AI'm planning to tackle my first carved cake for my son's 3rd birthday - snoopy laying on top of his dog house. What is the best type of cake (and recipe!) for carving the dog house? It is a relatively simple shape and it won't be too big. (I want to do it as a topper and not a standalone cake.) Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi and Welcome to CC cakeformykids. 

Snoopy cake toppers (from the CC gallery):

http://tinyurl.com/aks4sm3

http://tinyurl.com/b2eqmcs

Snoopy and dog house cakes:

http://cakecentral.com/tags/tags/images/tag/snoopy//page/240

http://cakecentral.com/tags/tags/images/tag/snoopy//page/40

http://tinyurl.com/ah56eo7

http://cakecentral.com/tags/tags/images/tag/snoopy//page/80

Secrets of cake carving:

http://cakecentral.com/t/59361/the-secrets-of-cake-carving

Everything you need to know to bake and decorate stacked/tiered/layer cakes:

(Includes frosting and cake recipes - and so much more.)

http://cakecentral.com/t/605188/not-a-pro-is-it-hard-to-make-wedding-cakes

All CC cake extender and enhancer recipes:

http://cakecentral.com/t/752906/need-cake-extender-recipe

HTH

Thanks JanH for the warm welcome and helpful info!  I really appreciate you taking the time to post all those links!  I will check them out and post back here if I have any follow-up questions.  Thank you again!!!

You're most welcome, cakeformykids. 

AQuick follow-up question... If I'm doing the dog house as a topper on a single layer cake, do I need to worry about supporting it in any way or is it too small / low to be an issue? Thanks!

We don't know how large or how heavy the cake topper is.  But if in doubt, I would place it on either a fondant or b/c covered cake board or fondant/gumpast plaque (using dowels/straws for support, if necessary).

HTH