Last week I made a cake for 70 for a friend’s birthday party, and I thought I’d share a little of the process I use to make one of these giant cakes. I learned this method from a former neighbor of mine who was a professionally-trained pastry chef. About ten years ago, when I was preparing to make my first-ever wedding cake, she was generous enough to sit down with me and share a few tricks of the trade. Thank goodness for her, because my cake would have definitely been a hot mess without her advice!
The main gist of this method is that the cake are built using cake rings, which is what you see here. Just a simple metal ring with straight sides. I bake the cake itself in half-sheet pans, then use the cake rings to punch out the size cake layer I need, then build the layers inside the ring. I have rings ranging in size from 14″ down to 2″. So, in this picture you see my 14″ cake ring as well as several sheet cakes in the background. (The cakes all get baked on parchment paper, which allows them to be moved around easily during this process.)
So here I’m punching out the first 14″ layer. As you can see, the ring is larger than the cake…
…so I just take that leftover chunk of cake off the side and place it in the empty spot of the ring, so that I now have a complete layer.
It won’t matter in the end that the layers are pieced together in some spots – they’ll get glued together during frosting and no one will ever be the wiser.
Just repeat that process to create as many layers as are needed. I usually do 3 layers for party cakes and 4 layers for weddings or other “grand” events. Extra layers = extra fancy!
The thing about this method is that you get all these leftover corner pieces. But that’s really not a problem! These are perfect for quality-control taste testing, and they can also be made into mini cakes. (I usually use my 2″ cake ring to make tiny scrap cakes which I store in the freezer for late-night cake emergencies.) Also, obviously, these are good for snacking! Trust me, everyone is always more than happy scarf up the scraps.
Once all the cake layers are prepared, it’s time to build the cake. The ring is used for this as well. I make all my cakes on disposable cake boards so that they can be left behind at the party venue and I don’t have to worry about getting them back. So, just place the cake ring on the board, and spread some frosting on the board. (I always use Italian meringue butter cream – it’s like cement. Delicious, delicious, buttery, sugary cement.)
Then just plop the first layer right into the ring.
Spread the frosting or filling you’re using between layers.
And just keep repeating all the way to the top. Another great thing about using the rings is that you can check at the top to see if the cake is level with the edges of the ring, and it’s easy to correct at this stage by either trimming the cake or adding more frosting.
Done! Now it goes into the fridge to set–just long enough for the frosting to chill and become firm.
Then, I run a small offset spatula between the cake and the ring, and the ring lifts right off, revealing a perfectly straight and even cake! And of course at this point it can be decorated however you like. At this stage (after frosting the naked sides) you could freeze the whole cake and decorate it later. Perfect if you’re throwing a party or making a wedding cake, so that you can get some of the work done ahead of time. Frosted cakes freeze like a dream.
So why cake rings instead of round pans, you may be wondering? At the end of the day, I think it’s probably just a matter of personal preference. But the rings really do allow you to achieve perfect results, with completely straight sides and even, level tops. My personal favorite thing about using cake rings is that all the scrappy pieces allow you to taste the cake, then taste the cake with the frosting–and anyone who watches food TV knows chefs must taste their food! Actually I get completely nervous if I bake a cake in a normal pan and I don’t have any scraps to taste before serving it. In that case, I usually cut a small bite from the inside of the cake to taste, then fill the hole with frosting. And every single time, it makes me think of this:
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I baked a three-layer cake this weekend and definitely could have benefited from this method. I have only two 8″ cake pans or two 10″. I feared the batter would deflate too much if 1/3 waited its turn. So I did one third in an 8.5″ springform. I considered trimming it but decided ‘eh’ and just frosted the upper layers out to match :)
“When in doubt, cover it with frosting” is the best tip of all!
Oh my goodness! This is so much easier than making the cakes round first then attempting to cut them to be even – didn’t even think of this, but might have to reward myself this month with a birthday cake that’s made like this. P.S. Also love your hint about pouring cupcakes into a plastic baggie first then piping them into the pan – BRILLIANT!
So that’s how they do it. The cake looks great Brett. I hope you post a picture of the final product. Also, can you share your recipe for the layers ? Thanks and I love your blog and the show!
That’s crazy, but it works, and my motto is go with what works for you. ;) When I went to pastry school, we just used round pans. If you were steady, you could bake a tall round cake and just slice it into however many layers you needed, or you could just bake cakes to the height you need. Usually, the cakes would dome up a bit, but it was quick to level them off with a bread knife and spinning cake stand (these also come in handy when actually icing and decorating the cake). Then, you’d have your tasting pieces. I imagine it’s faster than turning out a sheet cake, punching out a partial circle, lining up another sheet cake, punching out the rest of the circle, lining up your cake form, reassembling the pieces in it, so on and so on, then having to be extra careful with your crumb coat because the cut edges would produce so many more crumbs. Mostly and personally, I really can’t have that much spare cake hanging out in my freezer. I’m trying to undo some of the (delicious) caloric damage pastry school did to me. ;D Anyway, leveling/layering cakes is a practice-makes-perfect skill–sort of like crocheting; the more you do it, the better you get at it.
This cake was sooooo good! And now with this awesome tutorial maybe I can make just as impressive GIANT CAKES!
Thanks Brett!