Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

My question may sound silly and the answer may be simple , but the advice is to ask anyway, so here goes! Any advice and tips will be much appreciated.
I am making two cakes in a tin 13x9x3″. One is fruit ,to be covered in marzipan and sugarpaste and the other will be a sponge, filled with jam and buttercream, and covered in sugarpaste, over buttercream.
I plan to cut a section from both and have them interlocking, to follow a requested theme.
I’m concerned that the fruit cake, once covered, will end up taller than the filled and covered sponge, which means that once shaped and interlocked I will not end up with one level surface.
If so, I’m not sure how I will overcome the problem, because I can’t really adjust heights by trimming the cake, after covering.
Many thanks,
Deane-Mae

Hi Dean-Mae

What you could do is slightly elevate the sponge cake on a cake drum so both cakes are both the same size. Unfortunately because the cakes are interlocking the drum will have to be cut to shape. An easier way would be to make a shallow sponge layer with half mix. That will give a little more height, if it’s too deep the shallow layer can be trimmed. Cover the fruit cake first so you get an idea of the depth. I’ve done just that this past week with round 10″ cake. Hope this makes sense.

Hi
I think some cake makers give their sponge wedding cakes a layer of marzipan too, as it gives a nice finish to the sugar paste.

I would cook sponges first then measure height which will give you an idea how much fruit cake mixture to put in tin as fruit cake shouldnt rise much.then freeze sponge till your ready to decorate

Thank you to everyone for their help so far.
I didn’t think sponge cakes had a marzipaned layer; that is something I will try next time, Sharon.
I have already made the fruit cake, but making and freezing the sponge cake first is something I will bear in mind for the future Hilary.
Madeitwithlove, I think your advice sounds similar to what I had in mind. I was going to make 2 deep sponges, if necessary, and adjust the position of the split on both (high on one, low on the other) to achieve the desired overall height before filling with jam and buttercream between the two layers.
If I’ve understood correctly, you’re suggesting making a full size deep sponge and one shallow, made from half the quantity of mix.
So if I split and fill the deep sponge, are you suggesting using the shallow layer on the base to increase the overall height if necessary?
Would I not then end up with a 3rd thin layer, visible on the base when the cake is cut? I hope I have made myself clear.
I’ll look out for your reply.
Many thanks,
Deane-Mae