I'm not sure if this has been asked as I am very bad at navigating these forums to find topics! I'll apologize in advance if it's been asked a million times.

Okay, I'm making an open book bible cake using an 11 by 15 pan. I will carve the shape out of it but am wondering if I should torte and fill it first or after carving. I hate to waste the filling by carving it out, but am worried that it will be quite hard to torte well after carving. Any advice?

Thank you!

I don't think you'll end up with much waste if you torte and fill before you carve, since that's a mostly rectangular shape.

Thank you! Yes, I guess that's right. Should I just freeze it for awhile after filling, before carving?

Yes, fill before carving and yes, put it back in the freezer for awhile after filling...this will help with the carving. I don't fill every 3D cake I make but I do fill most of them. Tomorrow I'm making a "house" cake and it will have 4 layers of cake so I'll fill between the bottom two layers, fill between the top two layers, freeze the top two layers (now one solid tier) for an hour and then carve it into the peak for the roof then I will stack it on the bottom "tier" and crumbcoat the whole thing.

Thank you both for your expertise! It really helps to get info from those who've done it before!