For today’s Tip Tuesday, I’m sharing all my tips and tricks for how to properly stack a cake with a soft filling. No more wobbly cakes!
When the cake is even, you can take your next layer of cake and carefully place it on top of the mousse. I always start with letting the cake layer follow some of the edge, and then I let it fall in place from the edge I have chosen. Repeat the same process with your next type of mousse.
It’s All About Structure
The key to stacking and decorating a cake with a soft filling, without the filling oozing out the sides of the cake, or the cake layer sliding back and forth, is making sure you take the time to stack it properly. Using my Peach Crisp Cake, I’m showing you all the steps that will help you stack and fill this type of cake the right way.
Evenly spread the frosting across the cake layer. As shown in the picture above, you want to add some frosting on top of each cake layer to act as a barrier between the cake and the filling. We want to make sure that the filling doesn’t seep into the cake layers.
Pipe a barrier around the edge of the cake layer. This step ensures your filling doesn’t spill over the edges of the cake – which will make it really hard for you to frost the cake if it does.
Don’t be shy with the piping. I’d rather you have a bigger rim of frosting than one that is not big enough and won’t hold in your filling.
This barrier also helps to support the cake layer you’ll be playing on top of the filling.
Add the filling. It’s important during this step that you don’t overfill the cake with your filling. If you add too much of your soft filling, your cake will become wobbly, no matter how big of a frosting barrier you added. You’ll also run the risk of filling coming out the sides of your cake.
I recommend about ½ cup of filling for a 3-layer, 8-inch cake and about ¼ cup of filling for a 4-layer, 6-inch cake.
Place the second cake layer carefully on top of the filling.
If you have openings around your cake (like the pictures below), pipe more frosting around the outside of the cake to secure the filling.
Place your final cake layer, bottom side up, on top of your cake and apply a light coat of frosting around the entire cake. This thin coat of frosting is your crumb coat. You’ll then want to freeze the cake for about 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat and the filling before you continue to decorate the cake.
A few more tips that might be helpful along the way:
- If you’re stacking a cake taller than 3-layers, I suggest using dowels or straws to help support the cake so it doesn’t wobble as you frost the sides.
- If you’re cake still feels wobbly after you’ve filled the cake, go ahead and freeze it for about 10 to 15 minutes BEFORE the crumb coat. This will help set the filling so your cake doesn’t slide around as you apply the crumb coat.
- Because you’re not using all of your filling between the cake layers, save the remaining filling and serve a spoonful of the filling on the side with each slide of cake.
How to use Acetate sheets | acetate cake wrap
FAQ
How do you stack moist cakes?
How do you assemble a stacked cake?
Should cake with mousse be refrigerated?
How much chocolate mousse do you put on a cake?
Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Using a large icing spatula, evenly cover the top with about 1.5 cups chocolate mousse. Top with 2nd layer and evenly cover the top with 1.5 cups chocolate mousse. Top with the third cake layer, then spread another 1.5 cups mousse evenly on top.
How to use mousse on a cake?
Now you carefully press the mousse onto your cake layer. Start by pressing the mousse into a circle along the edge of the cake. When you’ve finished the first circle, you press the mousse into a new circle inside the first one, until you’ve reached the center of the cake. In this way, the mousse creates a pattern of circles inside each other:
How many layers of mousse do you need for a cake?
Party cakes and wedding cakes with fondant are typically 7,5-8 cm tall (2.75-3.15 inches) and consist of 3 cake layers with mousse in between – this is the way we make layer cakes in Scandinavia – it might be completely different in your country ;-). HVOR MUCH MOUSSE DO YOU NEED FOR ONE CAKE LAYER?
What is a strawberry mousse layer cake?
This strawberry mousse layer cake recipe is made with white cake layers, the fluffiest strawberry mousse and strawberry buttercream frosting.