Do you love creating new cakes for every birthday, holiday and other special occasion? Are you growing tired of trying to find a new and interesting cake design that will thrill the crowd yet not be complicated to make? Why not create a leaning tower cake? You don’t have to have a Paris party theme to create a leaning tower cake. The finished cake is perfect for a child’s birthday or another occasion. You can make it with the flavors and embellishments you want so that you can create the perfect one-of-a-kind cake that guests will remember for a long time to come!
If you have different sizes of round pans that’s great, but if you don’t, you can use three or more of the same size pans. Since each layer of the tower will be slightly smaller around than the previous ones you’ll have to cut regular round cakes down in size. However, if you have various sizes of round pans that step won’t be necessary. The tower cake looks best when you stack three to four cakes on top of each other. The largest cake will be the base and the cakes will get smaller as they go up. Since it takes as much cake mix to do three cakes as it does to make four it’s recommended that you go with the four layer tower.
It will take two complete cake mixes to make four cakes. If you want, make two cakes of one flavor and the other two cakes a second flavor. Make sure, if you’re using different sizes of pans, to alternate pan sizes. That is, the base should be one flavor, the next size pan should be in the second flavor, the third largest pan should be of the first flavor and the smallest pan should be that of the first flavor. If you’re using all the same size pans it doesn’t matter what flavor you use in which pan.
Bake and cool the cakes as you normally would. If the pans are different sizes you won’t have to go through the same steps as you will if the pans are all the same size. For different size pans simply remove the largest cake from its pan and place it on the tray or cake plate. For pans which are all the same size you will place one of the cakes on the plate. Now, use a large knife to cut the cake down on one side. To do this, start at one edge of the cake and cut straight across the top. As you do, barely shave the cake as you begin, then cut a little deeper and a little deeper until you get to the other side. When you arrive at the opposite side from where you started the cake should be only about half the depth that it was. Remove the cutaway pieces of cake and brush away the crumbs with a paper towel.
Frost the first cake and decorate the sides how you want. This cake looks fabulous if you make each tier of the cake look completely different. You can alternate colors of frosting for each tier or use a different color for each cake. Use gel frosting to create designs on the side of each cake. Later, you can add various edible embellishments to give the cake the finished look you want.
If you’re using different size pans set the next largest on top of the base cake. If you’re using the same size pans, remove the cake from the pan and use a knife to cut all the way around it, removing a couple of inches from the edges. Stack this cake on top of the first cake. Now you’ll use the same technique as before to cut the cake at an angle. Start at one edge, shave the cake a little, then cut deeper and deeper into the cake. There is one thing you must make sure of, though, when you’re adding the second, third and fourth cakes. Each time you add another tier the narrow side of the cake should be above the wide side of the previous cake. So, if you cut the first cake from right to left, the left side of the cake is the shallowest part. With the second tier, you’ll end up with the widest part of the cake positioned over the shallowest part of the first cake. Continue to add the next and next cake, trimming the diameter of each down to size if needed, then cutting the cakes so that the wide cake areas are over the shallow sides and the shallow sides are positioned over the widest parts of the cake. That way, each layer of the tower leans the opposite way. If you do not pay close attention to the positioning of the cakes you can end up with a cake that falls.
Each time you place another tier of the cake go ahead and frost then decorate it. The cake looks really beautiful if each tier looks totally different. To accomplish this you can use small candies, gel frosting, cereal pieces, sprinkles and similar edibles. You can give the cake a theme by using shaped candies and other food embellishments. If you’re a person who enjoys silly things the cake can even be made for a wedding! The cake is very easy to make but will impress everyone at the party!
