How to Bake Cakes Larger than 10-12inches

I made my sisters wedding cakes this past weekend which was a huge untertaking but it turned out great and was something I was excited to accomplish. I made a three tiered cake: sizes were 6" 10" and 14". At a class I took  it was recommended that you have about 4" size differences between each layer. The largest layer can be tricky to get completely baked throughout without burning the outside. First of all I used the "bake even strips" from Wilton. These will keep your cake from forming a huge dome shape and will help keep the outside from cooking too fast compared to the inside.

The second trick is to use a Heat core which is usally a cone shaped piece you place in the center of the cake, fill with batter and bake when the cake is cooked you remove the core and fill the hole with the batter from inside the cone. It is like baking a cake inside a cake. Well I did not have a heat core so what did I do????

I used a tin can  (thoroughly washed and sterilized) that had both the top and bottom removed. Place in the center of the pan, fill both the inside and outside with batter. Bake as usual, when cooled remove the can and plug the hole with the cake from inside the can. Perfectly cooked cake!!!!