A Bakery Pro's Tips To Stop Cakes From Sliding Around While Frosting

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If you've ever tried your hand at decorating cakes, especially layered cakes, you might know that they don't always sit still. During the final stages of frosting, it's tragically easy for the cake to decide not to cooperate. The top layers or even the whole cake can start slipping and destroy the presentation. Sliding cake can ruin a frosting job, which is why we spoke to Kristina Lavallee, the owner of The Cake Girl, about how you might keep a fidgety cake still while you add the final touches.

Thankfully, Lavallee said that she has a few tricks for these situations. Her biggest tip is to keep a non-slip surface underneath the turntable while you're frosting, like this silicone rectangular baking mat. "That is the main thing that keeps the whole setup steady when decorating," she told The Takeout. The turntable is also an important and simple tool that makes cake frosting smoother than ever. It removes some risks of the cake sliding since you won't have to move it by hand. Still, these are purchases to make once you're planning to bake somewhat regularly, and there are other methods to keep a cake sturdy without them.

For extra sturdiness, Kristina Lavallee suggested refrigerating the layers of cake first. "Something else that I find really useful is starting with a chilled cake because firmer layers don't wiggle as much when spreading the frosting. It helps to work with something more solid instead of soft and fragile," Lavalle explained. You can also pop the stacked cake in the fridge to chill after you apply the crumb coat. This helps the frosting in between each cake set more quickly, making the layers of frosting less likely to shift around while you're applying the final layer on top of the hardened crumb coat and piping on the last flourishes.

Lavalle also recommended using frosting as an edible glue to affix the cake to the cake board, but you only need a small amount to get the job done. "I normally drop a tablespoon or so right in the center of the cake board before I place my first layer down," she instructed. "Once you press it down gently and it sticks, you are good." Royal icing is what you'd use to keep gingerbread houses from falling, but with cakes, classic choices such as French, Swiss, or Italian buttercreams all work well, as does chocolate ganache. Choose whichever pairs best with the cake in question.