I finally finished my 1st stacked cake this morning. I had to transport it about 25 miles and I was just holding my breath that everything would make it to the hall in one piece. Thanks to Adven68 for the advice on the fire hose. I also want to thank the many people on this forum that added to my even attempting to make the cake. If it wasn't for being able to ask questions and getting so many helpful suggestions and ideas I wouldn't have had the courage to try. As with everyother cake I have made, I see lots of things I could have done differently and improved on. I welcome any comments, suggestions and advice. The cake is for my niece's 16th Birthday. Her party is tonight. I'm hoping she likes the cake!
Looks like it was very well done! I've yet to make a tiered cake myself (I'm in Course 2 right now) but it looks like you've got it down! Congratulations on your first tiered cake being a success! I'm sure your niece will love it and knowing you worked hard on it will mean a lot to her! Way to go!
Steph
Wow, what an amazing job! I KNOW she'll love it. 
Fantastic Job! It's a beautiful Cake. Any 16 year old would absolutely love It. (Wish I would've had a cake like that on my 16th!)
Gee Whiz!! Can't wait to see where you're at next year this time. Fantastic job!
Looks great to me! Adven is a great teacher! Your cake looks great! It's so funny that I did a similar cake too for my daughter who turned 16 in Dec. Too cool!
Awwh, you did a lovely job kiddo, so sweet, looking real good!
Hugs Squirrelly
Thanks everyone for such nice comments. I still have alot to learn. I guess it will come with more time, experience and practice. I found alot wrong with this cake, but no one at the party tonight seemed to notice. The bottom cake was 1 1/2" shorter than the others. I wish I was better at getting the icing smooth and the top cake was a little crooked! It doesn't show from the front, but when I look at it from the side I can see it. My niece was thrilled with her cake which makes all the work worth while!
Thanks everyone for such nice comments. I still have alot to learn. I guess it will come with more time, experience and practice. I found alot wrong with this cake, but no one at the party tonight seemed to notice. The bottom cake was 1 1/2" shorter than the others. I wish I was better at getting the icing smooth and the top cake was a little crooked! It doesn't show from the front, but when I look at it from the side I can see it. My niece was thrilled with her cake which makes all the work worth while!
Now kiddo, keep that 1 1/2 inches shorter stuff to yourself because we all thought that you meant the cake to be like that. That is a style lately you know kiddo! And anyways, even if you make them all exactly the same height, when they are different sizes the larger tiers always gives the optical illusion of being less deep.
The cake looks straight. Some folks are using a small level as they ice each cake to check if the cake is level, might want to get one if this is a concern!
Hugs Squirrelly
SquirrellyCakes - guess I should burn the ruler! lol. Another problem I had was moving the top and middle layers. I kept getting my fingers into the icing along the bottoms of the layers because the cake boards were the same size as the cakes. Does anyone have any hints or tips on how to avoid this?
Try cutting your dowels 1/4 inch longer than you need, then when you place your cake on, you have "finger-room" and the cake's weight settles the dowels down properly.
Another problem I had was moving the top and middle layers. I kept getting my fingers into the icing along the bottoms of the layers because the cake boards were the same size as the cakes. Does anyone have any hints or tips on how to avoid this?
IMO...I don't know if I would play around with the size of the dowel...I'm assuming that you transported the cake already constructed...
I hate to have the cake boards show so I always cut them 1/2 inch smaller than the cake itself, so I have the bottom edges completely uncovered. I keep the cakes elevated on large coffee cans and large Crisco cans while I am working on them. Be careful not to have them slip off but moving them is a cinch. When I place the tiers on top of one another, I use 2 large spatulas, and do it very slowly. Also....put the borders on after you have constructed the cake....
Thank you so much for your credit for the hose.....you did a phenomenal job....it's a great cake....
TC...thanks to you too for your always-sweet comments!
Adven, I hate the boards to show too! I'm glad to hear you cut the cake boards a little shorter. I thought about doing that but was afraid to try - your cakes are all so beautiful!! Next time I'm going to try that!
Whoa, I don't know where my last post came from. Of course you don't cut your dowels longer...I meant to say, leave them out (not cut) 1/4 inch or so and when you sit your cake on, you have room for your fingers and the weight of the cake settles down and pushes the dowels all the way down. Sheesh, must have been a blonde moment. (and I'm not even blonde!)
Whoa, I don't know where my last post came from. Of course you don't cut your dowels longer...I meant to say, leave them out (not cut) 1/4 inch or so and when you sit your cake on, you have room for your fingers and the weight of the cake settles down and pushes the dowels all the way down. Sheesh, must have been a blonde moment. (and I'm not even blonde!)
Well you know, there are a lot of people that do this - leaving the dowels extra long - but hopefully not when they are transporting the cake stacked. I wouldn't though, I have often heard of the cake sliding off if the table was jarred slightly.
I cut the board to the size of the cake but even when it is a bit larger, I don't find it a problem to hide the edge with a border. A lot depends on the size of border you are going to do, though.
I use the two spatula method too and it isn't as scarey as it sounds just make sure your spatulas are not super flexible. I have a friend who uses a pizza paddle.
Hugs Squirrelly
I transported the cakes seperately and put everything together at the hall. Put the border on after everything was put together. Actually I didn't have toomuch trouble putting the layers together. My main problem with getting my fingers in the icing came when putting each cake into it's box and then removing the cake from the box when I was ready to assemble everything. I will have to try the 2 spatula trick the next time. I am in the process of planning a cake for a baby shower. I think it will probably be a 2 tier, stacked cake. I'm sure things will get easier for me as I get more experience. Because I usually am only baking for family and friends I don't get much chance to make big cakes! Thanks everyone for the help.
I always had problems getting the cake out of the box. I use a big rubbermaid container w/ a snap on lid - there's more room to maneuver. I had DH build this thing that looks kind of like a ladder out of molding so that it raises the cake just enough so that I can get my fingers under it, but the cake is still fully supported. I glued rubber shelf liner to it so i'ts non-skid.
I cut the dowels to size, push them all the way down into the cake them pull them back up out of the cake just a little bit then set the next tier down. The weight of the cake pushes the dowel back into place.
I do the same...learned that tip from Cheryl.
I also cut my boards to fit.
Forgot to tell you what a fabulous job you did on your cake 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%