Sleight of hand- The Topsy Turvy Cake

 The idea of a topsy turvy cake is fun and intriguing.  In this case, it is merely an optical illusion.
The first person I saw use this technique was B. Keith Ryder. It gives the impression of a Wonky Cake, but is actually quite level. It can be made and assembled before delivery without worrying about shifting.

Janell's Cakes has a wonderful video demonstration of this style cake.  You can see her construct it before your eyes on YouTube.

For this cake I decided to keep the angles less severe because of the geometric

design I was later using. However, for a more fanciful design, I would increase the angles and add more contour to the tiers for extra flair.

 

  I started with my top tier using two 7" round layers and one 6";

and cut one 6" round pattern out of waxed paper for later use.

 

1. I chilled my layers well, filled and stacked them.

Flipping topside down ( for some reason, that is easier for me)

I contoured the tier with a serrated knife, cutting away the excess.

 

2. Attaching the cake circle with fresh frosting, I flipped the cake upright again...

 

3. and cut the top layer at an angle. 

The more diagonal the cut, the more severe your angle on the cake will be.

 

I then iced the top and flipped the cut piece of cake

 

placing the thick side of the cut on the higher side of the layer, creating a steeper angle.

 

I then frosted the entire tier and chilled well.

 

For the bottom tier, I started with two 10" layers and one 9" layer, then followed steps 1-3.

 this time crumbcoating  the sides for easier handling.

(Sometimes you adjust as you learn!)

 

After centering the pattern and I cut around it, creating a level

surface;

 

then iced the tier and chilled well.

After chilling, I misted the tiers lightly with water

and covered with fondant.

 

I doweled the bottom tier using wooden dowels since I had them on hand, but you can also use

Poly-Dowels.

 

Because this cake had no topper, I didn't want to insert a center dowel

through the top of the cake.

So I pre-cut a 1/2" hole in the center of the 6" cake board .

                                         Sharpening  both ends of a 1/2" dowel about 6-8" long,

I hammered through the center of the bottom tier, securing

into the cake board.

 

I  placed the top tier over the dowel, securing the top tier to the bottom tier.

After that, the cake was ready to decorate! 

Tutorial and photography by Jacque Benson 

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