How to Make a Topsy Turvy Wedding Cake
- 1). Prepare 4 sponge-cake mixes in a large mixing bowl. You can use regular cake mix, but the sponge cake gives greater support to the finished product.
- 2). Grease the sides and bottom of the cake pans with vegetable shortening, and divide the batter between the pans so that each pan is approximately 2/3 full. Bake the cake according to the cake-mix instructions. You can bake a couple at a time if the oven does not have enough room for all of the pans.
- 3). Remove the cakes from the oven, and let them cool in the pans for 20 minutes. Take the cakes out of the pans, and place them on wire racks to cool. The wire racks prevent the bottom of the cakes from becoming too moist from the heat.
- 4). Spread a layer of icing on the tops of 2 cakes of each size. Stack the same size cakes on top of each other to make 3-layer cakes.
- 5). Cut off the top of each 3-layer cake on a 45-degree angle with a large serrated knife. Each cake will then look like the tops are slanted.
- 6). Place 1 of the 8-inch cake pans on the top center of the 10-inch cake and 1 of the 6-inch cake pans on the top center of the 8-inch cake. Trace around the pans, then remove.
- 7). Cut out the traced circles, approximately 1 ½ inches deep, and remove the cake cutout.
- 8). Cover the top and sides of each 3-layer cake in a thick layer of buttercream icing. Smooth the icing with an icing smoother.
- 9). Insert 3 short plastic dowels into the hole in the 10-inch cake. The dowels should protrude approximately 1 inch from the cake. Place the 3-layer 8-inch cake into the hole in the 10-inch cake.
- 10
Insert 3 longer plastic dowels into the hole in the 8-inch cake so that they protrude 1 inch from the cake. Insert the 6-inch cake into the hole in the 8-inch cake. - 11
Decorate the optical-illusion cake. Place gum-paste flowers over the tiers of the cake for a more classic look. Make polka dot, diamond or checkerboard cutouts from a sheet of fondant. Mix together 2 or 3 tsp. of lemon juice and luster dust, and paint the cutouts with a paintbrush. Press the shapes gently against the cake in random order for a wacky and whimsical cake.
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