Special occasions call for distinctive desserts. By alternating layers of tender cake and delightful fillings, you can serve an impressive culmination to your meal that looks as delicious as it tastes. Traditional layer cake combinations include such taste treats as black forest cake, German chocolate cake, and white wedding cake, layered and iced with snow-white buttercream. Don't limit yourself to only customary combinations; mix and match your favorite flavors to create a signature taste. Multi-layered cakes aren't difficult to make if you follow some basic baking, assembly, and frosting techniques.
Step 1
Mix and bake the cake, as directed in the recipe. Use two 8-inch round or square cake pans. Choose pans that have straight sides, not tapered ones.
Step 2
Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out to cool on the rack.
Step 3
Cut off the visible mounds from the top of the cake layers when completely cool -- a still-warm cake will crumble. Use a long serrated knife and make careful, horizontal cuts to level the top of the layers. The end result should be a flat cake layer.
Step 4
Place five or six toothpicks in each the side of a cake layer, exactly halfway across, to evenly mark the area where you will cut the cake in half. Space them evenly around the cake.
Step 5
Place one hand on top of the cake, and use the long serrated knife to cut the layer in half horizontally, using the toothpicks as guides.
Step 6
Slip a piece of thin, clean cardboard beneath the top cake layer to remove it easily from the bottom layer. Repeat with the second cake layer. This will produce four thin layers of cake.
Step 7
Place one layer of cake on a decorative cake plate.
Step 8
Fill a disposable decorator icing bag with thick frosting, and cut 1/2 inch off the tip of the bag. Squeeze out a tube of frosting to form a "dam" on the top of the first cake layer. The dam should be within 1/4 inch of the edge of the layer, and should circle the entire perimeter of the cake to hold the filling in place.
Step 9
Put about 1/4 cup of filling on the cake layer, spreading it evenly until it touches the dam of frosting around the top edge.
Step 10
Slide the second cake layer into place by positioning the thin cardboard directly over the first cake layer and gently shaking the second layer off. Use your free hand to guide the layer into place.
Step 11
Repeat the dam piping and filling steps for the second, and third layers. Place the fourth and final layer on top. Ice the entire cake.
Tips and Warnings
- For crumb-free icing, fill a decorator bag with frosting, and squeeze out thick tubes of frosting all the way around the sides and the top of the cake. Then, use an offset spatula to smooth the surface of the icing. If you want to ice the cake with a soft icing, such as Swiss meringue buttercream, mix a separate batch of basic buttercream, made with powdered sugar, to use for the dams to hold the filling in place. Soft icings are not substantial enough to secure filling, which can lead to bulges on the sides of your cake. Before baking, tap cake pans gently on the countertop to level the batter and to encourage bubbles to rise to the top.
- Avoid using too much filling between layers to prevent the layers from slipping.
Things You'll Need
- 2 8-inch round or square cake pans
- Toothpicks
- Long, serrated knife
- Thin cardboard
- Cake plate
- Disposable icing bags
- Offset spatula
- Cake recipe
- Filling recipe
- Frosting recipe
Member Comments