How to Make a Cross from an 8" Square Cake

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It is a quiet week here in the kitchen and my days are filled with bookkeeping, sending out estimates, and ordering supplies.  It is a nice rest after such a busy cake week before Mother's Day.
I happened to take some snapshots of a First Communion Cake I made at the beginning of the month and thought I'd put together a little tutorial for those of you like to make these for baptisms, christenings, etc...

1.  Start with an 8" square cake.  This will feed 10-12 people, so any square cake will work depending on how big you need it.  Cut the cake into three equal strips.  You may need to trim the edges of your cake first if it did not bake level enough.  Trim the edges first and divide into three strips.  Mine were about 2 1/2" wide.  The strip on the left is set aside, and the middle and right strips are cut horizontally into two again, making four equal pieces.  Don't worry if they are not perfectly square.  This may be because of your trimming.

2.  Place on a 10"X14" cake board.


3.  Line up the long piece at the bottom of the board, in the centre, with two small pieces directly above, making a 12" strip of cake.  This is the main part of your cross.  Place the remaining two near the top, on either side of the centre strip of cake.  I lined mine up with the bottom of the top small piece as shown in the picture below.

4.  Torte (if desired), and ice and/or fondant.  I used a Wilton tip #21 to make rosette swirls around the edges, but use whatever you prefer.  I have also done green vines and flowers as a top border.  It can sometimes be difficult to ice since it is carved - I find it easiest to use very soft buttercream, and a warm spatula.  And I almost always crumb coat.


And there you have it!  Now I am going to take my laptop outside and sit in the sun while I enjoy my time away from a hot oven.

Cheers,
Erin