I have my first "big" cake order next week. A wedding cake for 300.
My question is, what do you use to cool large cakes on? I have a cooling rack, but it is not large enough, and even my 14" cakes hang over the sides, and will crack if I am not careful. 
I will be making a four tier square cake. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Wilton does carry larger cooling racks. I've seen them at the craft stores. If you can use a coupon, get two. 
If you can manage to take one of your oven racks out before turning on your oven, you can use that as a cooling rack. Of course, if you're using all the racks, that won't work.
If you try to use lined up cooling racks, make sure you tie them together first. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a large cakeboard with a piece of parchment or wax paper between. Then, turn the cake back over on another cakeboard with a piece of parchment between, so it's right side up. Now, slide the cake, parchment and all, onto the cooling racks.
You might also be able to do the above with gas stove grates.
Cardboard. Place the same size cake board over your cake while it's still in the pan, flip it over, remove the pan, place another cake board on the bottom of the cake and flip it all (your cake sandwiched between two cardboards) over to the cake's bottom. The cake will cool just fine on the board as long as it's not upside down on an unleveled top.
Thank you 
to all for responding so quickly. I don't feel so overwhelmed now.
I will let you know how it turns out.
Thank you again.
The large Wilton racks sags in the middle. Be prepared to prop it up a bit if needed.
Oh, really? That's good to know! I'll think twice before recommending them in the future. I use racks from a restaurant supply. You could park your car on them and they wouldn't budge.
Cooling racks are not necessary if you use parchment on the bottom of your pans. You allow the cake to cool completely in the pan - thus, less chance of breakage. Run a pallet knife around the edge and tip out - easy! I've done this for years!
Just wondering , why is the parchment paper necessary? I am fairly new to baking and I have never used a cooling rack, is there a certain reason to use them other than the fact that they may cool quicker? If so, what does the parchment paper do to help (other than not sticking)?
A cake has to be released from the pan 10 minutes after removing from the oven, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan. Parchment on the bottom keeps it from sticking so that it can be cooled in the pan and then removed later ~ easy release! That is the function of parchment. Really there would be no reason to use parchment if you will remove the cake after 10 minutes and out on a cooling rack.
Parchment paper also helps to make larger layers easier to handle without breaking. In the cake factory that I used to work, we only used parchment on full and half sheets. They were baked in wax-coated bakable trays which were non-stick, but the parchment was used for easier customer convenience.
Parchment paper wasn't used with any other sizes. The cakes were never dumped out of the pan within 10 minutes, and they released just fine. Each pan frame is given one tap on the table, tilted forward, and all cakes fell out every time (credited to the pan release used).
The cakes were typically dumped from the pan after cooling for 30-45 minutes or whenever the crew got around to it.
A cake has to be released from the pan 10 minutes after removing from the oven, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan. Parchment on the bottom keeps it from sticking so that it can be cooled in the pan and then removed later ~ easy release! That is the function of parchment. Really there would be no reason to use parchment if you will remove the cake after 10 minutes and out on a cooling rack.
Just curious...if you leave the cake in the pan (with our without the parchment paper), won't it continue to bake/cook? Also, do you always just custom cut your parchment paper or do you know of a place that sells pre-cut sheets to fit standard sized pans? Thanks for your help.
Mb20fan, yes, all baked products have what is called "carry over" cooking which lasts for a few minutes after removing from the heat source. But, this does not hurt your cake when cooled in the pan. I purchase full sheet size parchment and cut my own rounds - cheaper and easy!
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