Stacking and crumb coating a cake.

Hi sweeties! Today we are going over how to stack a tall, layered cake and crumb coating it. 

Your go to tools for making this easy, will be an offset spatula and a turntable, but full list of products is at the end! 

After you've baked your cakes (using 2 x 6" cakes in the video), start by trimming off the tops of your cakes if they've domed, then cut each cake in half so you have 4 layers.  Grab your masonite cake board and put a little buttercream onto the board to "glue" down your first layer. Make sure to press the first one down firmly before you get started with stacking!  Masonite boards are a must for anything taller than 10cm or so, because tall layered cakes end up being quite heavy! You need that stable base for transporting and lifting/moving the cake around from fridge to bench.

I always have a small square of non slip, rubbery matting on my turntable under my boards to ensure the board doesn't slide around whilst I'm icing them. You could also use a damp cloth, but make sure it's really well rung out! :) 

Add your buttercream onto your first layer of cake, if you like you can put your board onto scales and weigh out 100g (or however much it may be!), that way you can make sure all your layers of buttercream are exactly the same, and it's going to look beautiful and even when cut! Spread and level out with the offset spatula.

If you are adding fillings you can hold the spatula on a slight angle and whilst turning, scoop out a well in the middle to add your fruit preserve, caramel or ganache into! Make sure you keep the well about 1.5cm in from the edges, to ensure the filling can't ooze out when you add the weight of the next layers. 

Repeat until all your layers are stacked! 

Buttercream needs to be firmer for stacking cake layers, to make sure it doesn't bulge out the sides when layers are added, and to stop cake layers sliding around when stacking. But when it comes to doing the crumb coating, I always soften my buttercream for 10 second bursts in the microwave and give it a really good mix to make sure it's super silky and smooth. This allows me to apply to the sides of the cake without much pressure, so I don't end up pushing my layers out of alignment etc. It'll go on really quickly and easily!

Once it's all covered go around a few times to scrape off the excess. It doesn't matter if you can see cake through and it has that "semi naked" look, we are simply sealing in all the crumbs, locking in all the moisture and creating a smooth base for when we apply our final coat/colours! 

Once you're done, make sure you put your cake in the fridge for an hour or 2, to allow it to set and get nice and firm and cold. That way when you go to add your top coat, it won't lift the crumb coat or mix in with the coloured top coat and you'll have a nice stable base to work with! 

Products used: 

• cake craft turntable 
• masonite cake board
• cake craft cranked 8" spatula
• sno creme 
• sprinks large silicone spatula 
• creative sweeties chocolate cake baking mix

Note: I am using sno creme in the video because I had a batch to use. But you could also use our vanilla buttercream mixes available in store or online. :) 

https://youtu.be/zX0lRls7TOA