I have only ever made a real 12" cake bottom and placed an 8" cake dummy on top. Now I have to stack 3 cake dummies and I'm not sure if I should use dowels like I do regular cakes or not? Any suggestions?

I put a little piping gel in between the tiers and put a dowel down through them to hold them in place. It really is easy. Just have fun with it.

No you don't need dowels. Dowels are to prevent the cake from sinking into the cake below. Styrofoam won't sink into styrofoam. I dont' even ice the whole top of the cake. Just enough to "glue" the top cake in place (about 2-3" inside the edge is all I do).

I use royal icing between the tiers of my dummies. Also, I do run a wooden dowel through all the tiers into the board. The one time I didn't run the dowel through all the tiers and hit a bumpy road, the royal wasn't enough to hold it in place and the top tier of a show cake toppled.

A showcake! Oh wow I can't imagine the horror you must have felt!

I've had good luck just in using the BC. I can pick up a 3 or 4 tier dummy cake by the top cake and it all holds together.

Hi Indydebi,

If the middle tier (top and bottom are dummies) is real cake, do i need to dowel thru the entire 3-tiers or just cake is good enough?

Please advise.

Thank you.

no need to put supporting dowels in the bottom (fake) tier to hold the middle (real) cake. I would put supporting dowels in the middle (real) cake to hold the top (fake) tier, even tho' the top tier is very lightweight.

Thank you Indydebi. That helps

I know I am like 2 years late. But I just need to ask this:

What if I am making 5-tier cake? Would it be advisable to use dowels in all tiers? I am planning to use plastic pillar for the fifth tier (connecting 4th tier) so there will be a gap in between which I plan to cover with roses all around.

I am planning to stack the cakes on each other except the 4th and 5th tier connection.

Hope someone can advise me as this is my first time making dummy cakes.

Thanks!

p/s: btw, 2nd tier will be actual cake tho.

AThe only tier you would need to dowel is the real cake tier and only if there will be another tier sitting directly on it. The styrofoam tiers are dense enough not to need support. I would definitely dowel through the center of the bottom tiers (below the separation) and possibly a separate dowel through the top tiers if you are traveling with them stacked. I would travel with the top tiers separate and stack on location but that's just me. :)

AI know this was a Year old thread but I am hoping that you can help me. I am stacking 3 tier cake of 11, 8, and 6in round. The 11in is a styro. The 8and 6in are real cake.

Do I need to use a dowel in the bottom tier all the way to top?

How do you stack the two top tier that it won't slide from the dummy cake? The client is the one who'll pick up and transport.

Im afraid it will tilt while in transport because the bottom tier is light and the two on top is heavy. Did you have this issue before?

Thanks in advance.

Of course I only use SPS, especially with a "civilian" picking up the cake!

Decorate the dummy and place on bottom board.  Place the middle tier on the dummy and use a 2-3 skewers to anchor it to the dummy.  Then place the plate and leg assembly into the middle tier.  Last, place the top tier on the SPS plate.

Looking for advice on stacking 3 tiers of real cake (6"-8"-10") on top of a 12" styro bottom tier--All decorated with Swiss meringue buttercream (no fondant).

Should I decorate all tiers like normal (fully frost and chill each tier, then stack from the bottom up)? Do I need to secure the 10" real cake to the 12" dummy somehow (possibly with skewers)?

Obviously, I'll dowel/support the 3 tiers of real cake as usual. I'll also hot glue the 12" styro to the drum. My concern is that the weight of the top 3 tiers of real cake will squish out the buttercream on top of the 12" styro tier. I've never stacked real cake on top of a buttercream dummy tier, so any advice is appreciated.