How to: Double Barrel Cake, this is tall cake, fellas!!!!

Double barrel cakes are extreme!! these cakes are super tall: one single tier can be taller than 8" and if you dare to build the right structure, it can be even taller. These are great for making bird cages cakes or simply to go for an elegant and sleek design on your cake. But How I can make this cake, and how it can hold all the way up??

If you dare to build it, I know you can , here I will show you how easy it is to accomplish.

To start: If you bake on 2" tall pans, like I do, then you will need 4 cakes ( on the desired diameter) baked on a 2" tall pan . lets say 4 cakes 8"x2" . By request, I did not torte the cake as much as I do, any way torting your cake in many layers, brings less stability to your cake. Remember to also use a firm cake recipe, pound cake is always great for extreme cakes.

Second important Thing on your cake: dowels!!!! there is no cake with out dowels ( at least no extreme ones) I use: drinking water PVC pipes which I cut with a PVC cutter , or hollow dowels from Wilton.com or simple bubble tea straws less pricy BTW. And this is the equation for dowels (at least the one I use):

The bigger the cake = The bigger the dowel

Cake diameter-2

6" cake = 4 bubble straw

10" cake = 8 hollow plastic rods etc...

How many rods, dowels or straws you will need also depend on the weight you will put on the next tiers. Put better, bigger dowels on your bottom tier if you are planning to put 5 more tiers on top.

Next step is to place a smaller cardboard (I use Foam core always) on the top of your first cake. This means if your cake is 8" diameter, then you will place a 7" diameter foam core or cake cardboard .

Remember this cake is based on 4 cakes of 2 " tall each cake, the rest of your layers will be placed on top of this board. What's the board for?? stability !!!!

I forgot to place a ruler next to this lady so you can check how tall and elegant this baby is!!!! but I know she was taller than 9" this was a 12" diameter double barrel cake, good to serve 100 guests. This cake was all buttercream with coconut on it, it looked soo heavenly !!! and romantic!!!

In the case that you are covering in fondant , best way to go will be GANACHE!!! it will stay perfectly sturdy!! best way to cover it with fondant you can find it HERE