I am making a wedding cake and the bride and groom want pound cake. I will be making a 12" round, 9" round, 2 book-shaped cakes (regular size, not double), and 2 or 3 full-size sheet cakes. The book cakes and the round cakes will be decorated. The sheet cakes will just be cut served but will have icing on them with a border.

Here are my questions.
1. Do I use the normal amount of pound cake batter per pan that I would use for a "normal" cake?
2. How do I adjust baking times for a pound cake in these shapes and sizes?
3. Will the bake-even strips work on the pound cakes like they do on the "normal" cakes?
4. Would adding a filling to a pound cake be a disaster in any way? Is a gelatin type filling better than a pudding type filling? Would icing be the best choice?

I am willing to experiment, but where do I begin? The wedding is on a Sunday, June 1, 2008.

Thank you.

First of all, welcome to CC. You will find the most helpful information here on this site. Ok, that said, I will offer my opinions below.

1. I would use the same amount of batter.
2. I bake all my pound cakes at 325. They take longer because they are more dense, so I wouldn't even start checking them for at least 1 hr depending on size.
3. I have never used the bake even strips. Some people swear by them, but I have used an inverted flower nail on larger cakes. It's a preference thing. I don't see why they wouldn't work the same on pound cakes as other cakes.
4. This is also a preference thing. I have never used a filling. I only use bc between my layers. Other CCers use TONS of different flavor combinations, but I just stick to plain-ol-buttercream.

Hi and Welcome, cj409.

Link to CC acronyms:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926-.html

(At least in my area) when I got married, wedding cake WAS pound cake!

The layers were filled with b/c, but now there are many more choices. (All depends on what the bride & groom want.)

Sleeved pastry fillings:

http://www.thebakerskitchen.com/BAKEWARE_SHOPPE/Baking_Ingredients/Pastry_Filling/pastry_fillings.htm

http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/mini.aspx?T=1&ShopId=38&CatId=532&SubCatId=798

How much pastry filling to use by cake size:

http://tinyurl.com/2gay6n

Here are all four Wilton cake preparation and serving charts:
(Required batter amounts per pan size, as well as recommended baking temps. and times. Also servings by pan size.)

http://www.wilton.com/cake/cakeprep/baking/times/index.cfm
(For 2 or 3" deep pans.)

Wilton (tiered) cake making & decorating help links:
(Everything from baking the cake to decorating with either b/c or fondant.)

http://www.wilton.com/wedding/makecake/index.cfm

Your 9" & 12' tiered cake will only yield (32 & 56) 88 wedding size (1x2x4) servings.

Your two book cakes (assuming minimum of 12 [2x2"]servings each) will yield 24. (Guessing on the amount of these servings.)

By industry standards a full sheet cake pan is usually 16/18 x22/24 - too large to fit into a conventional home oven:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-3010773-.html

However, when the term "full sheet cake" is used by customers - it seems that it can mean anything from a 9x13 on up.

It's necessary for the bride to tell you how many servings are needed; then YOU can determine how many sheet cakes (of what sizes) are required.

Assuming you really need three full sheet cakes...

Your three full sheet cakes will each consist of two (12x18x2) cake abutted to yield 108 (2x2") servings for a total of 324 servings.

indydebi does the sheet cake math:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-302303.html

Also, the bride might want to consider "kitchen cakes" which are frosted and filled layer cakes (just like the wedding cake) but without the decorating.
(In this case, the serving sizes go back to 1x2x4".)

To me a two tier wedding cake seems pretty unimpressive when you're having over 400 guests.

I would opt for at least a three tier wedding cake:
(Whether or not the top tier is served is decided by bride.)

http://www.wilton.com/wedding/cakeinfo/choosing/index.cfm
(Tiered cakes to serve less than 100 to over 300.)

http://www.wilton.com/wedding/cakeinfo/choosing/index.cfm

Illustrated common cake support systems:
(With complete and accurate directions.)

http://tinyurl.com/y22z72

Illustrated how to cut dowels by indydebi:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-434013.html

How to cut neat layers of (tiered) cake & filling:

http://cateritsimple.com/_wsn/page19.html

I use bake-even strips on all my cake layers and even corn bread, etc. and the inverted flower nails on pans 10" and up.

Killer pound cake recipes:
(As well as baking hints & tips, and more.)

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-2765703-.html

Popular (new Crisco) b/c recipe by indydebi:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-6992-Indydebis-Crisco-Based-Buttercream-Icing.html

HTH

Thank you for your input and ideas. The wedding is small and the budget is low, so the bride and groom aren't too concerned with impressive cake size. Their tastes are simple. Both replies are helpful and I will use the information and try some things ahead of time.

cj