I have to do a Big Ben clock tower cake for a friend the end of May. I was thinking of using the Wilton 18" ? loaf pan. I'm not sure how that will work. I would like it to be 4"wide, 4" deep and 16" tall. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

long loaf should work IF you dowel it very well to make sure it stands upright. I'd do at least 3, better yet 4 dowels. you won't be able to tort this way.

another option is to stack individual layers cut to size and dowel as well.
this option allows layers that will be the clock face area to be a tad bit bigger (like 4.5 inch square) like on real clock.

you'll have to do some stacking and then carving to get BB's top (a sloping triangle)

then it will be lots and lots of detail work to get the look of all that fancy gothic brick work and ornamentation.

Thanks Doug, that sounds like it will work better than the loaf pan. It will taste better too with icing between layers. Will I need to put cake boards between any of the layers, or just stack and dowel? I use white chocolate dowles that are a bit larger than the wooden ones. If I need to use boards I will have to use wood.

for such all tall cake, i'd start w/ a plywood base and then put wooden dowels that go into holes in base and rise up through cake.

yes, I use board every 4 layers or so, just to keep all the weight from squishing the lower layers..and dowel at those levels too. plastic/masonite boards will work (can use thin plexiglass or similar) as will doubled-up cardboard (wrap it in saranwrap so doesn't get soggy and loose strength.)

you'll need to cut center hole in all boards to all center dowel to rise through cake. I'd also attach the lowest level dowels to the base. If really fearful of collapse, make all dowel rise all the way through... in that case....stack all cake plates on top of base and drill through all and into base to be sure the all align correctly.

I wouldn't trust white chocolate dowels for so high a cake. You're already working w/ a very narrow column so wooden dowels would be safer.

My concern isn't getting it to stand up....it's all that detail work!!!!

looking forward to the pic.

Thank you so much for you help. I will have to practice this one this weekend for sure

dug up a little data on Big Ben to give idea of sizes involved

for 4 inch sides that's going to be one TALL cake!

Doug you are amazing!!!!! I started doing cakes 5/05 after a traumatic brain injury (long story) so I will have to have DH figure this out for me. I may have gotten in over my head. Oh well, I will just have to do the best I can.

Thank you soooooooo much.

looky what I found at www.frostedart.com...

a big ben style cake!!!

note how they did just the top part of the tower.

Thanks for the info Doug. The whole piece looks like chocolate (candy melts?). I am not going there again for awhile. I did a crib for my daughter-in-laws baby shower 4/1, it consisted of a poured white chocolate head and foot crib board and kneweled crib sides. Also white chocolate. I made 4 sides to account for breakage, needless to say they all shattered I ended up with a baby on a mattress, under a quilt with chocolates in baby shower shapes for the boarder. This cake is making me very nervous, I am(hopefully) going to make from the face up this weekend. I'll sent you a PM whit photo.

Thanks
Sheri