Have you ever seen one of those ice cream cakes that looks like a giant ball that’s been cut in half? There’s cake on the outside, but ice cream in the middle, and they’re made with specially shaped baking pans. You don’t necessarily have to have special pans to create similar cakes – even though they may not contain ice cream. You can use pans you already have or you can make your own! By doing so you can open up a whole new world to cakes. Make stacked tier cakes, as beautiful as one from a bakery, with little effort at all!
For people who enjoy making cakes the various pans you can use are almost endless. You can buy regular cake pans – round, square or rectangular – or you can choose other designs which could be shaped like pets or even cartoon characters. These pans can be somewhat expensive so most cooks purchase ones they know they’ll use again and again. Pans shaped like characters may not be used that often but other decorative pans certainly can be.
Lots of people who make cakes own a bundt pan or two. The bundt cake is a rounded cake, usually with a hole in the center, so that the finished cake is a circular, wreath shape. Other bundt cakes, though, are made without the hole in the center. If you own any of those types of bundt pans, you can make fabulous tiered cakes for many different occasions, like an anniversary or a baby shower. Bundt pans that have the hole in the center are not ideal for making tiered cakes. With the center being empty the cake can lose it’s balance as the different tiers are cut.
Even if you don’t have any bundt pans you can still make the stacked cakes. But, if you already have the bundt pans you’ll need at least two different sizes to make the basic tiered cake. Three different sizes means you can make an even taller cake. It’s not recommended that you stack the cakes more than four high, though. After baking the cakes according to the package directions allow them to cool completely. Frost the largest cake as it sits on the platter you will serve it on. Stack the next cake, frost, then stack the next. Continue this until the entire cake is done. Or, put some icing on top of the large cake, stack the next, and so on. After all the tiers are in place you can then frost the entire cake.
It can be difficult to find tiny little bundt cakes so that you can make the top tier. If you have the other sizes, but not one for the very top, try a cupcake. Make one cupcake to use as the very top of the cake. To help you frost it, ice the top of the cupcake, then stick a fork in it. Hold the cupcake in place with the fork while you frost the sides of it. Remove the fork and smooth out the icing across the fork holes.
If you have no bundt pans you can still create fabulous tiered cakes. Use foil to create the pans you need. The foil you use should be very sturdy and you should use two to three layers of it. Take the foil stack and place it over an upside-down bowl, serving dish or candy dish. Choose three items that are round and are three different sizes. Shape the foil over the bowl then remove it. Set the foil bowls on a cookie sheet. Always carry the cakes on the cookie sheet; never try to pick up the bowl without the support underneath it.
After you’ve baked, stacked and frosted the cakes you can then do any number of designs to make the cake more appropriate for the occasion. Cover the tiers with shredded coconut and use candies to make an Easter theme. Or, cover it in red frosting, trim it with chocolate covered cherries, and serve it at Christmas. Not a holiday? Cover a chocolate-frosted cake with Cocoa Krispies for a unique treat everyone will love. Purchase candies, like dinner mints, gummies, chocolates and other choices to create the theme for each particular cake.
Make lettering the cake really easy by starting with waxed paper. Create the letters, numbers or emblems on the waxed paper using tube icing. Place the paper on a platter and slide into the freezer. When the lettering is hard you can then pluck each letter from the paper and stick them to the cake. This technique is really helpful if the letters aren’t on the top of the cake, but on the sides instead. Make flower shapes, geometrical shapes and other designs using this method.
There doesn’t have to be a wedding going on to make tiered cakes for special occasions or a special treat. Make one today and try your hand at tiered cakes. You’ll be surprised to see how easy it is to make the unique cakes that people only expect to see at weddings. You’ll thrill your guests when they see the magnificent cake; they’ll never guess it’s homemade!
