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asked January 29th 2017

Straight edges to a little bit wonky

I have mastered the art of ganaching and getting perfectly straight edges but when I cover in sugarpaste (I use masa paste) I seem to loose the straight line and it seems to start to move outward at the bottom (if you know what I mean) any tips on how to prevent this please

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I have mastered the art of ganaching and getting perfectly straight edges but when I cover in sugarpaste (I use masa paste) I seem to loose the straight line and it seems to start to move outward at the bottom (if you know what I mean) any tips on how to prevent this please

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Hi ctennant

There could be a number of reasons why this is happening. Sometimes if the cake structure is too soft it will squash under the weight of the sugarpaste. Too much filling in each layer can also do this as it squishes out of the sides of the layers and makes a bulge. The bulge can be in the middle of the cake and sometines at the bottom.
It is also possible that your cake hasn’t been chilled suffciently to set the ganache nice and solid and the weight of the paste is pushing it down. If it’s non of those things, try not to push too hard down on the cake while smoothing the sugarpast and keep smoothing until all your lines are straight. What depth of paste are you using?

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I use milk chocolate ganache which sets quite hard and I tend to leave my cakes overnight before covering them in sugarpaste. I use the spacers for the depth of sugarpaste so probably about 3mm. I do wonder if I’m pushing the top part of the sugarpaste in a little more firmly because I’m trying to get sharper edges

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Milk chocolate ganache doesn’t set quite as hard as dark and it also softens very quickly once it is at room temperature. It will soften further by the friction created when smoothing the sugarpaste. Have you tried using dark ganache? The chocolate doesn’t have to be extra high in cocoa solids, go for something like 50% and I think you will find a difference in how well it structures the cake. The depth of your paste is correct, it is what Paul recommends for Massa. Rather than pressing down on the cake to get sharper edges, use the smoothers to pinch the edges. It’s also important to have the ganached edges as sharp as you can manage. Take a peek at Paul’s lessons on icing cakes ( as a refresher) and see how gently he sharpens the edges. (lesson 5)

Icing Cakes


Try the dark ganache, perhaps on a cake for yourself as a practise. If you go for 50% the taste isn’t bitter. x

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