I've only done really simple cakes in 9x13 size and a couple cakes that are 2 layer 8 in. rounds or squares. I have a few questions for events coming up.
1) I bought a 10x15x2 pan. How many cake mixes does that take? Do i need a heating core or flower nail in the middle for it to cook evenly?
2) I want to try a simple tiered cake for Christmas or my DD's birthday. If I have a 2 layer 8 in. and a 2 layer 6in. do I need to use dowels and plates?
3) how far in advance can I bake and freeze a cake? And what's the best way to freeze cakes? And for the dumbest question of the day, do you crumb coat before or after freezing?
Thanks in advance!! 
Hi!
I may not have all the answers you need, but here's my thoughts. (Remember, there is no one right way to get to the same place.) 
1) You will need about 1 1/2 cake mixes to fill your 10x15 pan. However, I like to overfill my pans, level them while they're still in the pan, and then feed the trimmings to my family. I'm guaranteed a full 2" height doing it that way.
2) I board-and-dowel anything over two layers tall, so I would put a board between the 8s and the 6s.
3) I usually bake and freeze on Wednesday or Thursday for cakes due on Friday or Saturday. You can freeze them longer than that, and I do sometimes, but freezer space is a premium for me. I normally don't crumb coat them before I freeze them, but I had a HUGE wedding cake due two weeks ago, and to save my space in the freezer, I filled, stacked and crumbed each two-layer tier. Once they got back to room temperature, I went ahead and iced and decorated them.
Deanna
Hi TRisser! Welcome to CC!
Did you mean an 11x15? That will take 11 c of batter so most likely you'll have to mix up 3 and have some leftover for the next layer but the good news is you can pop it in the fridge until you are ready to bake the next layer and it will still be good. I always measure out my batter when putting it in the pan. I actually use 2-3 flower nails for my cake this size.
For the 6/8 combo you definitely need to dowels and use cake boards. It's amazing how much that little 6 incher can end up weighing!
I have only frozen cakes once as I prefer to make them fresh and some people can tell if a cake has been frozen but I have read that some freeze up to a month in advance. When I had to freeze I waited until the cakes were comepletely cool then wrapped really well in plastic wrap and then in heavy duty foil. You'll want to let the cakes come to room temp wrapped then assemble the cake and then crumb coat and then do your final icing coat. d
Thanks for the replies. I need to do 5-10 sheet cakes for one week for our VBS. I think I'll just do them all on Fri. or Sat. and then the longest they'll be frozen is just a week. And now I'll check out some dowels and cake boards for that tiered cake. Thanks for the help.
Tamra
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