Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Iced a 10″sponge cake yesterday with good quality sugarpaste,just found a large air bubble!

What’s the best way to deal with it?
Have used an acupuncture needle but nothing is helping,can’t disguise it,because of the decoration on the cake.
Can anyone help.

Hi glenis

A bit late replying to you but could you please tell me whether your iced cake still feels soft. Unfortunately once the icing has set it’s quite difficult to remedy the bubble by lancing it. . How big is it and where on the cake? If by any luck at all that the icing is still soft and the area is not too big, you may be able to cut out a section of the affected area and replace it with some fresh icing. The incision area, just where the joins meet, can be be smoothed over with a a thin line of royal icing wiped away with a damp brush. I’ve done this on small areas but of course I have no idea how big an area you’re dealing with. Bubbles can be as a result of insufficient adhesion between the crumbcoat and the icing. It’s possible a small area was dry so the sugarpaste didn’t make proper contact with the cake causing an air bubble to form in that area. Please let me know if this helps, let me know how big the area is and what type of decoration you have which is preventing some compromise. Obviously if it can be salvaged it would be the best outcome for you.

Hi,thankyou for you reply.Unfortunately the paste seems quite firm.Originally the bubble was about a 2″ circle.
I have managed to ease some of the air out but it’s lef ta ring of bubble around the centre,if that makes sense.
Although it’s towards the back I know it’s there.
The sides of the cake are plain,the decoration is (novelty),which the customer wants will be on the top.
Thankyou one again for your help and suggestion.

Just one last shot, try massaging a little trex into the affected a area. It might help soften it slightly and make it less noticeable. If it leaves a mark dab some cornflower over it. Trex is great because it absorbs back into the paste and doesn’t leave a mark for long. Bubbles are a curse!