wanting to make a number 3 cake for my nephew, have never done a number before. is it better to do a 11x15 then carve? or use rounds and combine? any advise would be great thanks

Much less work to carve the half rounds.

Chill cake well before carving.

How many are eating?

I made a "3" as a 3 layer cake, starting with 12x15 sheets
I knew it had to serve 25+ and it was for family so I always go bigger. I made a few giant 3's on the back of wrapping paper to the size of the cake and then I cut up my templates so I could use the 12x15 sheet the most efficiently. My concern was that if the cake layers were all attached at the same curves, the cake would be less stable ( I had to drive it about 35 miles) so I cut the middle layer differently than the 1st and 3rd layer for more stability. I don't know if others would do it this way but it worked for me!
  http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2052754/thomas-and-friends-for-a-3-year-old-birthday-girl
Good luck!
Theresa

I try to bake the closed shape in the first place. For me for a 3, that would be an oval. If you don't have the oval pan, then yes a couple of rounds are less waste than a rectangle.

Thanks for the advice, need to feed about 25 people think ill do a 2 layer 11x15(that's the largest pan I have)then carve ... Cute cake Theresa thanks for the info on how to make a template [/img]

Glad to help! Thanks!
T