I just got my first order for a giant cupcake-shaped cake and was wondering whether I should buy the Wilton pan (with my 40% off coupon of course!), or just stack and carve my own? It might help me make my decision if I knew how many people this thing will serve. Anyone know?

Also- for those of you that have made one (either from the pan or homemade), would you put a cake board and dowel supports in between the two halves to support the top? I'm not sure how stable it is. Also, going to try to make the bottom cupcake "liner" with sections of corrugated fondant. Texas summers are pretty killer and I don't know if anything else will hold up better. Open to suggestions...

TIA!

I used the Wilton pan and I figured it at 12 servings since it is basically the same size as a 6" round. There is no need for dowel supports but I dug out a little of the cake from the base and filled it with plenty of icing to "glue" the top and bottom together. I covered the bottom with fondant upside down and then glued the top on with icing. If you look at my pics, I did a Giant Cupcake on top of a cupcake tower. It wasn't that difficult and I think if you want the corrugated look on the bottom it would be much easier to use the pan instead of attempting to carve it out.

Speaking as someone who has made a cupcake cake without dowels as supports (well, it didn't LOOK like it needed support!), my advice is: Don't.

I have used both the cupcake shaped pan from Williams Sonoma and carved my own using 8" for top and 6 inch for bottom. I prefer stacking and carving my own. They are not as dry, they have layers of filling, and look just as good. But that is just my preference.