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Why do these pesky bulges appear in the
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sides of cakes? In this tutorial, I'll
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show you why and how to prevent them.
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Bulges start when you layer your cake.
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As you stack more cake layers, their
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weight will push down on your filling
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and it will ooze out sideways. So, for
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runny fillings like lemon curd or jam or
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caramel, you need what's called a
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buttercream dam, which is just
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buttercream piped as a ring around the
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edge of the cake layer to act as a wall
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or dam to hold the runny filling in
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place. When the next cake layer presses
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down onto the dam, the runny filling
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will be trapped inside so it can't ooze
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out. Push down on each cake layer to
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check that the dam can support the
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weight as you continue layering the
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cake. If the dam is too low, so the wall
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isn't high enough, and when you add the
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filling, it goes right up to the top of
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that ring. Then when you press the next
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cake layer on top, it will push the
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runny filling out over the top of the
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wall. And as it oozes outwards, you'll
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see the bulges appear underneath the
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frosting like this. When the weight of
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the upper cake layers push down on the
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filling, it can't move down. So, there's
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nowhere for it to go except sideways,
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and that's when you see bulges like
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this. So, make sure your dams go up
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higher than your fillings. And also,
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make sure the buttercream is stiff
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enough because if it's runny, like
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whipped cream, then the cake layers on
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top will weigh down on the dams and push
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those outwards, too, adding to the bulge
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effect. But there's another step to
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prevent bulges. after piping tall dams
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with stiff buttercream and after pushing
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down on each layer to make sure the
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filling doesn't come out. And that step
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is to chill the cake before frosting or
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icing it. Because when you finish
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layering your cake, those buttercream
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dams are still soft. And when you put
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any pressure on them as you spread and
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smooth around the cake, that pressure
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will push the layers sideways and make
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gaps where the filling can ooze out,
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like here and here. So, what do you do
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when you see bulges appearing? Make sure
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the cake is straight, nudging it with
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your spatula or pallet knife if it's
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not. And then put it into the fridge for
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an hour or the freezer for 30 minutes to
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set the buttercream dams and any
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buttercream on the sides of the cake,
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too. Then spread on another crumb coat
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on top to trap any of that filling that
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oozed out of the cake. And put the cake
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back into the fridge or freezer for
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about 15 minutes to set this layer of
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frosting. Now you can do your final
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layer of frosting. and the filling and
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dams will be set firmly in place so no
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bulges will stick out through your
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frosting. I hope this tutorial was
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useful. Subscribe to my channel for more
2:26
tips and tricks and visit my cake school
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on britishgirlbakes.com to learn
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hundreds of cake decorating techniques
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and designs with my online courses and
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memberships. See you there.
