How to make a topsy-turvy cake!
March 7, 2008For all of you who find me via the magical powers of Google while searching for instructions, today is your lucky day! I made a topsy-turvy cake for a 21st – my only criteria for the cake was that it was to be ‘different and crazy’, so I think this is ideal…
Before we get stuck in, I’d just like to point out that this is not for the fainthearted – I spent about 7 hours in the kitchen to make this, and my decorations are not even fiddly! If you’re in for the long haul – here we go! (if not, skim down and look at the pretty pictures anyway; if you go fast enough it’ll be a bit like one of those flip books you made at school when you were little!)
To start off with, you need a bunch of cakes. Three for each tier, to be precise. I only wanted a two tier cake, so I made 6. If you want a 3 tier cake, you’ll need 9. You’ll notice they’re not all the same size. To get that funky tapered look with less wasted cake you can make one cake for that tier in a smaller tin… Or just make them all the same size and shave off more – if, like me, you live with a bunch of hungry boys, it’ll all get devoured anyway. 
I made three 19.5cm cakes, two 15cm cakes and one 10cm cake. (I found it works better to keep supporting layers reasonably untapered, to prevent structural damage!)
So long as your cake is not too crumbly or fragile you’ll probably be fine using whatever recipe you fancy. I made chocolate mud cakes, because they’re a crowd pleaser and also plenty strong enough – but regular cake works fine. You can even use different flavours – just make sure the heaviest is always at the bottom.
The next step is to grab your knife and do a bit of carving. These are the three cakes for the top tier – weirdly they all look the same size, but they’re not! It pays to put the smaller one on top for this bit – it just makes it a bit easier. Once you’re done with that, flip the stack over (carefully!) and remove the top cake (this should be the largest, the one you want on top at the end).
To get the truly skewed look, you’ll need to slice this carefully – like you’re layering a cake, but from one top edge to the opposite bottom edge.
Now, rotate the top half of that layer 180 degrees, so the thick sides are together and the thin sides are together. You now want to assemble the whole stack – as you normally would when you layer a cake, smear some buttercream or ganache between each layer. Very carefully (it’ll be quite fragile now) lift your newly skewed top layer back onto the stack. A little more carving and it should look something like the picture above. 
Repeat the stacking and carving for the the other layer(s). Now ice your cakes as you usually would before putting fondant on, with ganache or buttercream or the like.
Roll out your fondant (or white icing, if you’re down under!) and adhere as usual. You’ll have to do a bit of manipulation here, as the cake is oddly shaped. The first time you attempt a cake like this I suggest using forgiving decoration schemes – so you can cover up the bits that don’t work so well. And if you know how to make the fondant smooth and perfect, please comment and tell me how!
As you can see, the cake now has a whopping great hole in it. This is the bottom tier, and the ‘hole’ is a shelf for the top tier to sit on. This is the magical part, and the reason the top tier doesn’t slide off – because it’s sitting flat! I use the tin I baked the bottom layer of the next tier to trace the outline with a knife, and then cut it out. In the same way, I also traced a circle of card just the right size to sit between the layers, so I can support the tiers properly – very important, because as there is so much cake, it gets quite heavy! The small piece on the plate in front is what I cut out.
It’s best to do the bulk of your decorating at this stage – the stripes I’ve used here are easier to make before the top tier is in place. If you look carefully you’ll be able to see four wooden kebab sticks in the cake at this point. These are my supports – straws work just as well (and are much easier to trim to size) but I had these to hand.
Because this cake is going for a bit of a drive tomorrow, I also put a hole through the board for the second tier, and inserted an uncut kebab stick through it, so the top tier is held firmly in place.
And look! Now it’s taller! There, that was probably easier than you thought, huh? Not quite finished yet, though…
We need to trim around the edges to make things nice and tidy, and a few sparkly stars on top never hurt anyone, right?
A few general tips:
- a thin fondant/icing ’snake’ made into a rim for the edge of each tier before you add the fondant makes it sit nicely – I remembered reading about this when I was looking at the bottom tier and wondering how I could have improved it, and so used the tip for the top, and I think it looks miles better
- stripes are very forgiving, and look pretty cool, and fondant cutouts can be conveniently positioned over less perfect bits
- although it only seems like you’re icing two cakes, because they’re tall and because the shape means fix-ups are quite likely to be required, make sure you have plenty of fondant on hand. I used two and half 750g packets – one of the biggest problems with my last attempt was that I really didn’t have enough
- try to make sure your ganache or buttercream is nice and firm, and if possible chill or even freeze the cake for a few minutes before putting the fondant on. I was unable to do this (not enough room in our fridge/freezer!), but if I had managed the overall look would have been neater
So there you have it. It’s not too tricky, but seriously, allow plenty of time. And feel free to ask me if you have questions – I’m sure to have missed stuff! Oh, and, if you try this out, I’d love to see photos of your cakes, and hear your tips! You can email me – rosathemad at gmail dot com or just comment here with a link to whereever you’ve posted it, if you have.
Looks great!
Thanks, Sarah.
Better than the last one, huh?
Oh WOW! That is heart-stoppingly gorgeous! Thanks so much for the directions for this too-perhaps one day I’ll be brave enough to make one although I’m sure it won’t be anywhere near as gorgeous as that one
Thanks Lorraine! It was epic, I tell you, but worth every minute. And I’m sure you have far more skill than I do – I am but a novice in all things food!
Spackling the cake is a huge help in getting your fondant smooth. Spackle is a mixture of cake crumbs and icing. I beat the 2 together with a hand mixer. Search http://www.books.google.com for the Well Decorated Cake and there is a preview of the book with some photos and spackling instructions.
It’s a great book, however, I recommend that you straighten the cake, crumb it, apply a thicker layer of spackle than the book says, and forgo the last layer of buttercream. At that point, if you lightly mist the cake with a clean water squirt bottle your fondant will adhere nicely. And your cake should be beautifully smooth!
Hannah
That’s awesome, Hananh, thanks – I will definitely try that. Do you know roughly the crumb-to-icing ratio? Or should I just play around to see what works? I’ll have to add that book to my Amazon wish-list!
I start off by cutting off the tops of my cakes and then I go ahead and slice about an 1/8 of an inch off of the sides to make sure there is no bulging. Most times when you throw everything you’ve trimmed off into the icing it’s a pretty good ratio. But if you have extra cake lying around try throwing some of it in, too, because you want it to be thick.
It helps to add structure to the cake and is also really yummy! Hope this helps, getting cakes straight and smooth can be such a pain sometimes!
Thanks again, Hannah! I’ll definitely try that, can’t wait to have another excuse to make a fondant cake now!
Thanks for this tutorial, but I was wondering how you make the two layers to stick toghether, and when the cake has more than 2 layers, how do you balance them, so they wont slip.
Thanks.
Because you cut a shelf into any supporting cakes (I’ve added a new photo, showing the undecorated fondant-covered bottom tier with the slice I took out of it) – just use a knife to mark the shape of your cake (using the board you want to use as a stencil works well for this), and then get your knife in on the flat side to cut to the edges – sorry, it’s hard to explain clearly. Does that make sense? The slice you remove will be very thin on one side and thick on the other, and the top cake will wedge into the gap – if you’re making three tiers you’ll do the same on the next one up.
I hope that answers your question – let me know if I’m not clear enough!
Hello, your cake looked great! Getting straight sides and a good crumb coat can be a pain sometimes. I put my cakes in the fridge, over night or at least a few hours before laying on the fondant. Cutting a shelf is a new technique to me, but I like that idea for larger cakes (12inch plus on base cake). Another great book with step by step instructions, recipes and measurements is Cakes to Inspire and Desire by Lindy Smith. Enoy your next project!
Thanks, Cas! I’m just too impatient to do the prep steps thoroughly, I think. One day I’ll learn!
Always good to hear of new reference materials, too. Cheers.
if you use a bench scraper to smooth the layers of buttercream (i’ve never mixed crumbs with my frosting, usually try to keep it as clean as possible) then freeze the whole cake over night the fondant goes down very smoothly. any cake supply store (even michael’s crafts, as much as i hate to recommend those jerks) will have a fondant smoother. plastic doesn’t always slide well on fondant, but if you dust a little corn starch on top it should glide right along. the corn starch will melt right away if you spritz the finished product with a little vodka (an airbrush works absolutely best for this but a regular spray bottle will do fine). the vodka will dissolve away the corn starch and then evaporate completely.
oh, and short of cutting out a hole in the top of the bottom layer, using two or three half inch wooden dowels set into the bottom layer then up into the top layer should hold it in place very nicely. they take up slightly more space than a skewer but hold more firmly. also, if you spread some royal icing (beaten egg whites whipped with enough powdered sugar to make it stiff, or you can buy a mix) on the area which the top layer will cover in addition to the dowels it will help glue the cake in place.
Thanks Ash! I appreciate the tips – I’ll have to give some of them a try. With regard to cutting a wedge in the top of the cake, though, personally I prefer to have the top tier(s) sitting flat, even if only for the sake of slightly simplified cutting – it means you can lift the top tier off and it’s not too wonky!
Thanks for your ideas!
WOW!!!!
Thanks sooo much for posting the step by step guide with photos!!
I do have a few questions, and I know some of the questions are very basic, but im a beginner!:
1) Is it possible to bake the cakes a few days in advance then freeze them?
2) Also, can u refreeze again after you carve them?
3) I dont think ive ever tried fondant, is there anything else you can use instead of fondant? I live far from where all the specialty stores are, so is there any type of icing that would work as well?
Thank you!
deedee
Hi DeeDee,
Thanks for your comment! In answer to your questions:
You can definitely freeze the cakes beforehand – I prefer to bake fresh when I can but it’s a big undertaking doing everything at once, and sometimes you just don’t have time! So that’s fine. I’m sure you can also refreeze after carving, if you need to, although you will want to make sure they’re well wrapped so they don’t get freezer burn.
Fondant gives the smooth outer surface; it’s not necessary, although it does help with structure a little. You can definitely use a different type of icing if you prefer – but you’ll need to make sure your cake is secured together well (with kebab sticks or drinking straws or even dowels), and your finish might not be as smooth. If you search for ‘fondant recipes’ you will find plenty, so you may be able to make this yourself – but it will add more time to the process!
I hope this helps!
To get fondant smooth, you roll it out (not ever too thin) and then lay it on top of your cake that you are covering…. then as you smooth it down the sides of the cake, you have to stretch (just slightly) the fondant down-ward with one hand as you smooth it with the other and it will take out the wrinkles. Finish with a fondant smoother and some powder and you have a very nice/smooth cake.
Thanks Brenda.
Hopefully I’m getting better! One of my shortfalls is definitely rolling the fondant too thin. Practice makes perfect! 
What about supports for the cake?
I use either wooden kebab sticks cut to size or drinking straws, depending what I have to hand. I think drinking straws are the better option – they do a perfectly adequate job and are very easy to cut.
For this cake I put several supports in the bottom tier, and one right through – but how much you need depends how big it is and how solid your cake is!
Hi can you tell me can a box cake mix be used to make a topsy turvy cake and will i need to add a pound cake mix to it .Thank you Margaret
Hi Margaret, I’d say it depends on your box cake mix – I’m not very familiar with them – but have a think about how resilient the cake is; if it will stay together when you hack at the sides a bit and won’t collapse with another cake on top it’ll be fine, otherwise maybe introduce the pound cake. Unfortunately I don’t know my box mixes, though – if you’re still unsure see if you can find someone who knows how strong they are!
Hi Rosa thank you for your help on the topsy turvy cake. I do not have a cake mix recipe as i box mixes .So i will give it a try and send you a picture Margaret
Hey, Awesome cake!! I was just wondering how to make the sparkly stars on top. Thanks!
Thanks Lexi! They’re really easy to make – it’s just tinted fondant, rolled out and cut with a star cutter (obviously you can make other shapes, although small and simple is best). Get some thin florists wire and poke it into the shapes, and then dry for 24 hours. Turn over and dry for another 24 hours. Then paint with shimmer powder and put them whereever you want!
If you skip the drying they’ll droop and fall off their wires. 
And if you make too many just keep them for next time!
Thanks alot!
You can use viva papertowels and press to smooth your icing.
Thanks, I was just wondering how to make the cakes looks higher and how to do the cakes stay in place.
I need to make a cake and I will send the photo. Regards,
the cake is awesome and these directions helped alot. i have a couple tips for you on the fondant. put a “crumb” layer of buttercream on the cake and refridgerate for about 20 minutes. then put an additional layer on. make sure the icing is as smooth as you can get it. place in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until it crusts. roll your fondant out to about 1/4 inch thick. before placing the fondant onto the cake, brush the cake lightly with water to make it stick. lay the fondant on top and immediately but gently adhere the very top of the sides. this will ensure that the fondant wont break while pulling and smoothing. pull and smooth the fondant while rotating the cake. the very last part is the hardest and requires the most patience.
after youre done you should have a smooth finish to your cake. all these tips are located on youtube. look up how to fondant a cake. its really helpful. i live by it. again, thank you for the topsy turvy tips!!!!
Thanks for the tips!
Hopefully I’m a little better at getting my cakes nice and neat now – and I’m glad my instructions helped you!
Thanks so much for the directions. I’m about to attempt my first topsy turvy cake, with your instructions as my guide.
Could you share your Chocolate Mud Cake recipe? I’ve been looking for a good, sturdy chocolate cake recipe and yours look delicious!
Best,
–Tom
Thanks very much for the instructions on the topsy-turvy cake. I’ve never used fondant and I’ve only used cake mixes like some of the others on this site. My neice is getting married next May 2009 and has asked me to make her a topsy-turvy wedding cake. I’m up to the challenge but I’m trying to do all the research I can to find out about it. These seem to be more popular up north. I haven’t found any books in the stores here in south Ga.
[...] is the cake I make if I need to make a carved or shaped cake – like a topsy-turvy cake or the car cake I made for my uncle’s 40th. It’s not only utterly delicious, but very [...]
Tom, I’ve posted my mud cake recipe today.
Cindy, I hope you succeed in your venture – definitely have a practice run if you can, as all the books in the world won’t be the same as having a go. I do highly recommend the mud cake recipe I’ve just posted, as it’s very rich (great for weddings where servings are generally small) and extremely easy to make – and also dense, and so easy to shape into a spectacular topsy-turvy cake! Feel free to email me – rosa.wakefield @ gmail.com – if you have any questions!
Goodness, this is PERFECT! My fiance and I are looking for a low-budget wedding (we’re poor folks) and I was worried about how much the cake would cost. I was looking online at all these cakes, and stumbled across a Topsy Turvy cake. I fell in love with it, but was worried it would have to be made professionally and would cost a lot. Now I can make it myself!
I DO have a few questions, because I’m a novice when it comes to baking cakes:
1. When freezing a cake, how should you wrap it as not to disturb the icing? Or should you even put the icing on at all, or wait until the day of?
2. I’m interested in doing a berry waterfall down the side of the cake as well – should they be fresh or is frozen okay too?
3. How long before the wedding should you take out the cake to let it defrost?
You can e-mail me the answers at Ravenfoxgloves@hotmail.com
Thanks so much!
OMG it looks great but ooks like a lot of work I havebeen taking cake decoration classes http://webbyzard.wordpress.com/category/cakes/ and the enxt one is a topsy turvy cake – I was not sure if I should take b/c of the work. I did a purse cake and it was so much work and mess – thanks for the tips!
Definitely a lot of work but pretty impressive results! I wish there were classes like that where I live – so much fun doing things like this with others!
Probably an extremely newbieish question, but how do you cut a cake like this when it comes time to serve it?
A very reasonable question! It’s generally easiest (and safest) to dissemble tiered cakes before cutting. Then you can cut each tier into small squares (since the cake is so tall small is best!). I generally cut some of the very tall pieces into two shorter pieces as well – although this means there won’t be top icing on the bottom piece of slices divided in this way there is generally still filling icing, since each tier is made from three cakes, and some people try to avoid it anyway, so I’ve never found that a problem.
Alternatively, cut slices as normal, if you’re feeding hungry people – but a slice would be very large! 
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
I’m making a cake for my sisters 21st, and I had no idea how to do it! YAY! You’re cake looked stunning by the way
Thanks Kerry, and good luck! I do recommend a trial run, if you can fit one in – it makes the real thing lots less stressful!
I have been asked to make a topsy turvey wedding cake but they want fruit cake can this be done.
Fruit cake should be fine – probably a bit trickier to carve, but so long as you stop up any holes and smooth out the sides with small pieces of fondant before you cover it in fondant I’m sure it would work just fine.
Good luck!
This is awesome! My best friend’s 21st is coming up, and she wants a topsy turvy cake so bad but the only cake place we can find around here is like…dairy queen. Other than that it’s all private businesses that are REALLY expensive, this is perfect, i’ll just make her one!!
Rosa the cake i am making is four tiers when i have looked on some web sites the bottom tier seems to only have the sides shaped this would save a lot of wastage and time but not sure if this would look ok
I think it’ll look great that way! I’ve seen cakes done that way and my opinion is that having the fourth layer flat is better than tilted – 3 crazy layers is plenty! Good luck with your cake!
I loved this cake! I am making a cake for my best friend’s wedding shower and she wants a topsy turvey cake…I started taking classes at Michaels Craft store but I haven’t taken the tiered cakes course yet so I looked this up….It really helped!!! I am making the cakes today and each day until Saturday I will be doing a different step…I recommend Michaels for the classes…I’ve learned so many things like sugar flowers and many other things!
The classes sound terrific! Unfortunately I’m way down in New Zealand and we don’t have Michaels here – there is one place that does the Wilton method courses but it’s at the other end of the country, so I just muddle through on my own.
I hope your cake is successful!
Wow…I didn’t realize you were so far! But thanks for the tips…I stayed up baking 5 cakes last night with another 4 to bake today!
Thank you so much for this Blog. I was looking for a how to guide!
hi, first of all, WOW. your cake is amazing.
Iv been looking over the internet for a really eye catching cake to make for my sisters 21st birthday and decided i am going to make a topsy turvy cake, but i dont understand the piece of card thats used between each tier. if you could just explain how and where i add this and also is it vital that i use it if im making a 3 tier cake?
i found your instructions really good though and will be following them when i make mine.
Hi Karyn,
Thanks for your kind comments!
A separator (a card base or sometimes even a specially made plastic plate) is usually used between layers on tiered cakes. This not only allows the layers to be lifted off and cut separately, but (more importantly) gives something to rest the supports on. Supports are dowels or straws (I used kebab sticks but they can be a bit trickier) put through the lower layers so the cake doesn’t collapse when you put heaps more cake on top of it. It is pretty essential for a three tier cake – but a normal bit of card covered in cling wrap or something would work.
I hope this answers yoour question – if not, let me know.
lol, im only 13 and im going to attemp making one next week for my 14th birthday party
i love cooking cakes and stuff….. but ive never tried anything this hard before!!!!!!
your cake looks absolutely FANTASTIC!!!!!!
im going to try three layers (i know, im insane) but i figure, if it completly dies, i can just say “thats the way its SUPPOSED to look” lol
seriously though F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C!!!!!!!!!
Its a great cake, one my sister and I are undertaking for our next baking day. As far as smooth fondant goes, we use a light, even coating of buttercream. Then, after chilling the cake for a couple hours, spray the cake with a clean squirt bottle, and apply the fondant. Using a plastic smoother, go top to bottom smoothing out air pockets… if its rough going use powdered sugar, it’ll make the smoother glide! Any air pockets, just poke at an angle with a needle and smooth over! Lastly, refridgerate when you are done and take out a few hours before its time to serve. Voila, no air pockets, no lumps, and no bumps:) Anyway, this is a great design, and cant wait to try it. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing these fantastic instructions…..I use a light bulb(glass bulb part) to roll over the fondont to smooth it out perfectly! Good luck all you bakers!
ok so heres the go..I’m making a type of cake like this for my hospitality assignment and these instructions are reaaaaallllllyyyyy helpful and I’m so glad ive found this websight (B-E-Autiful cake btw)sept I’m not really getting the whole carving part of the cake..so i use the smallest cakes for the top (dah) but like, yea the carving part and getting it into the right shape looks ridicymously hard..HELP!!! its due in 2 weeks!!…sorry
Don’t panic!
The carving is just to make the sides nice and even, and to slant them inwards if you want an even more confusing-looking cake.
So – you have 3 cakes for each layer, 3 smallest for the top layer. If you have different sizes for the layer (to get really slanty layers) you stack them with the largest at the top. Buuuuut, because it’s easier to stack and shape with the largest at the bottom I would do it upside down. Then the carving is just about making the sides smooth, really – get a bread knife and get carving! I would recommend you try a single layer (i.e. 3 cakes, but use small ones!) as a practice if you’re worried, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. Ask away if any part of this doesn’t make sense.
Good luck!
How do you go about transporting a cake like this?
I’m cooking the cake for a halloween party at my friend’s place and will have to drive it over, all i can picture in my head is cake going flying around the car!
also thanks for such clear directions!
Carefully! That’s always the trickiest part.
Try to put it in a box, even if the box doesn’t close – that will protect the bottom tier. Make sure you have a strong reinforcement system in the cake – kebab sticks or dowels – and then just drive carefully! I usually get my partner to drive, then I hold the cake if it’s not too big, and panic most of the way to our destination – but I’ve never had anything happen. So long as you’re careful you should be fine. 
Hi,
Thank you so much for your tips.. Its my daughter’s 7th birthday and she wants it a hip hop bday so i am planning to do her such a cake that would be crazy like funky stuff… Maybe with pumpums on top or so.. Will do it and then will let you know how it ended…
Thanks again