Hi,

I am making my 1st cake for my son's 2nd birthday. I am enrolled in Wilton classes in Feb., but I thought I try one now anyways. I am making a 2 tier jungle themed cake. I plan on a chocolate cake and a buttercream frosting. I am serving Chunky Monkey ice cream too. So, if I do a filling, what would you recc'd to go with those flavors? I think a banana filling would be too over the top. Any ideas? And wish me luck. I decided that I am sick of paying ppl for cakes and that I am creative and abled enough to do this. It could turn out ok or end up a disaster that leaves running to the grocery store the day of the party for a generic cake!

Oh, not a recipe question, but for 20 ppl what size pans should I use? Should I do to layers of cake to each tier? I just have a generic round spring form pan set from BB&B.

http://shopping.zeenews.com/gifts-to-india/gifts-CHC16.html
The Gist of the Cake I am attempting.

Thanks so much in advance. I have only less than a week til the party!

Hi and Welcome to CC, geishagirl81.

Decoding CC acronyms:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926-.html

There are no over the top cake, frosting or filling flavors, if you like them.

Here's a thread that you might find helpful....

Everything you ever wanted to know to bake/make your first tiered/stacked/layer cake:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-605188-.html

P.S. There are how-to's for making some fondant animals in the templates section:

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&aid=121
(I'd search for you, but it's pretty late and my dial-up ISP is running sloooooww.)

HTH

thank u very much! i have you-tubed some instructionals too!

hmmm...still constdertng a filling though

Here's a new recipe you might like:
(But cake will require refrigeration.)

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-7345-0-Chocolate-Bar-Pie-Filling.html

HTH

Well, strawberry filling is always good with chocolate cake. Thats easy to make (cook strawberries and sugar to taste until the strawberries break down and thicken with corn starch). Or, you could make a chocolate hazelnut cream filling by mixing 1 part nutella to 1 part Italian meringue buttercream (dont do this with regular buttercream it will turn out gross and way too sweet. IMCB recipe "classic vanilla buttercream" from food network is good)

an 8'' cake will feed 20 people easily. But if you are looking to add an extra tier, make a 6'' and put it on top. Make sure you use dowel rods and cake cards between the layers or you could have a caketastrophy on your hands (although, I'm pretty sure everyone does that their first time - I sure did!)

Just incase you don't have a good chocolate cake recipe I'll share mine. Follow the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa powder box (Perfectly chocolate chocolate cake) but instead of milk, use half milk half sour cream. It makes a huge difference in the texture and stability of the cake - and is delicious and not very hard to make.

HTH