If I make a sculpted cake I make it for customers or for my kid’s birthdays, not competitions. This means when I need a cake to carve I need one that will also taste good. So I stay away from recipes online that say this is for competition and don’t taste as good but they work great for carving.
Step-by-step: Vanilla cake for carving (Sculpting cake)
Batter
Preheat your oven to 325°F/165°C/Gas Mark 3 Grease and dust or line 3 x 6-inch round cake pan or 2 x 7-inch round cake pan with parchment paper or your novelty cake pan.Pro tip – the height of your cake will depend on the width of your cake pan. The round cake pans should give you a guide on how much cake this batter should make. Dry ingredients – In a bowl, combine flour with baking powder, and salt – set aside.Pro tip– sifting dry ingredients will give a light and airy cake. But, for this one, a whisk should be fine. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffyPro tip – it is essential that butter is at room temperature. Firm butter will give a lumpy batter and soft butter will not cream to light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.Pro tip– room temperature eggs will incorporate well, if the batter curdles just add one or two tablespoons of flour. This should help bring the batter back together. Next, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk in three additions. Divide batter equally between the prepared baking pans.Pro tip – I like to use cake strips to ensure my layer cakes bake flat.
Bake
Pour into your baking pans and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.Pro tip – the baking time is dependent on the height and width of your cake pan. A larger pan will shorten the baking time. Cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes. Invert and cool on a wire rack completely before you decorate Once cooled wrap in two plastic wraps, followed by aluminum foil. Place in the freezer for at least one hour before you carve into it.Pro tip – freezing the cake for an hour helps carve the cake with fewer crumbs but, don’t freeze until hard or it gets harder to carve making more crumbs.
Frequently asked questions
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