Hi!!

I'm new and super excited about baking! I'm taking wilton course 1 and have made some basic cakes (

)

I need to make a LIGHTHOUSE shaped 3D cake. I've been reading about it, and it seems that the best cake to use would be a pound cake.

I'm looking for a good chocolate pound cake recipe to use for carving.. would chocolate ganache be a good filling in between? i plan on using fondant to cover, and swiss meringue buttercream icing underneath.

also, how should i go about supporting this cake? there will be a 1 or 2 tier base, and a lighthouse that's about 13-14" high..and about 6" wide at the base.. Should i stick cakeboards in between every few layers?

I really hope i can get some answers.. i'm not really sure if I know what I'm gonna do.. but i'm very excited about trying it out!

ok.. another quick question-

I've seen some post suggesting baking cakes in a can to get that cyrindical shape.. how do you prep the soup cans for something like that? Is taking the baked cake out of the can easy with the rim and all...? How about the taste? does that metal affect the taste?

Sorry for all the questions!! You guys have a ton of good info and must be used to eager albeit lost newbies

A lighthouse should be a fairly easy shape for you to make, especially if you only need it to be a little more than a foot tall.

ALWAYS support a sculpted cake internally the same way you would support a regular stacked cake. Always. I support every 4 - 5 inches of height with a plastic-wrap-covered cake board and dowels under each board, with a through-dowel in the middle.

Go to my website at www.cakedalaska.com and look at the Roger and Nightmare pages in particular to see some examples of carving and stacking cake.

I never use a filling in between the layers of carved cake. Nothing that would make the cake easier to shift during transport. I personally only use buttercream between the layers.

I can't answer the question about baking in cans, but I'm sure someone on here will answer that one for you.

HTH,
Deanna

P.S. Welcome to CC!

Oh yeah, the chocolate pound cake question...

I use a recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor called Basic Yellow Pound Cake. I use whatever cake mix flavor I need (usually Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake) and I always just use vanilla pudding in the recipe, because I usually always have vanilla pudding around.

Deanna

thank you deanna!!

i didnt realize that just adding pudding to a cake mix made it pound cake!! I saw some of those recipes in the recipe section, but thought I must be missing something cuz pound needs to be dense!


How about baking in cans? Anyone have experience with that?

I have baked breads in cans before but not cakes. The bread I make in the can is very similar to pound cake in density though. Just grease the can well and it should slide right out. HTH

The recipe I use adds not only the pudding mix, but extra egg and milk. I just got two of them out of the oven a few minutes ago, because I have to make a diaper bag-shaped cake for a baby shower. The Cake Mix Doctor books have a lot of easy pound cake recipes in them. You might be able to find a copy at your library.

Deanna

thank you ladyphoenix and deanna!!

OK.. maybe it's not as daunting as i thought it would be!! I'll check out those recipes in the recipe section cuz i cant get to a library before i make the cake.. are there any recipes on here that you like deanna?

And i've started saving some cans!! LOL!! I'm gonna give it a go this weeknd, just to see.. i'm very intrigued by the whole concept..

thank you both!! I feel so at home here with my new found interest and skills (and your guidance)

I like the chai tea cake recipe on here. I used it for the Easter doll cake on my website.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2603-Chai-Tea-cake-from-cake-mix.html

Deanna

The WASC, or white almond sour cream cake on here is very dense. You start with a box, then add a few things. I use it a lot for carving as well. On recipeezar there is the full recipe with all the variations, including chocolate.

Here's a similar thread:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-610376-.html

Above thread has links to doctored cake mix cakes suitable for carving as well as scratch pound cake recipes....and so much more.

HTH