I have never carved a cake before, but I want to try it. I have been reading up on this and just have a question. Most everyone says they freeze the cake first, b/c it's easier to carve with less crumbling that way. Makes sense.
I have frozen cakes before, but I always let them thaw and come to room temp wrapped. In this case, obviously I can't let them thaw wrapped, if I am carving frozen......so.....is my cake going to turn out nasty dry?
Need advice from all the expert cake carvers on CC!
Thanks, Heather

I've never had a problem but I do try and crumb coat it quickly. I also have been known to carve without freezing depending on how much I have to carve

No it won't be dry once frozen and carved. You can also chill it overnight in the fridge then carve.

Thanks for the info. I will be working on my cake in stages this week and we'll see how it goes.
Heather

As with all things cake, there is more than one way to do things. There are people who carve frozen cake and those like me who never do. But I do always like my cakes to spend an overnighter in the freezer before I thaw them to carve. It does seem to improve the texture. Don't let the carved cake sit out naked for too long, though, go ahead and get your crumb coat on pretty quick. I pipe my icing on to help cut down on the crumbing. When you get this current cake done, you will have a better feel for what you like doing and how you like doing it.

Post a picture so we can all see it once it's done! And then go make another one!

Deanna

I used to carve frozen cake all the time but now I hardly ever do. I do think it helps when you are first learning how to carve though... I do what Deanna does and freeze them overnight and let thaw most of the way before carving. I usually let my carved cakes sit out overnight wrapped in saran wrap.

On this same subject, do most of you torte and fill you cake layers before freezing and carving?
Thanks!
Susan

I don't allow any fillings other than buttercream when I do a sculpture for someone. Too easy to mess it up, either in the process of carving or in transporting it.

Just in case I misunderstood your question and you were asking if I carve each layer and then add them individually, no, I start with a big block o' cake. You can see a few in-progress cakes on my website at www.cakedalaska.com that might help you get a feel for one way to go about it.

HTH,
Deanna

me too...just BC filling. It's hard enough making a 3D sculpture without adding messy fillings to it. Plus, you can't refrigerate so that's another problem with fillings. But I know people how DO put fillings in 3D cakes....so it depends on what you want to do.