How you to make this cake

How to Make a Pancake Cake

Mar 4, 2014 · Modified: Feb 7, 2018 by Rose Atwater · This post may contain affiliate links · 85 Comments

Today is National Pancake Day. Who knew? I didn’t until I logged onto Facebook this morning and saw pancakes on every other post 😉 So, in a rare moment of being «on time» with a blog post, I’m going to share How to Make a Pancake Cake!

It’s not a full-blown tutorial, but I did shoot a few pictures while I was working on this cake and I think you’ll get a really good idea of how to put it together 🙂 It’s not nearly as hard as you might imagine!

Oh and let me tell you this little tidbit. this cake was for Adele who was turning 2! I did her first birthday the year before and it was one of my most popular cakes. the Pink Owl Cake with Ombre Ruffles. go have a look!!

For this particular cake, I started with three (3) 8″ round cakes stacked up, filled and frosted with vanilla buttercream. I crumb coated it but I didn’t cover the whole thing with fondant because of the technique I planned to use to do the pancakes.

To start making it look like pancakes, I made homemade marshmallow fondant and used a tiny drop of brown gel coloring to give it an off-white color. Then I rolled it into long ropes to wrap around the cake. Not what you expected, huh?

It would’ve been way too long to do the whole cake with one rope of fondant, so I rolled out pieces as long as I could, usually about 4 foot at time and wrapped it, then did more. The ropes were irregular (just like pancakes) but I did try to keep the ends all on one side (the back).

Then I took a ball of fondant and flattened it out. I didn’t want any harsh cut sides on top, so I just smooshed down a ball until it was close to 8″ in diameter and smoothed it out and laid it on top. I manipulated it until it «fit» the top of the cake.

For the pancake coloring, I mixed some gold and yellow gel colors, a tiny bit of brown and red (or maroon) with some vodka. Then I put the cake on a turntable (I love my Ateco #613 turntable) and used a small flat paintbrush to paint the top side of each «pancake», spinning it around and around, from bottom to top.

The butter was just yellow homemade marshmallow fondant rolled out flat and I used a small square cutter to cut it into pats. When it was all finished, I made some piping gel, used a similar combination of gel colors to get the «syrup» color, then used a squirt bottle to put it on the cake!

I hand-cut the banner on the side, then used Tappit Block Cutters and Tappit Funky Alphabet Cutters to do the «Happy Birthday Adele». If you haven’t used these cutters before or have had trouble using them, be sure to check out my tutorial here: How to Use Tappit Letter Cutters!

More recipes you may enjoy

About Rose Atwater

Rose Atwater is the founder and cake decorator behind Rose Bakes. She is baker, cake decorator, author, wife to Richy and homeschooling mommy to 6 wonderful kiddos! Her work has been featured in American Cake Decorating Magazine, Cakes Decor, Pretty Witty Cakes Magazine, Huffington Post and Cake Geek Magazine. Learn more here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

March 04, 2014 at 9:23 pm

So that’s how you make a «pancake» cake! LOL You make it look SO easy! Thanks for sharing! I don’t know if I will ever make one, but at least I now know how!

March 04, 2014 at 10:36 pm

It was so much easier than I originally thought once I got it figured out!

May 19, 2017 at 10:29 am

Where can I get your recipe for Piping Gel?

May 20, 2017 at 8:37 am

Oooh, I wish I remember where I got it. It’s very similar to this one: http://www.cakecentral.com/recipe/6998/piping-gel-that-works

May 05, 2018 at 8:09 pm

I love the idea of the pancake cake, you are very creative Rose.

May 06, 2018 at 3:00 pm

Thank you Madison!

March 04, 2014 at 9:32 pm

I just love this cake! Thanks for sharing how you did it! I might need to do one for my father-in-law who loves pancakes!

March 04, 2014 at 10:35 pm

Thanks Susan! I bet it would be a huge hit with him!

March 04, 2014 at 10:57 pm

Well I had pancakes twice today, but neither kind looked as good as your cake!! I hope I get the chance to try this sometime. it looks like it would be fun!

March 05, 2014 at 10:36 am

It really was fun! And I’m jealous. I didn’t have *any* pancakes yesterday!

March 05, 2014 at 11:09 am

That is very sad!! My Dad made us crepe-like pancakes at lunch and then I made more traditional pancakes and bacon for my family for dinner (so not healthy, but hey, it’s only Pancake Tuesday once a year)! Lol!!

Keep doing your fantastic blog and cakes!! You’re an inspiration to home bakers everywhere!!

March 05, 2014 at 10:48 am

That looks really yummi and great. You make it sound as easy as tying mm shoes 🙂 thank you for sharing.
Michelle
Michelliciousbaking.blogspot.de

March 05, 2014 at 5:19 pm

I LOVE your blog and especially this cake! 🙂 ( Well, all of your cakes really) but I just thought i would let you know when I clicked on the link to the turntable, It took me to the americolor gels! I found the turntable by just searching for it in the box, but just thought I would let you know! 🙂 Did I mention I was one of the few that DIDN’T have pancakes yesterday? :\

March 05, 2014 at 5:49 pm

March 05, 2014 at 9:43 pm

Great tutorial! I never would have thought you’d wrapped ropes of fondant for the individual pancake look. The cake looks amazing!

March 05, 2014 at 11:59 pm

It’s great, isn’t it? When I first saw these cakes I assumed it was some crazy-hard technique to get the pancakes look but then I asked around and found out this tip! Thank you so much!

March 06, 2014 at 5:34 am

Looks delicious! Thanks for posting the tutorial. I have to make this one.

March 06, 2014 at 8:51 am

March 06, 2014 at 2:17 pm

I prefer Americolor over Wilton, but I’ve used both over the years with great success!

Sarah @ Miss Candiquik

March 06, 2014 at 11:10 am

This looks awesome!! Sharing 🙂

March 06, 2014 at 7:22 pm

I’m so making this cake! My sons birthday is coming up and he’s getting pancakes! Thanks for sharing!

The Naked Cupcake

March 07, 2014 at 4:33 pm

Hi Rose, I love this cake, my grand daughter would eat pancakes all day if they would let her. I have the Funky Tappit cutters and I can not get them to come out. What is the trick with those. I got both the upper and lower case from sugar craft.

March 09, 2014 at 6:45 pm

March 11, 2014 at 1:26 pm

Thank you so much Rose! You are a sweetheart to share this «how to». I love that you provide the link for the letters. I am making this cake for my granddaughters pancake and pajama party this Saturday. Thank you and God, I have Amazon Prime shipping available to me.

March 11, 2014 at 1:28 pm

Yay! I’m also adding a link for how to use the letters just in case you missed it: https://rosebakes.com/how-to-use-tappit-letter-cutters/

June 02, 2014 at 9:15 pm

I’m planning on making this cake this weekend for my daughter’s 2nd birthday, we’re having a pancake themed party. Do you know how much fondant you needed? I want to be sure i make enough ahead of time. Thanks!

June 03, 2014 at 9:46 pm

I don’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure a double batch of my recipe would be plenty!

January 24, 2018 at 6:57 pm

This is so great! Glad i found this. Going to make this cake next week. when you say double batch I am just confirming, you need two pounds of marshmallows? thank you so much and i will let you know how it goes!

June 15, 2014 at 7:49 am

Great tutorial! I can’t wait to make this for my son’s birthday.

August 19, 2014 at 12:49 pm

My daughter wants everyone to wear pajamas to her birthday party, so I’m scrambling to find ways to fit this theme. pancakes & pajamas. and this cake is perfect! Wish me luck. I’m going to need a stack of it!

August 30, 2014 at 2:26 pm

«For the pancake coloring, I mixed some gold and yellow gel colors, a tiny bit of brown and red (or maroon) with some vodka.»

Why vodka? Is there a different way to do this without the alcohol? 🙂 This looks awesome by the way!

August 30, 2014 at 7:54 pm

The alcohol thins the gel colors enough for it to paint smoothly, then it evaporates away and leaves only the color. You could substitute lemon extract if you want or even mix it with some water, BUT water will leave the fondant sticky.

July 17, 2019 at 9:51 am

Rose, can you tell me the measurements or close to
For this? How much vodka?

July 17, 2019 at 10:35 pm

For painting the color on? I have no idea but it wasn’t much. Maybe 1/4 cup?

March 16, 2015 at 2:11 pm

How far before the event can I make this cake? Once it’s made do I refrigerate? My son turns 1 Saturday and we are having a Pancakes and Pajama party 🙂 so excited! Thank you!

March 17, 2015 at 7:44 am

You can make it a day or two ahead. I do not refrigerate fondant cakes but if you’d like to, you should put it in a taped up box in the frig, then let it come to room temperature BEFORE opening the box so that any condensation gathers on the outside of the box and not on the cake!

March 17, 2015 at 12:12 pm

Thank you! I am making the MMF today! Wishing I would have used Lemon yellow instead of Golden yellow for the butter but I believe I will survive 🙂

How to Make a Simple Cake at Home

You can make a simple cake with all-purpose flour, eggs, sugar and milk. Even though is very easy to prepare,this cake makes up for a delicious dessert, perfect to prepare with kids. At the same time, it is a very versatile food as you may find it helpful to numerous occasions: birthdays, breakfast, snacks, etc. The king of all parties can also be decorated and complemented with several toppings, icings and other decor. In this OneHowTo article you will find the steps needed to know how to make a simple cake at home.

The first step to make a cake is to toss the egg yolks in a bowl or container and beat them with the help of a manual or electric rods, as you prefer. Then add the sugar and oil, which can be olive or, conversely, sunflower if you want to leave it softer, and mix all the ingredients to form a paste.

When you see that the obtained mixture is homogeneous, it will be time to add a cup of milk and continue stirring so that all ingredients are well mixed and we can obtain the appropriate mass for our cake.

In another bowl, and with the help of a whisk or a blender, you must mount the egg whites until stiff adding a pinch of salt to catch the right consistency. Once ready, add them to the mixture and mix gently again.

The next step to prepare a cake will be to add the previously sieved or sifted flour to the above mixture. We advise you to do it slowly and directly above the container in which you are making the cake dough so you will not have to get other kitchen utensils dirty.

Then also add the powdered yeast or baking powder and slowly add it while stirring to prevent lumps. Finally, incorporate lemon peel to flavour the mixture and stir it all well.

Grab a mould which is suitable for the oven and spread a little butter on the bottom and the side walls to prevent the cake from sticking. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius (392 farenheit) and after a few minutes, pour the mixture into the mould and put it in the oven for about 40 to 50 minutes.

After this time, you can prick the cake with a knife or other sharp object to see if it is cooked inside. If when you check the knife it comes out completely clean, it means that it is ready; and in the opposite case, you must let it bake a little longer. Finally, and once it has cooled, take it out of the mould and sprinkle with some icing sugar.

From this traditional cake recipe we can also add other ingredients and get brownies or different flavoured cakes. Discover some options in the following articles:

If you want to read similar articles to How to Make a Simple Cake at Home, we recommend you visit our Recipes category.

How to Make a Layer Cake (Step by Step Tutorial)

This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details

You’ll love this quick and easy tutorial to build a perfect layer cake. I’ll show you how to prepare the pans, level your cake and frost it too. Whether you’re a beginner baker or a more experienced baker, there’s always something new to learn.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I absolutely love making cakes. There’s no doubt about it, it’s a labor of love, but there’s nothing better than presenting that cake to family and friends.

If you’re a beginner baker, or new to making cakes, don’t worry, I’ve been there too. Even though I took a cake decorating classes (over 10 years ago!) it’s taken me years of practice and many cakes and I’ve learned these tips and tricks along the way. There are so many truly talented cake decorators out there! I can’t wait to share these tips with you in this step-by-step tutorial.

You can do this with a box of cake mix or using a recipe made from scratch. I do find that cake mixes can be difficult to work with because they’re so light and fluffy, it can be hard to frost them without the cakes falling apart. However, it’s totally doable!

How to make a layer cake

There are several steps involved in making a layer cake, I understand it can be overwhelming. However, if you break it down one step at a time, it’s a lot easier to digest. It’s usually been a two-day process for me. I bake the cake layers first and then assemble and frost the next day. I don’t like the rush of the decorating as I am very meticulous with the details.

I’ve gone into more details for each step of the process below.

How to Prepare the pans for baking

Grease and flour your pans: generously grease and flouring the pans to prevent the cake from sticking. I prefer using Crisco vegetable spread as opposed to cooking spray, but if you only have cookie spray, definitely use that.

Line the pans: lining the pans with parchment paper or a round silicone baking mats will ensure there’s the cakes don’t stick to bottom of the pans, and it makes it much easier to get the cakes out of the pans.

Bake Even stripes: I love using bake even stripes because it helps to bake the layers flatter. Without them, the edges of the cake bake quicker, forcing the centers to bake last, and therefore doming in the middle. You’ll notice the outside edges of the cake are also a little darker without them. The bake even stripes should be WET when apply them to the outside edge of the pan.

How long do I bake my layer cakes for?

Baking times will always vary, and the time provided is a general guideline. This is affected by both the type of pans you’re using and your individual oven. This is true for any baked goods, not just cake!

Not all layers bake for the same amount of time, usually because the pans are not evenly filled. It’s always best if you can take the extra time to measure out the liquid batter for each pan. Set your timer for the minimum time suggested, check your cake and add additional minutes as needed.

Know your oven. For instance, I have a hot spot in my oven, so I like to rotate my pans in the oven halfway through baking to ensure the layer bake evenly.

How to level (torte) a cake

Torting or leveling a cake layer means removing the dome on top of each layer so that you have a nice, flat surface to work with. This will prevent the layers from sliding around when stacked.

I happen to love my cake level tool, which helps ensure my layers are even. Otherwise using a serrated knife is best. Get eye level with your cake and cut as evenly as possible. It can be difficult with a really moist cake but be patient!

How to assemble and frost a layer cake

Once your cake is baked, cooled, and leveled it’s time to frost. Evenly frosted layers and using a very stable frosting are two important factors in a stable layer cake. By following these simple steps, you can still frost beautiful cakes.

How to fix a leaning cake

If you notice that your cake is sliding as you’re assembling, you can try resetting it and placing it in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.

Once the cake is fully stacked, I like to use drinking straws or dowels to help hold the cake layers in place (especially if it’s 4 layers or more). Drinking straws are the easiest.

Simply cut them shorter than the height of your cake and use 3-4 spaced evenly in the cake. This is best done before adding the final layer of frosting on top so that you can cover the holes from the straws.

Of course, be sure that you are starting with nice and even layers as mentioned above. You want to cut the dome off the top of your cake.

How to store a frosted cake

If you plan on making multiple cakes, I recommend purchasing a cake carrier, which seals the cake with an airtight lock. It can also be a great way to transport the cake. I place some grippy material (like you would line a drawer with) on the bottom of the cake carrier to prevent the cake from sliding.

You can also purchase cake boxes but note these are not airtight. Craft stores usually have them to purchase single units, but I also buy them in 10-packs online.

Basic tools you’ll need

There are lots of fancy tools you could buy, but don’t necessarily need. These are the basic tools I use and love all the time.

For the cake:

To decorate the cake:

Choosing the right size pan

Nearly all my cake recipes call for 8-inch baking pans, which is a common size you’ll find at a local bakery. Bakeries generally sell cakes in 6,8,10 or 12-inch sizes. Be sure your pans should be two to three inches high.

Usually, my cakes are 3 layers. Most recipes can be adapted to other size pans, and it’s best to check on the individual recipe. I like 8-inch pans because the cakes are usually taller than a 9-inch or 10-inch pan and it’s the easiest size to work with.

I don’t love 9-inch pans. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but most standard 9-inch pans don’t have straight edges on the sides of the pan, so the layers stack unevenly and there’s always large gaps in between. As such, I find that by 9-inch layers are always lopsided and unevenly baked.

Tutorial: How to make a purse cake

My version on how to make a purse cake is finally here! I have a few tips that I want to share before we get started. My purse cake is rather high. So it might be a little difficult to move it around once it’s placed on the cake board. If you should need to move your cake for a longer distance. I would recommend you to cut more of the cake before you begin with the crumb coat.

Also the size of the cake and cake board is optional. You can of course scale down the size if you want to make a smaller (purse) cake. If you decide to cut more of the cake. Say that you cut the round cake in two halves, you should be able to cover the cake with the white fondant in one go. So you would not need to cover the sides one at a time.

I used a gum paste brooch as decoration on my cake, but you could also decorate it with a gum paste bow instead if you like. That would look beautiful too. I hope that you can use this tutorial.

So let’s get started!

This is what I use:
9″ cake, 3″ high with the top levelled (I used a dark chocolate mudcake)
Buttercream or chocolate ganache (I used Italian Meringue Buttercream)
Small piece of cardboard, for the bottom of the cake
Parchment paper
Angled spatula
Serrated knife
Fondant covered cake board 12″
Rolled fondant icing (About 2 1/2 lb – 1,5 kg) 7 oz coloured in the same colour as the gum paste brooch.
Large & small rolling pin
Tylo powder (CMC, Gum Tex)
Tylo glue
Small sharp knife
Scalpel
Gel paste food colour (I used Avocado from AmeriColor)
Gold lustre dust (I used Golden Sands from Edable Art, a UK brand)
Small amount of clear alcohol or lemon extract
lustre dust (matching the gel paste food colour) (I used Iced Pine from Edable Art, a UK brand)
Large cosmetic powder brush
2 brushes, 1 for painting and 1 for the Tylo glue
Cornstarch dusting bag
Cake smoothers
Ribbon or strip cutter
Large round piping tip
Piping gel
Ruler + pencil
Large spatula
Gum paste brooch
Optional: Small gum paste flowers for extra decoration.

Step 1:
Take a piece of rolled fondant. Large egg size and knead it with 1 tsp of Tylo powder.

Step 2:
Roll out the fondant to a 5mm thickness. Take a ribbon cutter or a strip cutter (alternative use a knife) and cut a 9″ long and 1″ wide strip.

Step 3:
Use the cake pan that you baked the cake in to shape the handle for the purse cake. Let it dry for 1 day.

Step 4:
Roll out the rest of the “Tylo” fondant and use a large round piping tip to cut out 2 small circles. Flatten them slightly with your finger and set a side to dry a little before painting them with the gold lustre dust mixed with few drops of clear alcohol/lemon extract. When they are dry, brush them with a little bit of gold lustre dust. Set aside.

Step 5:
Take your levelled round cake and cut off about 2″ of the “bottom”. Add a thin coat of buttercream and place the small piece of cardboard at the bottom.

Step 6:
Place the cake on a piece of parchment paper and crumb coat the whole cake with buttercream. Then place the cake in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes for the buttercream to set.

Step 7:
Smooth the buttercream with the angled spatula that have been dipped in hot water. Place it in the refrigerator for about 8-10 minutes.

Step 8:
Roll out some white fondant on a lightly dusted surface to about 4mm thickness. It should be large enough to cover one side of the purse cake. Apply the fondant and smooth it with a cake smoother.

Carefully trim off any excess fondant using a sharp knife or scalpel. Repeat for the other side of the cake.
Note: If the buttercream is getting a little soft. Place the cake in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Before you cover the other side of the purse cake with the rolled fondant.

Step 9:
With a ruler and a pencil. Draw a long strip on some parchment paper, Make sure that it is in the same width as the cake and that it can go all around the cake. Roll out the coloured fondant to a long strip (about 4mm thickness).

Then cut out a long strip by using the parchment paper strip as a template. Roll up the fondant and cover the middle of the cake. Trim off any excess and smooth with cake smoothers.
Note: As you can see on the photos. I did not brush the fondant strip with lustre dust, As I was thinking of (I simply forgot all about it). But it is much more easy to add lustre dust before you apply the fondant to the cake. Just brush the lustre dust on the fondant with a large powder brush before you roll the fondant

Step 10:
Next cut a smaller strip of fondant, 9″ long and 1 1/2″ wide. Brush it with lustre dust and glue it on with a little Tylo glue. I would recommend that you let the cake “dry” for 1 day before you carefully place it on the cake board.

Step 11:
Place the cake on the cake board
Use a little piping gel on the cake board where you want to place the cake. Then with a little help from a large spatula lift the purse cake onto the cake board on top of the piping gel.

Step 12:
Take the handle and carefully glue it on with a little Tylo glue. Then glue on the two small golden rivets on each side of the handle.

Step 13:
Finish the purse cake with the gum paste brooch. Glue it on the strip with a little Tylo glue.
Tip: Let the Tylo glue dry until it is tacky to the touch, before attaching the brooch. This will help the brooch to stay in place and NOT slide off. You can also place a little piece of Styrofoam underneath as support while it dries.

If you like you can glue on some small gum paste flowers as a little extra decoration!

How to Make a Tall Cake

Published: Apr 26, 2018 В· Updated: May 14, 2021 by Kara В· This post may contain affiliate links В· This blog generates income via ads

I LOVE a nice tall cake. It just looks elegant and stately. Can a cake look stately? Anyway, I’m a big fan of the tall cake, but there are a few tricks and tips to know about before you make one. You could have a disaster on your hands if not done correctly, so I thought I’d put together my tips and tricks on how to make a tall cake (or as some call it, a double barrel cake).

There are a multitude of ways to make a tall cake, but the number one thing to remember is that you need to have a support system in place.

In this post, I wanted to give you plenty of details. I’ve got some screenshots of how I put this cake together, but you can also watch the video toward the end of this post to see it actually being made.

Oh and if you want to get ALL my tips on how to stack tiered cake (with different sized tiers), then you’ll want to see this post here.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Supplies Needed to Make a Tall Cake:

Options for Making a Tall Cake:

Ok, the most important thing about making a tall cake is that you MUST have support in your cake. By ‘support’, I mean doweling inside.

Any cake that will be taller than three layers, needs to have support if you’ll be adding more cake layers on top. Sometimes you can get away with four layers, but honestly, I don’t test it.

The reason is that the cake gets too heavy. It could just collapse on itself, the weight of the cake could cause buttercream ridges, or you could have cake layers that slide on you.

A tall cake is really just a two tiered cake. The top and bottom tiers just happen to be the same size. So if someone is paying you to make a tall cake, make sure to charge accordingly. It’s not really ‘one’ cake, it’s basically two in one.

Ok, let’s talk about options for making tall cakes:

First Option for Making a Tall Cake:

The first option is to use three layers of cake for the bottom tier and three layers for the top tier. Between the tiers, you’ll need a slightly smaller cake board and dowels for support in the bottom tier.

Second Option for Making a Tall Cake:

The second option is to use two layers of cake for the bottom tier and two layers for the top tier. You’ll add the slightly smaller cake board in between the cake tiers and the dowels in the bottom tier. This option will give you a shorter cake than the first option.

Third Option for Making a Tall Cake:

This is the option that I chose. I used three cake layers on the bottom tier and two on the top tier with a cake board in the center and dowels in the bottom tier. I went with this option because four layers of cake didn’t seem tall enough for me, but six layers of cake was looking way too tall for a 6″ round cake.

Ok, so now you’ve got some options to think about. Let’s get to actually building the cake.

Making the Tall Cake:

Don’t forget, if you’d rather watch the video rather than read all the steps, just scroll on down close to the bottom of the post to catch the video.

First you want to make sure you’ve leveled your cake layers. You definitely want them to be as level as possible, to prevent any accidents or them moving around on you later.

Take your large foam core cake base and cover it with fanci foil, or whatever your favorite method of covering a cake board is. If you want to see more options and all my cake board tips, you can see those here: Tips for Cake Boards

Now, set your cake base on your turn table and add some melted white candy melts to the middle. This will help you attach the bottom cake board, so it doesn’t move around.

Now you want to add a cake board to the cake base. You need to make sure the cake board is the same size as your cake layers. I used 6 inch cake layers and a 6 inch cake board here. Make sure to let it set up a bit, so it’s good and sturdy. You can even pop it in the fridge for a few minutes if you want.

I like to go ahead and add just a bit of the melted candy melts to that board so the bottom layer of cake is stuck well onto the board. Some people like to use buttercream for this, but that just hasn’t worked well for me.

Then go ahead and add the first cake layer.

Add buttercream and your other cake layers until you get the bottom tier as tall as you need it. (Remember, don’t go higher than three tiers.)

Pop another cake board on top and use your level to make sure the bottom tier is mostly level. If it’s not, just push down on the board a bit to level it out.

Once it’s mostly level, take that cake board off the top and add some buttercream.

Now take one of the plastic dowels, insert it into the cake tier and then mark the top with an edible marker. If you’d like to use wooden dowels, feel free to do that. You could also use bubble tea straws as well. Just make sure they are heavy plastic and not the flimsy straws. Regular straws will not do the trick.

Once you’ve marked the dowel, twist it while pulling it out of the cake. You’ll need to cut your other dowels the same height. I cut all my dowels the same height and then insert them because I find this gives me a more level cake, rather than just cutting the dowels while they’re inside the bottom cake tier.

I used 4 dowels for the 6 inch round cake.

Now insert the dowels into the bottom tier. Leave the very middle space empty though because you’ll need to add in a center dowel later.

Now you’ll need to grab a cake board the same size as your cake layers, however you’ll need to trim it down a bit…maybe about a half inch trimmed off around it.

You need this board to be a bit smaller, so it doesn’t stick out when you ice the entire thing.

Now just pop your trimmed cake board on top of your bottom tier.

Now use your mini level to check it. Make adjustments if it’s off.

Add a bit of melted white candy melts so the next layer of cake sticks to the board. Some people like to use buttercream for this, but I like using the candy melts because it seems sturdier.

Now just add on your cake layers to the height you want. (Remember, don’t go over three.) I added only two layers for this top tier, since the cake was getting super tall.

Now, make sure the cake is level and adjust if necessary.

Now you need to measure the height of your cake so you can cut your center dowel. You want to include the height of your foam core cake base because the dowel needs to go all the way through that as well (not just through the cake).

Yes, I know I’m very scientific using my hand to measure. 😉

It’s also okay if the center dowel is slightly shorter…you just don’t want it taller than the cake.

Now cut your dowel and then sharpen one end of it. Then just wash it off.

Now just push it (or hammer it) through the whole cake (even the board in the middle) and down into the cake base. Go all the way down into the bottom of the cake base.

Use the cut off dowel piece to help hammer it all the way through.

Yes I’m using a meat mallet…I couldn’t find my hammer. Hey, it works, right?

Alright, now I like to chill the cake, just for a bit, so it’ll be sturdy when I trim it. So, just pop the cake in the fridge for maybe 15 – 20 minutes or so.

After it’s chilled a bit, you’ll want to add a cake board to the top of your cake, just to check and see how much you’ll need to trim. You don’t want any cake peaking out when you go to smooth the buttercream later.

Just use the bottom and top of the cake board plus your buttercream smoother to check which parts of the cake will need to be trimmed. This may make more sense when you get to the video.

Now just trim around the cake. You’ll be using the top and bottom cake board as a guide when smoothing your buttercream, so any cake that is sticking out past those or any where near there, will need to be trimmed off.

You may not have to trim as much as I did…I tend to trim a lot off because I like a lot of buttercream and I just don’t want to take any chances that any of the cake will show through. Technically, you could probably use a larger cake board, but since I was making 6″ round cakes, 7″ cake boards are hard to find in my area. But trimming works too.

Once it’s trimmed up, add buttercream to the top and level it out.

Now you’ll want to take another cake board (the same size of the cake layers you baked and the same size as your bottom cake board) and add some wax paper to it.

I just trace around the cake board onto the wax paper and cut out the circle. Stick the circle of wax paper onto the cake board with a bit of buttercream. (This top piece is going to be your icing guide.) This will make it easy to get a sharp icing edge.

Pop it onto the top of the cake.

Use your mini level to level the top and you’ll also want the make sure the sides are level as well.

At this point, you can re-chill your cake for another 10-15 minutes or so to firm it up. (Don’t leave it in the fridge too terribly long because it’ll dry it out.)

Alright, once it’s chilled just a bit, it’s time to add your buttercream. Just start by adding it all with a large icing spatula.

One it’s all added, start smoothing it with your buttercream smoother.

Add more buttercream to any holes you see and then smooth again. You may need to do this process a couple times.

To get the watercolor look, add more white buttercream on the top and pink on the bottom.

Now use your buttercream smoother to smooth around it.

Now take your smaller icing spatula, dunk it in very hot water, dry it off and insert it around the bottom of the cardboard round on top of the cake. You’ll need to do this a little at a time, heating your spatula with the water and drying it off. You want to slowly loosen that top cake board.

Once it’s loose enough, just pop it off and make sure you get the wax paper off as well.

Now you’ll need to smooth the top. You can do this one of two ways. If you’ve used a buttercream that has shortening in it (a crusting buttercream) you can use the Viva paper towel method. Just set the paper towel down over the top and just smooth the top out with your hand very lightly.

If your buttercream is made from butter, you can use the hot spatula method. Just dip your icing spatula in really hot water, dry it off and then use it to smooth over the top of your cake.

With either method, just make sure not to go out to the edge of the cake, or this could mess up your sharp edge.

Now just make sure to clean off your cake base.

Now you can add the cake topper of your choice, or you can even add some pretty gumpaste flowers. I decided just to add one of my large gumpaste roses. You can catch that tutorial here: How to Make a Large Gumpaste Rose

To cut this cake, you’ll cut it like it’s two tiers. Just dig into the top tier first, then take the cake board off and cut and serve the bottom tier.

Alright…there you have it! Now you’ve made a impressive tall cake!

Video for Making a Tall Cake:

Ok, just let me know if you’ve got any questions. You can always leave me a comment below.

Don’t forget to pin it below!