Tiered Cakes – The Ocelots' Den

Is Bigger Better? Sharing the Secrets of Tall Cakes

By Julia on 7 July, 2021

IMHO, Tall cakes are epic! If I need to make a small cake or any cake for personal events, I make tall cakes. (I may also overbake for my personal events). This is when I experiment the most and test out new techniques and ideas. I don’t want any cake-tastropes for my clients.

What is a Tall Cake?

A tall cake is simply what it seems. A TALL cake! Depending on the size of the cake, the height may look more proportional or taller. For my menu purposes, my cakes have a simplified definition.

My Standard cakes are all 2-layers. And my Tall Cakes are 4-Layers. All of my cake layers are baked to the same dimensions. I am more than happy to create a custom number of layers. (My pricing menu has pricing for 2-layer, 3-layer, and 4-layer cakes). If you want 5+ layers I can certainly accommodate!

No More Leaning Towers!

I’m going to get on my soapbox again and emphasize the importance of structure in tall cakes! Tall cakes are essentially a more modern version of a tiered cake, but they have the same diameter. The structural integrity can be compromised from the weight of the cakes. This can lead to leaning, collapsing, or squished fillings. (Which is NOT ideal). To prevent this, I insert dowels, or straws, and depending on the size of the cake, I may include a cake board.

Any way you stack it, you can’t go wrong with cake! I like the drama of the added elevation, but maybe you’re a no-drama mama. (And that’s great too!)

Mix ‘n’ Match

I don’t have the prices listed on my menu (because there are nearly infinite possibilities for options), but you can mix standard cakes with tall cakes for a modern surprise!

Call me up, if you want a Mix ‘N’ Match cake! (By call me, I definitely mean text or email me). I am obsessed, but haven’t had a reason to bake one yet!!

Baked Goods | Cake | Wedding | Weddings

Stack ’em Up: Elevate Your Celebration with Tiered Cakes

By Julia on 23 June, 2021

I’m over the moon with excitement for today’s featured wedding question. “What is the difference between tiers and layers?” To put it simply a cake is made of layers. Tiers are the individual cakes stacked!

I relish ANY opportunity to make a tiered cake. I have even made them for myself for my birthday JUST BECAUSE I CAN! 😹

Stay tuned on my IG. Eventually, I will find and show some photos of my first ever tiered cakes. Let’s just say, I’ve come a long, LONG way.

The MOST important aspect of stacking a tiered cake is the structure in the cake. Without a structure, the decadent and often heavy cake will sink and tilt and RUIN the visual experience of your cake. Looking at the bright side, the cake will still taste great!

Julia’s Baking Journey Detour

This was the foundation of my baking story. All I wanted was a cake that tasted GOOD. In my experience, prior to starting my cake decorating journey, all those fussy cakes with buttercream flowers, carved shapes, or fondant coverings were not filled with delicious cake. I felt like they were a waste of calories. 🙀 I would have rather eaten boxed cakes. (Another controversial opinion. I like the taste of MANY box cakes). I still feel this way about a lot of cakes (I’m looking at you, generic grocery store cake).

Back to the Structure of Tiered Cakes

Structure is usually made out of wooden dowels, smoothie straws or even metal rods and cake boards (made of cardboard, acrylic, plastic, or metal). I use smoothie straws and cardboard most often. The smoothie straws are cost effective, but I’m actively seeking other alternatives before I resupply. The straws (rods or dowels) create a base for the cake boards to rest without squishing the cake below.

I always use at least 3 straws in each tier. Think of it like a table. A table with two legs cannot stand on its own. If you tilt or bump it may shift or fall. I often use 4 for the size cakes I bake. (The largest base I make is 12″). I can bake up to 14″ cakes, but I haven’t had any requests thus far.

Final Thoughts

The fun of tiered cakes is they have limitless options. You can mix and match the number of layers and shapes. I am waiting on pins and needles to make a cake with varied cake layers. Hoping I’ll find an excuse to do one this year! (I’d do it for my birthday this year, but I am going to work on perfecting Macaron making!!!!)

Do you have any additional Cake Tier Questions? Please share them with me.

Baked Goods | Cake | Wedding | Weddings

Layering in the Flavor

By Julia on 2 June, 2021

It’s time to dispel some confusion. Layers versus Tiers. One of the things I love the most in creating treats for my clients is truly customizing their visions.

What is a Cake Layer?

Let’s get down to basics. The Cake layer is basically the bread of making a cake. If we are thinking of sandwiches as an analogy for cake making. A sheet cake is an open face sandwich. (One layer of cake/ bread + /frosting/toppings. A Layer Cake is a traditional Sandwich with at least 2 pieces of bread + any number of toppings.

All of my cakes are 2-inch layers of cake. Whether they are 1,2,3, or 4 layers of cake. This creates a nice uniform size. Cakes can have thicker or thinner layers of cake, but I use this standard measurement so each cake is baked the same and I can achieve consistent results.

Between each layer of cake there is at a minimum a layer of frosting. It can be the same frosting as on the outside of the cake, a different color of the same frosting, or a different flavor all together.

Additionally, fillings can be added. Fruit, nuts, candy, caramel, chocolate etc. I pipe a dam of icing around the edge (to seal in the topping) and then fill the inside with extra delicious flavors.

Tiers are when you have smaller cakes stacked on top of larger cakes. We’ll get into tiers more in future posts.

The Process of Ordering a Custom Cake

Here are some of the first questions I will ask.

What is the event? (birthday, Wedding, Celebration, Anniversary)
How many people are you anticipating at your event? (So I can guide the sizing)
What flavors would you like to include? (Cake, Frosting, Filling, Toppers)
Are there any dietary concerns?

Once I have those more basic questions, I can hone in and figure how best to scale the cake for the size of the event.

Size is often the biggest question. Cakes of various different shapes can feed the same number of people.

Sheet Cakes are typically one layer
My standard Cakes have two layers
Tall Cakes have 3-4 layers (in my bakery)

So let’s say you have 20 guests at your party. Here are some examples of cake suggestions I would offer.

Wedding (Smaller Slices are served at weddings)
- A 2 Tier Cake with a 6-inch layer and a 4-inch layer (serves 20)
- A three-layer 6-inch cake (serves 21)
Other Celebrations
- a 10-inch two-layer Cake (serves 21)
- an 8-inch three-layer Cake (serves 21)
- a 2 tier cake with a 6-inch layer and an 8-inch layer (serves 22)

The more people the more options available. Especially with tiered cakes. You Can mix and match the height of the layers for more drama or an eclectic vibe.

Once the basic choices are selected. I can create a customized quote for any additional design elements (cake toppers, fresh fruit, sugar flowers, etc.) I am also happy to sketch up some scaled drawings if you need some help visualizing different cake sizes.

Baked Goods | Cake | Holiday | Wedding | Weddings

An Unconventional Wedding Cake

By Julia on 21 August, 2018

My oldest brother got married this month! My wedding present to him and his bride was to help plan the wedding and to make the wedding cake. I know how stressful weddings can be, and I thought it was an excellent opportunity for me to get to know my SIL. I live 700 miles from where we grew up, and I have limited vacation days, so I try to maximize whatever time I have at home.

I knew the wedding would be a significant commitment, but it’s my big brother, and he asked me to be his “best man.” There is no way I could imagine refusing such a kind gesture and the loving inclusion on their special day.

The cake flavors were a simple choice. The couple quickly agreed on Red Velvet Cake with Buttercream Frosting. All that remained was to come up with the design. They both had their hearts set on having a Deadpool cake. I was a bit confused at first, but then they explained their love story and the significance of Deadpool.

My initial thought when I heard “Deadpool cake” was a Deadpool cartoon face round cake, with loads of red and black frosting. I try to be pretty open with design ideas, but I wanted to steer them towards something a little more traditional, with the fun and significant element of Deadpool. They had already chosen flowers and wedding colors. Gerbera daisies, and Orange, Purple, and Green.

I made the bouquets and boutonnieres. The mini bouquets were for my nieces. With flowers that represent their names and a few were mimicked in the bridal bouquet.

I couldn’t wrap my brain around how to fit this comic-book character into this romantic theme. Also, I know my brother, I hadn’t seen him with my SIL yet, but I could see him lovingly smashing the cake in her face. Red and black frosting stain my hands when I bake with them. I can’t imagine the damage they would inflict on a wedding dress.

So, as I like to do, I did more research. I watched the movies because I hadn’t seen them yet. I hoped that something in them would inspire me so their wedding cake would succinctly represent them as a couple AND look beautiful amidst the flowers and other decorations for the wedding.

I am so glad I watched the movies because the thing about Deadpool is, he can’t die. (I’m sure that’s obvious to any hardcore comic fans. He wasn’t a character I was exposed to until this month). So, I had the idea to have the cake drop on top of him and squish him! Then I was off to the races!

The bloody version was just for a dramatic effect. I didn’t intend on making a bloody wedding cake. *(But I would if they wanted it)*

I drew some mock-ups and sent them to my SIL for approval and got to baking. I wanted to do a test run of the cake and see how long it would take me to bake, frost, and decorate because I would be flying to Michigan from Virginia. I made a test cake for my BIL’s birthday because he also loves comic book characters.

I molded Deadpool, an “L” and some Gerbera Daisies out of modeling chocolate. For the real cake we were thinking about a cake topper that was M <3 S. (I typically put the woman’s initial first, but I didn’t want it to read S&M and give any mixed messages) I dusted some of the elements with luster dust for dimension and sheen. I piped all of the details, and I was incredibly proud of my effort.

My least favorite part of baking is cake delivery. It is terrifying. It makes me anxious. There are so many things that can go wrong after putting so much effort into the delicious artwork. More often than not, I have someone drive with me, and I hold the cakes. Or I drive and have someone hold the cakes.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t an option on this day. So I packed my car up to drive 8 miles. I made it the whole way there. I am sure I annoyed all of those around me because I was driving so slowly, taking corners like a little old lady and accelerating at a painstakingly slow pace. Then, because I lost my mind, I decided to pull into the driveway. HUGE mistake. I heard the cake topple right on over, and I cried.

For the wedding, I knew I wouldn’t be traveling with the cake. I would bake and decorate it at my sister’s house where the reception was held, but still, I felt defeated and embarrassed.

Fortunately, because Deadpool is the anti-hero, he survived the debacle. Also, my in-laws are the greatest and still devoured the cake.

I did some research and decided with my tight timeline flying in the night before the wedding; it was best if I brought the cake, frosting, and modeling chocolate to assemble on site. I looked at the TSA regulations and packed it up in my cooler as my carry on. It was the perfect solution, especially since after delays we didn’t get into town until well after midnight.

The cake traveled really well in it’s cooler along with the buttercream and candy clay. There were a lot of tasks to accomplish to prepare for the festivities as soon as the day began. I took a trip to the store for some last-minute charcuterie items. (I was obsessed with finding fresh figs). I tried my hardest to coordinate the fruits and veggies with the wedding colors. We sliced, chopped, and prepared everything while other helpers set up the flowers and other decorations and drink stations outside.

My sister spent a lot of time before my arrival, setting up lights and arranging her gardens to have space for a dance floor and the DJ. Everything was happening in whirlwind succession.

I crumb-coated the cake and gave it it’s polished finish before adding the other details. At this point, my brother liked the cake simple. So I stopped. Why spend more time on it if the groom is happy. We still had a lot of other tasks to accomplish, and the ceremony was 30 minutes from the reception.

I wish I would have gotten better photos of the cake. The ceremony was at sunset, and the reception was in the evening, so it was too dark, plus, at that point I had shifted my mindset into my Best Man role, and I was focused on my speech and spending time with my nieces and nephew (and the bride and groom).