HI again!

one more question for now........can you stack two exactly the same size cakes on top of each other without any doweling? I have never worked with dowels nor do I have any handy and have no clue on how to use them even if I did have them........

This is for the cake I am doing for Sat/Sun

THANKS!!

Tammy

I think it depends on the size and weight of the cakes. I stack to cakes sometimes instead of torteing them. Like a i have used 2 10x3's before. Hope this helps.

the cake is 9x 13 and I will be using a filling and cutting the cake to shape it........like a fish...

Tammy

I had a cake for last Saturday...it was 2 12x18 (1/2 sheet) cakes....I didn't torte either of them. Just made a good, thick bc and piped an icing dam on the bottom one, filled it with the rest of the bc and laid the second one on top. It worked fine. The only thing I would recommend is using a really good, thick filling - nothing too runny, because it sort of acts like a "glue" holding the two together on a cake as large as the one I did. With a 9x13 you should be fine without dowels, I would think. HTH-

HI JennT

What do you mean by an icing dam? Is it the same as what is explained in the Wilton books on how to torte? and I'll be using pudding for the filling would that work?

Thank you for your advice!

Well, first of all, when you put two, two or three inch layers of cakes the same sizes together with a filling in the centre, you are not stacking cakes, you are just layering them. So it is just like any other ordinary layered cake, it can also be torted and no you do not dowel them. You only dowel cakes and board them, when each cake is going to be served separately, even though they are stacked on top of each other. The only exception would be if you were making and layering several cakes so that you could sculpt them and they were higher than 6 inches high.
Yes, the stiff buttercream dam method is the same as the Wilton one. You use stiff buttercream and by stiff that means the buttercream at the point when you add usually the two tablespoons of milk or cream or whatever the minimum of liquid you use to make it realy stiff is. Then you put just your coupler in your icing bag and you make a continuous bead of icing all around the outer rim of your cake, in about 1/4 inch from the outside. This will give you about a 3/4 inch bead of icing. Then you put your filling in, make the filling lower than the bead of icing. If your filling is really runny, go sparingly. Then place the top layer on and press down slightly. Any excess icing can be smoothed on the side seam.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

WOW!

Thank you very much! That helps me a lot! As you might be able to tell, I have never done this before I thought it was okay to just layer but wasn't sure.......just wanted to be sure so I don't have to do it all over!
You are very knowledgable and helpful!

Wish me luck!!

You are very welcome! A lot of folks read so much about dowelling and boarding and such, they aren't sure when they have to do it, so you are in good company!
I think it is because many people are used to bakery cakes which are usually only a 2 inch high cake that was torted and filled.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

You probably already know this but don't forget to check your cake board. You want to make sure it is thick enough for the weight. Good luck

That is true, I use two corrugated cardboards for these cakes.
Hugs Squirrelly

Thanks!

I had my husband cut me one out of wood and I covered it in aluminum foil. I wanted it to be really sturdy!!

I'll be starting it soon so wish me luck!

That is the best way to go and re-useable too!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes