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the cake collapsed all over the floor... - Page 3

post #31 of 56
10/10/10 at 8:11pm
are these bubble straws sturdy?
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post #32 of 56
10/10/10 at 8:30pm
i use bubble tea straws exclusively and they support my cakes beautifully! i've gone up to five tiers with them! never a collapse...knock on wood icon_surprised.gif i buy them from my local asian supply store and i get a bag of 100 for $1.49! i always buy 10 bags at a time b/c i burn through 100 in a month or so. they're wide and hollow and don't displace the cake. they're cheap and can be found in any city. you can cut them to any size and they don't splinter or get soaked with grease! win, win, win!
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post #33 of 56
10/10/10 at 10:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by UpAt2am

i use bubble tea straws exclusively and they support my cakes beautifully! i've gone up to five tiers with them! never a collapse...knock on wood icon_surprised.gif i buy them from my local asian supply store and i get a bag of 100 for $1.49! i always buy 10 bags at a time b/c i burn through 100 in a month or so. they're wide and hollow and don't displace the cake. they're cheap and can be found in any city. you can cut them to any size and they don't splinter or get soaked with grease! win, win, win!



I like the great idea of them not splintering in the cake icon_smile.gif
However they ARE rather thin and hollow. I haven't done much stacking before but I'm really surprised? What type of cakes are you stacking with? Light spongy cakes, nothing too dense?
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post #34 of 56
10/10/10 at 11:13pm
I do not do a lot of cakes, but I have not had a single stacked cake collapsed.. I use more than enough required dowel and I add a fat dowel at the center all the way thru from top to bottom. For a 10 inch 4 leayered cake I would use 11 dowels. But there could probably other reasons why this happened.. Heat and shifting while transposting can also contibute to this. Good luck next time.. Black ALWAYS turns purple when put under sun light. sorry to hear about your desaster., I do not use straws for they are really not meant for this purpose.. they are too weak. icon_sad.gif
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post #35 of 56
10/10/10 at 11:49pm
I had a disaster with wooden dowels as well, and only use them when I'm out of options. When I do, I always use 2-3 cardboard cake boards on the bottm and drive a single dowel with a sharpened point all the way through all tiers and into the cardboard for added support.

My first disaster was a beautiful german chocolate stacked cake for a 50th birthday. I went to get my camera and when I turned back around it had gone from 6-10" layers (stacked) to a mess about 3" tall and all over the counter. After I sat on the kitchen floor and cried icon_cry.gif for about 20 minutes I scooped it all up into a crystal punch bowl, added some chocolate ganache and headed out to the party.

I just ordered some bubble tea straws to use for stacking. I've heard good things about them, and even that guy on TV uses them icon_wink.gif. I ordered mine on E-bay.

Don't give up, we all have disasters, just dust the sugar off and pick up your decorating bag again!! icon_smile.gif
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post #36 of 56
10/11/10 at 12:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweet_Toof


I like the great idea of them not splintering in the cake icon_smile.gif
However they ARE rather thin and hollow. I haven't done much stacking before but I'm really surprised? What type of cakes are you stacking with? Light spongy cakes, nothing too dense?



I just used the straws for the first time this weekend and I loved them. They easier to cut than wooden dowels. When you insert the straws into the cakes they fill up with cake which makes them sturdier.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
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I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
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post #37 of 56
10/11/10 at 12:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chocolatestone

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweet_Toof


I like the great idea of them not splintering in the cake icon_smile.gif
However they ARE rather thin and hollow. I haven't done much stacking before but I'm really surprised? What type of cakes are you stacking with? Light spongy cakes, nothing too dense?



I just used the straws for the first time this weekend and I loved them. They easier to cut than wooden dowels. When you insert the straws into the cakes they fill up with cake which makes them sturdier.



I just thought that's a lot of weight for a peice of thin plastic to be supporting? Much more affordable though....
With chocolate cakes, I was taught that if I had no dowels, I could stick a skewer into the cake, wriggle it around and take it out, and then fill the hole with melted chocolate. Of course this is only good for chocolate cakes I guess.
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post #38 of 56
10/11/10 at 12:49am
also, does everyone here use cardboard under each tier?
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post #39 of 56
10/11/10 at 1:11am
I always use SPS plates and columns. The brand I like the best is "Coast". They are available from Pheil and Holling. Their website is cakedeco.com They are listed under tier cake support systems. I only use the white colums, because I think the clear ones are more brittle and are harder to cut. they come in 7" and 9" columns. And you can cut them to whatever height you need, with a plumbers pipe cutter. And the plates come in sizes from 6" to 18". If you use these plates and columns, you will NEVER have a cake fall. And yes, I ALWAYS use a board under EVERY tier.
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post #40 of 56
10/11/10 at 3:05am
I am so sorry!! I've only done 2 stacked cakes but I used the bubble tea straws and they worked great! As for the color change, I've heard of that being a Wilton issue before. The only time I use Wilton is if I'm doing a practice cake because I'm trying to use my Wilton supply up (hate to throw it away!)
I'm not crazy. My reality is just different than yours.
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I'm not crazy. My reality is just different than yours.
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post #41 of 56
10/11/10 at 4:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweet_Toof

also, does everyone here use cardboard under each tier?


I use tuffboards, they're really strong and are plastic so they don't need to be covered in any kind of waterproof paper before using them. http://tuffboardcakeboards.com/
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http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/acaketoremember
http://www.youtube.com/karabuntin
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post #42 of 56
10/11/10 at 3:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweet_Toof

bubble tea straws...

I like the great idea of them not splintering in the cake icon_smile.gif
However they ARE rather thin and hollow. I haven't done much stacking before but I'm really surprised? What type of cakes are you stacking with? Light spongy cakes, nothing too dense?



In the physics of things, the hollow cylinder (a straw) is much stronger than a solid post (a dowel). The straw will take more pounds of direct pressure per inch than a wooden dowel.

If you press down on a straw, it takes a lot to bend it, let alone break it. If you press down on a wooden dowel, it will first bend, it may shift, and with enough pressure, it will break.

Rae
I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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post #43 of 56
10/11/10 at 6:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakesCakes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweet_Toof

bubble tea straws...

I like the great idea of them not splintering in the cake icon_smile.gif
However they ARE rather thin and hollow. I haven't done much stacking before but I'm really surprised? What type of cakes are you stacking with? Light spongy cakes, nothing too dense?



In the physics of things, the hollow cylinder (a straw) is much stronger than a solid post (a dowel). The straw will take more pounds of direct pressure per inch than a wooden dowel.

If you press down on a straw, it takes a lot to bend it, let alone break it. If you press down on a wooden dowel, it will first bend, it may shift, and with enough pressure, it will break.

Rae



I don't want to sound like a smarty pants, just trying to work out if I should convert to straws myself.... Won't the straws shift?
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post #44 of 56
10/11/10 at 7:05pm
If they're cut level and inserted straight, shifting is less likely than with thinner wooden dowels. The cake plug in the bottom of the straw helps to anchor it.

Rae
I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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post #45 of 56
10/11/10 at 7:15pm
I love bubble straws!! they are so easy to use..cutting and all and they are really sturdy!
make life what you want it to be
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make life what you want it to be
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