb, use a little piece of
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acetate. This is flexible plastic that
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will curve around the cake to match the
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curve of the frosting. And it will
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smooth this new buttercream without
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damaging the frosting that's already on
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the cake. There we go. No more finger
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imprint. After filling and layering your
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cake, if you notice the top is sloping,
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it's not too late to fix it. A spirit
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level is useful here to show you if it
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really is sloping. Use a serrated knife
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like a bread knife to trim off the top
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and then check with a spirit level if
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you've corrected the slope. If the
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bubble is in the middle, the cake is
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level. Now you can frost and decorate
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your straight level cake. I hope these
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hacks will help you fix these common
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cake problems or challenges. To learn
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hundreds more cake decorating techniques
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and designs and practical tips and
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tricks, visit my cake school on
4:18
britishgirlbakes.com and join my all you
4:20
canake membership for access to
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everything on my cake school. Start a
4:24
free 7-day trial to try it out. I'm that
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confident you'll love it. See you there.
