Hi! I'm new to CC and to cake decorating. I was asked to make a shamrock cake for St Patrick's day. I have a couple of questions and hoping you fine cake folks can help me!

I plan to use three heart-shaped cakes and lay them side-by-side to form a three leaf clover (similar to this one: http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=296853).

I will use BC icing. How do I make sure that the icing is smooth over the cake seams and doesn't crack or buckle? Do I "anchor" the cakes together?

And they want a green cake batter. So I will add green food colouring to the cake mix (like red velvet but vanilla with green color instead).
Will that much food coloring give the cake a bad taste?

Thanks in advance!

Sorry I haven't done a sculpted cake or a cake that needed to be put together but I would think it would be the same as layering a cake by having icing "binding" the cakes together (atleast that's what I think your asking ). The other thing you could do is use a template and cut a sheet cake into the shape you need.

As for the green batter I would assume it would be okay as red velvet has food colouring in it as well so it shouldn't be any different.

If you look up red velvet cake recipes you should be able to get an idea how much food colouring to add. Although if it is anything like trying to get fondant or bc red these recipes may add more colouring than you may need to get yours green.

HTH, if not maybe one of our experts will chime in!

Unless you have really small heart pans, I would think that three hearts laid out would make a reeeally big cake.

My first thought would be to make it out of a cupcake-cake... which is basically a bunch of cupcakes arranged in a shamrock shape (in your case,) iced together smooth.

You can do a search on Cupcake-cakes and you should get some pretty good ideas.

As far as tinting the batter, if you are using gel colors you should be able to achieve a nice green without altering the taste of your batter.

Good luck!

I don't have pix for you but I have made similar cakes.
Ice the sides of each cake separately, then set them on the board.
What size are the hearts you are making? Remember to make the board big enough, BUT.......measure your doorways 1st And make the board thick enough for the weight......at least dbl them.

As for icing the top - just treat the 3 pushed together cakes as it were one cake with no breaks. The icing will not 'fall down thru the cracks'

Mine's a little raucous looking but

http://acmecakes.com/images/R0011093.JPG

There it is. It was a free cake, so it looks like it!

I suggest you use the green coloring a little at a time to get the desired shade in the batter. You're not gonna need as much as for a red velvet I don't think.

hi! i did this one for a st patty's day wedding. it was the groom's cake. i used fondant, but as to the size, it was huge. as you can see it took up the whole width of my counter. i did each leaf a different flavor but none green. i had each leaf seperated from the other one. i did have a gap in the middle which i filled with gold coins (fondant) over a pile of marshmellows!

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1199716

Hobby Lobby sales a shamrock cake pan and with a 40% off coupon it can be fairly cheap. check www.hobbylobby.com if you have one close to you. they run a 40% off coupon everyother week. good luck! otherwise if i didnt cut the cake out with a template or use a cake pan, i would probably put in a horizontal dowel rod to kind of hold it together and carry it on a piece of sturdy plywood to keep the board from flexing.

I too recommend the four leaf clover over the three leaf.

<High five>, Kweenie!!

Wilton's has a fairly small heart pan, 6" or less, I would say. 4 of those would give you a decent sized clover without giving you a ginormous cake, depending on what you're looking for. Maybe you want a ginormous cake