I've been following the tutorial on PVC stands for topsy turvy cakes, and I have a question.....Can you bake the cakes in tube pans, so you don't have to cut out the middle (possibly off-center) of the cake? There are no dowels through the middle of the cake on a PVC stand, so you don't need the middle of the cake. Will the "missing cake" compromise the integrity of the cake's structure? I'm thinking you can also use the pan's insert to trace a perfectly centered hole in the cake drum.
Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I"m certainly no expert but my first thought is that, unless the PVC and the tube/insert would have to be exactly the right diameter. If there's any wiggle room between the PVC and the cake, it'll just be too unstable, IMO.

Thanks, clovely. I wonder if you could fill the gap with fondant or royal icing.
Anyone else have any other thought on this?

when i did my strawberry shortcake cake i used round cookie cutters the same diameter around as the pvc pipe. I set the cookie cutter in what i thought looked like the center and than took a ruler and made sure it was centered all the way around it is really not as hard as i thought it would be. Hope this helps

shelly

Thanks...that's a good idea!