Cutting a cake in half or two cakes

[fizzyvimto]

I'm a total novice when it comes to baking cakes and wondered why you might cut a cake in half horizontally as opposed to baking two cakes to layer them together. Are there pros and cons? I'm just baking a simple chocolate cake for DS's birthday.

I'd say it depends on the type of cake (sponge i tend to have 2 and sandwich, madeira i tend to bake 1 and cut). My biggest issue with 2 is they both rise then you either have to have off cuts or it doesn't stand nicely. The madiera cake cooks better as one big one.
Probably proper scientific reasons to do with density/air bubbles/recipe - but that's just my experience!

It's just a simple chocolate sponge cake, so I guess two would be best then?

I'd bake a simple chocolate sponge as two...quicker cooking time, less likely to sink in the middle and don't have to split its. But on the downside you have to wash up two tins! Happy baking.

Depends whether you want a moister or a drier cake. With something like a carrot cake a single deeper cake will be more moist and may keep longer, whereas two thinner cakes will be drier. You can simply adapt depending on what tins you happen to have at home but remember that cooking time is reduced with shallower cake tins or increased with deeper tins.

I haven't had much success cutting cakes in half neatly, also deep sponge cakes can be tricky to cook through to the middle without getting crispy edges.