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EXTRA TALL Double Barrel Cake Tutorial
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Sep 6, 2024
How to prepare, assemble/stack, frost and decorate a double barrel (extra tall) cake! In this tutorial I'll share all of my tips and tricks for a stable cake with super smooth frosting. Did I miss anything? Ask me in the comments! *Start your FREE 7 day trial on my cake school https://britishgirlbakes.teachable.com/p/all-you-can-cake/ *LEARN The Basics of Cake and The Basics of Buttercream in my most popular online courses! https://britishgirlbakes.teachable.com/ *My 4 Minute Buttercream recipe https://www.britishgirlbakes.com/recipes/buttercream-frosting/ *READ a written version of this tutorial (with photos!) https://www.britishgirlbakes.com/how-to-make-a-double-barrel-cake/ *SUBSCRIBE to my channel for a new cake decorating tutorial every week! *SAY HI! Website: https://www.britishgirlbakes.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britishgirlbakes
View Video Transcript
0:00
Double barrel cakes are extra tall. They're elegant, they're impressive, actually they're show-stopping
0:05
and there's lots of space on those very tall sides of the cake for you to use all sorts of cake decorating techniques
0:11
You'll get lots of servings out of a double barrel cake and I'll show you how to serve one later
0:19
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to prepare cake layers for a double barrel cake
0:23
how to assemble it so that it's stable, how to crumb coat and frost it, and some decorating ideas
0:28
You'll need a lot of cake to make such a tall cake. You can divide your layers in half if you want to have even more layers
0:35
which means even more layers of filling inside the cake. To assemble a double barrel cake
0:40
just like any cake you're going to layer the cakes and the filling. The quickest way to apply your filling and your frosting is with a piping bag
0:47
And you don't need a piping tip, you can just cut the end off one of your bags and pipe through that hole
0:52
Use a dot or blob of your frosting to attach the first layer of cake down onto the cakeboard
0:57
and then pipe or spread on your first layer of filling. You'll need a cake board at least two inches wider than your cake layers
1:03
and it needs to be a thick or strong material, like acrylic, not cardboard, because the weight of double-barrel cakes is a lot
1:09
and if you use a cakeboard that isn't strong enough, it will buckle under the weight of the cake when you lift it
1:14
Cake, filling, cake, filling cake, until your cake is anywhere under six inches tall
1:19
At this point, you're going to need supports before putting any more layers onto the cake and adding more height
1:24
You can either use boba straws which are wider and thicker than regular straws or you can use dowels Poke one in two inches from the edge of the cake and push it all the way down to the bottom of the cake until you hit the cake board at the bottom Pinch it where it sticks out above the cake
1:38
and this way the straw will be exactly the same height as the cake. Cut it at that point and then hold it up against your other straws or dowels, whatever you're
1:45
using, and cut them so that they're all the same height. Push the first straw back into the hole you made at the beginning and then place the other ones
1:52
around the cake so that they're all at least two inches in from the edge. edge of the cake, but also two inches apart from each other. You'll need four for small cakes like
2:00
this six inch cake, or you'll be able to fit more in if your cake is bigger. Spread some buttercream
2:04
or ganache, whatever frosting you're using over the top of the cake to make it sticky and then
2:09
press another cakeboard down on top. Notice this hole in the middle, which is very useful for later
2:14
This cakeboard should be the same size as the cake, but if it's bigger, you can trim it. The reason
2:18
you want it to be the same size is that after you frosted this cake, you want the cakeboard to be
2:22
invisible, not sticking out through the frosting. Continue layering your cake and filling on top of this cakeboard, but again, don't go any taller than six inches
2:31
Now use your offset spatula to spread around the sides of the cake so that you have smooth sides ready to frost later
2:37
Use a central dowel so that the top cake doesn't slip or slide sideways
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Push it down through the top tier and you'll feel it hit that circle on the cake board in the middle of the cake
2:47
but just keep pushing all the way till you get down to the very bottom of the cake on that bottom cake board
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mark it at the top where it sticks out above the cake pull the dowel out and then use something like wire cutters to cut it where you made that pencil line You can buy these dowels at craft stores or cake shops then push it back in and your cake is super stable I definitely recommend chilling this before frosting it because the cake will be
3:10
a lot less wobbly. You'll need a crumb coat before you do your final coat of frosting
3:14
and that way you'll have no visible crumbs on your final frosted cake. Don't take too much time
3:19
to get this frosting perfect. What's important is that the sides of the cake are straight and the top of
3:24
the cake is level. Put the cake in the fridge to set this crumb coat, which takes about 30 minutes
3:29
maybe an hour. And once the crumb coat is firm, spread on another layer of frosting. And for this
3:34
layer, you'll take your time to get it as smooth as possible because this layer is going to be visible
3:38
Frosting such a tall cake is a bit tricky because it's a huge surface to get perfectly smooth. So
3:44
if this is your first time, and if you haven't perfected your technique for smooth frosting
3:48
I recommend a cake design that uses either lots of piped texture to decorate the cake, which will help you
3:54
cover up any imperfections or added details like figures or wafer paper or strategically placed
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sprinkles for example. Just like when you're frosting any other cake, after a few scrapes
4:05
around the cake, spread some more frosting over any indents or areas you need to touch up and then scrape
4:10
around the cake again until the frosting is really smooth. You can see that this cake comb is as tall
4:16
as the cake, actually a little bit taller and that's ideal for this because it means with each scrape
4:20
around the cake, you're smoothing the entire side surface of the cake, and that will give you
4:25
the straightest sides but also the smoothest results For the top edge with all of this uneven frosting at the top you can either push sideways with your offset spatula to level it out or put the cake back in the fridge until the frosting
4:37
has set and then you can use a hot, sharp knife to slice off this top edge. Now it's time to decorate the
4:44
cake. I'm putting mine back into the fridge to set this final layer of frosting and then spreading
4:48
bands of coloured frosting over the top and scraping them until there's just a really thin layer
4:53
left behind. Because I've chilled the cake, the frosting is very cold and firm, and that means as I
4:58
spread and scrape off each layer of colour, that colour sets before I spread and scrape the next layer
5:04
and so they don't blend together, and that's how I get this layered colour effect. Adding some
5:09
finishing touches with an artificial flour and some macarons, and that is how to assemble and
5:14
frost and decorate a double-barrelled cake. You might be wondering how on earth to serve this
5:19
and it's much more straightforward than you'd imagine. Just slice the cake from the top, and
5:23
and you'll feel when your knife hits that cakeboard in the middle of the cake. You can cut all of the slices of the top half as normal
5:30
and I like to cut around that central dowel, but if you like, you can pull it out before you start
5:34
and then lift the middle cakeboard up and cut the bottom half of the cake
5:39
I hope I've answered all of your questions about double-barreled cakes, but if there's anything I've missed
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please put your question in the comment section below the video. Check out my cake school on British Girlbakes.com
5:48
to learn hundreds of cake decorating techniques and designs, and I hope to see you there
5:53
for watching
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