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How to Build a 3D Tux Cake
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Step 5: Stack and trim
Now that we have all the building blocks ready, we can get started on the actual construction. The placement of the plastic cake rounds will be as important here as the cake itself, so don't forget about them. First, go ahead and lay down the 12-inch cake round, with a set of 12-inch layers on top of it. Then you'll want a 10-inch cake round, another 12-inch set of layers, then the last 10-inch cake round and your last set of 12-inch layers. Put a 6-inch cake round on top of that, a set of 7-inch cake layers, then the last 6-inch cake round, and the last set of 7-inch cake layers. Make sure everything is centered before continuing.
Now it's time to trim. A traditionalist will use their serrated knife for this part. After the first couple of cuts, I switched over to an electric knife (not listed above, but I did use it). Things suddenly got a lot easier and a lot faster. Now, your goal here is basically to turn this cake into a giant bowling pin. Use the cake rounds as your guides; there's a reason we used smaller cake rounds than cake. Don't try to do anything fancy, just shave off pieces conservatively. If you're like me, you probably have all of this balanced on top of a cake turntable. If you're worried about moving the cake later, you can build it on top of your final serving platter, but it'll get messier than you want.
