Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi, I have watched a few on the online lessons and notice Paul always uses a chocolate cake. I am planning to make the ‘Sports Huddle’ for my son who is allergic to chocolate, I plan to use the recipe for Mrs Jones 10″ deep sponge cake you have listed, will this recipe be suitable to carve?
Also can I cover this in buttercream in place of chocolate ganache? Would any recipe for this suit?
K

Hi KB2000

You could use the sponge cake recipe and use butter cream. The cake will handle better for carving if you let it sit in the fridge to firm up first. The only concern I would have is the weight of the icing on a light sponge but having said that I’ve had no problems icing a Victoria sponge. If you follow Paul’s tutorials on icing with butter cream or the cornellie cake you shouldn’t have any probs with it. Usually dense cakes like madeira or the chocolate which Paul uses are best for carving as they are more sturdy and have longer shelf life. The sponge will stay fresh for up to three days before starting to stale slightly, so if you are planning a longer time frame for decorating it may be better to choose a denser recipe. There is lots of information on this site for madeira cake, just type it into the search box above your question and the results will come up. Other members will no doubt advise too.

Thank you Madeitwithlove I will try the Madeira.