I made your lemon olive oil cake last Friday -- it was superb!

However, I found it tricky to avoid getting that under-baked fall because of all the eggs. I tested it with a skewer which came out clean, but then it fell anyway, and I got a little bit of that visually unattractive compression on the inside.

But it was still delicious!

Oh, and are you being coy about the ice cream flavour(s) you finally went with? Keeping us guessing?

test

This might be crazy -- but I've noticed that with really big pans, it's hard not to have the center dry out. Have you considered using square pans (so that you can combine multiple pans per layer?)

i'm about to embark on making my first wedding cake, too. the catch: it can't have dairy or eggs (bride is allergic). so i'm making at least one trial run, tiers and all-- good thing there are only 35 wedding guests! i guess my advice, having never made an actual wedding cake yet, is to make a trial run (or at least a partial trial run). that's my plan, anyway.

good luck. looking forward to seeing the results!

Hey vanessa, I have a vegan chocolate cake recipe that is moist, delicious and SO EASY to make.
If you want it, I can give it to you!

Smitten Kitchen baked a wedding cake a while ago. She has tonnnnnnns of tips!

www.smittenkitchen.com

i have a smaller-than-normal electric oven (probably from the '70s) that i've been using for about 4 years now, and a couple of my general rules are to set the temperature to 25 degrees less than called for, and bake for less time (or at least check earlier than i normally would). i also have a baking stone in there to help keep the temperature stable.

i've been to a wedding where the bride and groom made their own wedding cake (a gorgeous 3-tier carrot cake), and also had a dessert buffet whose contributors were bridal party members. i really appreciated that they invested their own time and effort into even one part of the meal - it added an intimacy and comfort to the celebration that i've missed at other weddings.

good luck!

wow...DIY wedding cake. Good luck!

I ditto on the bigger cake pans resulting in a drier finished product; I would also consider test baking once if you have time; I have found that for anything, but especially baking, taking one recipe and multiplying for a larger result does not always work-sometimes the sheer volume changes the needs of the recipe; or find someone online or local who could help.
best wishes and congrats!

hi revolution9,
thx for the offer! i have a recipe i'm committing to (and that i happen to looove) because it's too late to test run anything else, but i would love to see what ya got! email me at [my screen name]@ gmail.com if you get a sec.

the tricky part has been the frosting which i feel has a tendency to be awful, especially when butter and eggs aren't used. i'm going with a ganache made with a soy cream and earth balance. the trial run of it went well tonight. whew!

Just a note on baking cakes in very large pans - it might be easier to bake each layer individually instead of making one cake and cutting it into layers. Even with a core heater, your cake runs the risk of crispy sides. Baking each layer ensures that your cake stays moist and you don't have to worry about cutting even layers. The overall time spent baking will still be the same.

Also, you can stack layers for storing by sprinkling granulated sugar on the tops and stacking (assuming there will be parchment on the bottoms). The sugar should prevent sticking.

Good luck! I can't wait to see the results!!!

Oven Mitzie has an excellent point regarding the layers and storing them. Wilton (the cake pan manufacturers) offers decorating books which are kind of cheesy but offer lots of beginners' info on assembling and baking large cakes or layers. Good luck and congratulations!

Baking can be very temperamental. I've always been told to be careful making oversized baking recipes (ie doubling or tripling) because the added volume can weigh down the batter and change the amount of air in it, and the saturation of liquids will be affected by the amount of stirring/beating and volume of ingredients you use which can change the chemical reactions that cause rising etc. Also, having a larger batch means having to beat the batter more which will release the gluten from the flour and that will change the texture, and especially with the lemon olive oil cake that has egg whites you run a really high risk of everything just falling. plus the problems mentioned by others about using larger pans.

It will take longer, but I think you will have more luck if you bake the cakes in the intended batch and pan sizes.

I wonder if bake even strips would help with the problem of dry edges in larger cakes?

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/m5_view_item.html?m5:item=3921

mmm dry edges and crispy cake sides! my favorite!

Having recently done a wedding cake (Mid August, 3 tiers, 16" and under), I would avoid using a core. I find them to be an extra step.
Bake your layers individually (plus it will cut back on your nightly stress), add sime simple syrup when cool... and freeze. Don't forget to buy extra cake boards to flip things out of the pan on. It's a simple thing, but a big help.
The biggest thing is to leave yourself enough time to re-chill your cake when doing crumb coats and final icing coats. Adding extra time will ensure you have time for a tragedy or mishap to happen, shake it off, and have plenty of time to get things situated.