I'm making a 3-tier cake for a 10th anniversary party this weekend. The idea is to make a winding path (out of candy rocks) going up a hill, ending at the top of the cake.

I'd like to shape each tier so the effect is more hill-like and less like three stacked cakes. I'm already planning on stacking the tiers off-center to make it look more like a winding hill, but I'd like to slope the sides a bit, as well.

Thing is, I have never shaped a cake before - and once I cut it, there's no going back if I make a mistake. So I'm a bit nervous!

Any suggestions for how I can carefully shape this cake without ruining it? What about the filling? (Each tier is 2 layers.) How do I keep it from flowing out once I slice the sides?

All advice is appreciated! Thank you!

Unless you are just filling with buttercream, you will need to cut the cake then fill it using an icing dam. As for carving it, a bread knife (large serrated knife) works best. Don't just hack at the cake. Cut a thin layer off at a time (more like shaving than cutting) as it's easier to trim more than to add back on with cake + icing "spackle". And don't forget to post pics when you're done! Sounds like its going to be a really great cake!

I did this last weekend but wasnt really happy with the results. I was trying to copy a cake I found on here. http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=94878
I am not really sure how to get it so that the edge looked like the wonderful cake I was trying to copy. But I used a thin bladed sharp knife and made a tiny cut in the top of each tier to shape it, then i pushed the knife through at an angle and cut along that first line. HTH