... How many dowels do you use in each cake when doing a multi tiered cake?

I've only ever done 2 layered cakes thus far, 10 and 6 inches. I will put about 5 or 6 in the 10 inch. I'm also not overly picky about how I cut those dowels, have a set of garden shears that I use just for it. A quick little snap and they're cut. I'm particular about my cakes and want them to look right, but I've never had a paying customer either.

If I venture forward and create a 3 or 4 layered cake, AND if I were to get paid for it... I definatle want to take time and care with this doweling. Make sure I have enough and make sure that each cut dowel is the same.

I'm also curious how to assemble a stacked cake using pillars and nothing seperating each cake (other than the cake boards of course). I hope this question makes sense.

Thanks.

Here is a CC article that might help:

http://www.cakecentral.com/article23-Teired-Stacked-Cake-Construction.html

Oh, and I like to use Boba bubble tea straws for stacking. They are sturdy, but easy to cut too.

HTH!

Great questions, Septbabymom.

I am curious too about how you cut and serve a multi-tiered cake. I know for established decorators, this isn't an issue b/c caterers or customers cut and serve. However, I am just starting out. I want to try a multi-tiered cake for the exprerience. I'll probably take it to an even I attend (a casual, uncatered affair) and wonder how to cut and serve with all the separater plates and dowels. Will the cake still look decent when you take layers off? Do you just pull the dowels out as you come to one when cutting?

This is info. I'd like to pass on to friends if I sell anyone a tiered cake for something like a birthday party or anniversary party.

I use 4 dowel rods in all cakes. I also use plastic plates between all tiers, so I place the dowels to support the "corners" of the cake.

I recently cut a wedding cake for a bride who had obtained the cake from another source. It was a simple 3-tiered cake. holy moly, there must have beeen 12 dowels in the base of that cake!! I considered it "overkill". Plus it made it difficult to cut the cake without it looking bad because of all of the holes created by the dowels.

Thanks a lot!

I don't know if you have seen this site yet or not, but here is the link to stacking tiered cakes. It also has a ton of other useful info in it=) Jen

http://www.bakedecoratecelebrate.com/techniques.cfm?cat=8

I use BakeryCrafts Single Plate System (SPS). Haven't cut a dowel in years.

If leahs endorses it, then I'm changing my system!

Leahs...where can I find out more about sps? It'd be great to avoid dowels altogether! One less step to mess up...or master...or whatever.

Yes Leah, I'd be interested in this system as well.

I have another question.... Just say I'm seperating my layers with pillars. I want my pillars to rest directly on top of the layer below. Nice and clean. No plastic plate or anything. How do I support those pillars? Do I have to rely on my dowels to support the pillars? That seems risky to me. Am I missing something with this? Do the pillars have a dowel built into them that get cut and poked down into the cake below it? Thanks.

I too would be intrested in never cutting dowl rods again. tell us more about this system please!!!

thanks!

melody

SPS is made by BakeryCrafts. You do need to have a busienss license and probably a tax ID# to buy direct from them, but several retail outlets also sell it. www.sugarcraft.com is one such retail outlet.

SPS offers several different heights of legs. I use the GC-4s which is four inches tall. I bake my cake so that I can torte them (with my Agbay) to 7/8" tall, and with filling (4 layers cake + filling) all my tiers are 4" tall. That way I don't have to cut the legs. It is possible to cut the legs, but it's best to keep it simple and bake to height.

To make this easy to visualize, let's pretend you're doing a 6/10/14 tierd cake. Prepare your 14" cake on its base board as always. Take the 10 inch plate that has a little peg in the center of it and use the peg to poke a hole in a 10" cardboard. Use a skewer to slightly enlarge the hole in the cardboard. I always remove the collars from the underside of the plate and throw them away. That will make more sense when to have the plate in your hands. Use the ten inch plate to mark the top of the 14" cake for placement (centered) just like any other system. Next, jam the legs into the plate. they fit really tight Now, push the plate and leg assembly into the 14" cake.

Place the 10" cake on the cardboard with the hole and prepare/decorate as usual. Use the 6" plate to punch a hole in a 6" cardboard and enlarge the hole slightly. Use the 6" plate to mark the top of the 10" cake. Jam the legs into the 6" plate and push the plate assembly into the 10" cake.

Put the 6" cake on the 6" cardboard and prepare/decorate as usual.

Now for assembly.

You should be looking at two cakes that have plates on their tops. Pick up the 10" cake with your hand or spatula, whichever is more comfortable for you. Place the far side of the cakeboard anywhere past the peg on the "receiving" 10" plate (which is sitting on the 14" cake.) Sliiiiiiide it into place, which mean get the hole in the cardboard onto the peg. You'll hear a satisfying little whoosh. Repeat with the 6" cake.

Cautions: Always poke a hole in the cardboards first. You'll only forget that step once.

If you have put your plate and leg assemblies in centered, then you cake will be centered.

Always push the plate and leg assemblies into the cake before you stack them. The pushing can sometimes cause a blowout when the cake is already partially stacked.

You an carry a stacked cake easily, assuming that you can lift it. I have carried a four tier completely stacked. Went in the back of my SUV, through the back hall at the venue, up the freight elevator and down the hall and into the room. No problem, although we were really ready to put it down.

It's better to bake to the height of the legs. The legs aren't the easiest to cut (becasue they're study) but you can cut them with a saw. Band saw or chop saws work best. Really, just make the cake 4" tall.

To make a cake with separations, just use taller legs. The legs come in 9" lengths and a multi-piece leg that can be 7" or 9" depending on the number of extensions you use. You push the legs down thru the cake, creating air space/separation between the tiers. No plate will be sitting on top of the cake.

This system was developed for bakeries that don't offer delivery. It's made for consumers with no experience moving cakes, so you guys should be fine!!!

What is the difference between using plastic dowel rods to SPS for stacking construction? For larger cakes I prefer the plastic dowel rods and for smaller or 2 layer cakes the wooden ones work just fine. Am I missing something here or are the SPS made of a different material that makes cutting the cake easier?

SPS is a system. If you bake your cakes to 4" tall tiers, you don't have to cut anything, as the legs come from the factory precut. If you're not cutting anything, then there's no chance of the legs being uneven. Therefore your cake can not tilt, or fall. Really, it's best to see it in action.
See siggy.

Ok so how is the sps system on only two tiers? and do you stack two tiers with 4 dowels and a seperator plate or a board?

SPS works great on a two tier cake. Also works great on a six tier cake. SPS = no dowels. Seriously, you need the instruction sheet with pictures.

I ordered SPS specially for the 5 tier huge cake I did a few weeks ago. That baby weighed 88 pounds. I ordered the pillars that have extra pieces so you can have space between some of the cakes (which I did for the top 2 tiers). SPS was very easy to use and the cake was very stable. An elderly lady even stumbled into the table and the cake was absolutely fine. It was very inexpensive.

I too pledge to never use wooden dowels again!

Thanks Leah! I was trying to decide weather to get it; guess I will invest in it.