Hi Janice. The simple answer is yes but let me give you a little more information to guide you. The issue with this cake is that because the shape is a little unusual with the base being narrower than the top, it puts some stress on the stability of the cake. If you use a really soft cake and/or soft frosting, the cake is more prone to splitting apart because the shape is top-heavy. The problem of having the cake split is really only an issue if the cake will be out at room temperature for a long time or gets overly warm. Carrot cake and cream cheese frosting are softer than the chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream I used in the recipe. So, if you decide to use carrot cake and cream cheese frosting, I’d recommend keeping the the cake in the refrigerator until just before serving to help with stability. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I’m happy to help. All the best to you!

Hi Bridgette, I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the piping! That can sometimes happen if the base cake is very cold and/or the frosting is fairly thick (it’s not “sticky” enough and kind of slides off.) If this happens in the future, you can brush the outside of the cake with a thin layer of thinned out corn syrup to help the outer layer adhere. I hope you were still able to enjoy the flavor, and that you had a happy Easter!

Everything turned out amazing until I started to pipe the sides of the cake. It was probably my technique but for some reason I just couldn’t get the buttercream to stay on the cake?
Any advice or ideas ? I did have a solid crumb coat as a base. Thanks

Hi TJ, using a cake mix (1 box) can be done, I would just recommend serving it slightly chilled for stability reasons (because cake mix tends to yield a softer cake). Raspberry curd also could be used for the filling, although I would recommend adding gelatin to the curd to make it a bit firmer since the shape of this cake makes it less stable than a standard cake and again, serving it chilled. I hope this helps! Come back and let us know how it turns out 🙂

I’m sure it turned out beautifully! Your Easter guests will love it 🙂

Thanks Casey! I think it is one of my favorite Easter cakes!