Bakers - advice please?!

EJD

Hi there, am hoping to make this cake for my mum's birthday. I've made fondant covered cakes before but usually do a chocolate biscuit cake so it's easier to work with. For this one however I'm thinking of doing a carrot cake, do you think carrot cake mix would be firm enough to hold fondant, I'd probably do 3 layers of cake, 2 layers buttercream.

Thanks in advance!

phormium

Use the odlums wedding carrot cake recipe, it's a firmer cake due to extra flour and very suitable for fondant, keeps well too so you can make it a few days ahead if you need to.

I bake it in layers rather than trying to split it, it benefits from having a strip of damp teatowel wrapped around the tin, this makes it rise lovely and evenly. I usually only do two layers though and for 2 fine high layers (approx 1.5 to 1.75" high) in 8" tins I make the largest mix, the 6 egg one.

dudara

I'd personally be disappointed if I got a fondant covered cake, with carrot cake inside. They just don't seem to match to me. Would you consider a cream cheese icing, or do you really want to do fondant?

phormium

All depends on taste I suppose, I'd be gutted if there was cream cheese icing when I was expecting something tasty Who ever thought of putting cream cheese on cake?

The usual reason people do fondant is to get a certain look or design to a cake that you can't get with the other coverings, always a trade off between taste and appearance! No one really likes fondant but it's only a thin covering, or should be, so easy to ignore if you want although a small little bit on a slice can be quite nice. Shouldn't be used on cakes that are to be served like dessert slices in my opinion, you just can't eat fondant covered cake with a fork. Nice for a simple small slice you can pick up with your fingers with a cup of tea though

EJD

dudara wrote: »

I'd personally be disappointed if I got a fondant covered cake, with carrot cake inside. They just don't seem to match to me. Would you consider a cream cheese icing, or do you really want to do fondant?

Oh really, hadn't thought of that. Yeah it was more the look I was going for that requires the fondant. I guess I could go down the traditional vanilla sponge route but was just trying to think of something different really.

Thanks though, I'll have a think again!

EJD

phormium wrote: »

Use the odlums wedding carrot cake recipe, it's a firmer cake due to extra flour and very suitable for fondant, keeps well too so you can make it a few days ahead if you need to.

I bake it in layers rather than trying to split it, it benefits from having a strip of damp teatowel wrapped around the tin, this makes it rise lovely and evenly. I usually only do two layers though and for 2 fine high layers (approx 1.5 to 1.75" high) in 8" tins I make the largest mix, the 6 egg one.

Thanks a mill for the tips, they're great. I'm pretty partial to carrot cake so might just make one for myself anyway!

phormium

If the person likes carrot cake then it's just as fine with fondant as any other flavour. You need a non real cream cheese filling as that needs refrigeration and the fondant doesn't like the fridge.

Use a nice buttercream or ganache with orange flavouring maybe, personally I like either a caramel or a cinnamon buttercream with carrot cake.