Sugarpaste doesn't sit properly over buttercream filling part of cake - suggestions?

[estya]

Whenever I ice using roll out icing/sugarpaste, its bumpy over the part in the middle of the cake where the buttercream filling is.

Do you think I could solve this by putting the cake in the freezer for a while before icing? To solidify the buttercream.

You could, although what I would do is make the buttercream more solid by using 1 part unsalted butter to 4 parts icing sugar, it'll look like rubble, add a tiny bit of boiling water to get it to bind together. Then it'll set stiffer.

Use a palette knife to apply it to the sides evenly after you've filled the inside of the cake then chill for 10-15 mins in the fridge. If you really want a smooth effect you could gently pat the sides of the cake with kitchen paper before applying the fondant icing. Make sure the icing isn't rolled too thinly either. Are you using a smoothing paddle to get everything smooth afterwards?

I cover the cake fully with buttercream and smooth it with a palette knife. The entire cake is then completely covered and the buttercream is flawless.

I then chill it until the buttercream is hard. The fondant icing then goes nicely over the top. I use smoothers to get rid of any blemishes.

Yes, I cover the whole thing in buttercream too and use a smoothing paddle but it sounds like my normal, well whipped, room temp, 1:2 butter to icing sugar isn't going to be firm enough.

So I'll make the buttercream much thicker and I'll put the whole thing in the fridge for a while.

Thanks very much for your help.

Is the cake completely smooth before you start? And how thick is your fondant?

I wouldn't feeeze as it may cause the fondant to sweat and go sticky.

I just put mine in fridge for at least 20 mins before covering.

sounds to me like part of the problem is the sugarpaste is rolled a bit thin?

Roll the sugarpaste a bit thicker too, it then doesn't bulge as easily

Is there a bulge between the 2 cakes where the buttercream filling is? This is due to the pressure of the top cake pressing the buttercream filling out of the sides.

There are various ways you can tackle this.

1. Don't over fill the cake. If you have a very thick layer of buttercream it may well bulge.
2. After you fill the cake give it a press on top to squeeze out any excess and then crumb coat, refrigerate, coat again and refrigerate again before covering.
3. Many professionals use what they call a 'dam'. It's a thicker buttercream piped in a circle around the cake, which is then filled with the normal consistency buttercream. The dam stops the filling leaking out. There's a good tutorial on YouTube from 'CrazyKoolCakes'.

Personally I wouldn't roll the sugarpaste any thicker than a £1 coin depth. Thick fondant is a turn off for me, but I do often cover with a layer of marzipan before the sugarpaste. If you do this let the marzipan layer dry before covering with sugarpaste. Use cooled boiled water to stick the sugarpaste to the marzipan.

Use an icing smoother to smooth out all the bumps. The cake does need completely covering in buttercream as previously said and thicker fondant icing but also a smoother when you've put it on sorts out all the bumps.

Thanks, cake is done, looked amazing and is mainly eaten now.
No problems with the side bulge this time. The buttercream was much thicker than usual and, crucially, I had it in the fridge until the buttercream was rock solid.

I agree, tailtwister, I don't like too much sugarpaste and i don't like marzipan either. Perhaps I will do two crumb coats in future.