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Assembling a wedding cake with pillars

post #1 of 15
7/17/11 at 2:13pm
Thread Starter 
I am making a wedding cake in September with 3 tiers. 15 inch, 11 inch and 7 inches. The bride wants each of the tiers separated by pillars to match the decore of the reception room. I will be putting gumpaste flowers inbetween each tier. I have looked on line at all the different types of pillars and I am not quite sure which ones to use. My cakes usually end up being about 4 1/2 to 5 inches in height when I am done filling and icing, so I would need to keep that into consideration when I am picking out the pillars so that there will be enough room to place my gumpaste flowers.

I have made quite a few two tiered cakes which were stacked, but not with pillars and it has been quite a long time since I used pillars for a cake ( when I took the wilton cake decorating course - about 6 years ago )

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is my first wedding cake and I am a little nervous about using pillars to separate the tiers.

Thanks so much icon_smile.gif
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post #2 of 15
7/17/11 at 3:09pm
Advice #1: DO NOT!! (I repeat: DO NOT!!!!!!!!) use clear (crystal-look), pointed (aka: spike) pillars that are intended to be pushed into the cake then a plate put on top. Use only 2 plate/pillar set up.
There basically are just 2 types: Grecian or roman - well there is a 3rd - sq filigrees. The grecian and roman come in either push in or 2-plate. And the other concideration is white or clear (crystal-look)?
When using 2 plates w/pillars seperating them the heigth of your tiers has no bearing on anything. Pillars are either 3", 5",or 7" tall. The flowers will go between the plates - around/between the pillars.
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post #3 of 15
7/17/11 at 3:18pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks kakeladi!!

I was leaning towards the 2 plates and pillar construction but I just wanted confirmation. Like I said, it has been awhile since I have constructed a cake with pillars. I have read some negative reviews about the spiked pillars, and I am to afraid to try them on a tiered cake. I will be assembling the cake at the reception hall so at least I can deliver the tiers separately.
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post #4 of 15
7/17/11 at 3:40pm
I also have a cake order of three tiers with space between the tiers for gumpaste roses. It's my first tiered cake with spaces. I love the single plate stacking system by Bakers Craft and I was assuming I could just cut the pillars 3 inches taller than each tier and put the roses in the gap. Is this too simple a solution? I admit I'm confused when I hear two plates (sps)...in fact I have never understood exactly which "plates" you mean.

In my early days I used to cut 4 wooden dowels to the height of the bottom layer of cake and put the second cake/ cake cardboard round on top of that . Wasn't that essentially a single plate system?

Now with the SPS, I cut the pillars to the height of the cake, stick the pillars into the plastic plate and push the structure into the cake and put the cake on the cardboard round on the plastic plate. So that the Single Plate Sytem as well.

So what exactly is a double plate system?
No license or insurance. Put lead wires in cakes, never wash hands, cake boards are used cardboard. No contracts cause I can't read or write. No lawyer cause I'm judgment proof. I bake with old mix boxes found behind Walmart. Now about my question
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No license or insurance. Put lead wires in cakes, never wash hands, cake boards are used cardboard. No contracts cause I can't read or write. No lawyer cause I'm judgment proof. I bake with old mix boxes found behind Walmart. Now about my question
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post #5 of 15
7/17/11 at 4:00pm
........I love the single plate stacking system by Bakers Craft and I was assuming I could just cut the pillars 3 inches taller than each tier and put the roses in the gap. Is this too simple a solution? I admit I'm confused when I hear two plates (sps)...in fact I have never understood exactly which "plates" you mean.............

No it is not too simple a solution. It is a wise choiceicon_smile.gif
Plates: plastic plates that a cake sits on. They have 'feet' on them that fit into openings in the pillars.
2 plate system uses one plate on the top of a cake tier w/the 'feet' up; the pillars fit on those 'feet', then another plate fits on the top of those pillars and the next cake tier sits on that.

.............In my early days I used to cut 4 wooden dowels to the height of the bottom layer of cake and put the second cake/ cake cardboard round on top of that . Wasn't that essentially a single plate system?...........
No what you are describing here is supports for stacked cakes.
Here are examples of the 2 plate system in use:
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1383530
hthttp://cakecentral.com/gallery/1370522
hthttp://cakecentral.com/gallery/1378633
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1330216
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post #6 of 15
7/17/11 at 4:07pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Southerncross,

If you look on the wilton website and click on the cake tab on the left handside and then click on building tiered cakes, they show you the different ways to build a tiered cake. At the bottom of the page there is a tab called separator plate and pillar tiered cake construction. That is what I am looking at to build my 3 tiered cake. The cake plates that rests in the middle of the cakes will be covered by a gumpaste flower arrangement.
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post #7 of 15
7/17/11 at 4:57pm
thanks sugarprincess....i think i understand this now. i must say that the SPS is much easier than the two plate system but then i'm using gumpaste flowers so i can just lay them directly on the cake.
No license or insurance. Put lead wires in cakes, never wash hands, cake boards are used cardboard. No contracts cause I can't read or write. No lawyer cause I'm judgment proof. I bake with old mix boxes found behind Walmart. Now about my question
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No license or insurance. Put lead wires in cakes, never wash hands, cake boards are used cardboard. No contracts cause I can't read or write. No lawyer cause I'm judgment proof. I bake with old mix boxes found behind Walmart. Now about my question
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post #8 of 15
7/17/11 at 5:38pm
I used SPS for the first time this weekend and it's great. My bottom and third tiers had pillars between the two and I bought the 9" columns and cut them down to the right size. They are ridged so it's easy to cut them all the same. I used a small hacksaw, but I'm sure a serrated knife would be fine. I put fresh roses between these two tiers. The second and top tiers were stacked without pillars, but I still used the SPS system. I'll try to add a photo, but I know it sometimes doesn't work...
Every cake has a back...
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Every cake has a back...
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post #9 of 15
7/17/11 at 6:29pm
This should be helpful:
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/tiered-cakes/

Quote:
Originally Posted by kakeladi

Advice #1: DO NOT!! (I repeat: DO NOT!!!!!!!!) use clear (crystal-look), pointed (aka: spike) pillars that are intended to be pushed into the cake then a plate put on top. Use only 2 plate/pillar set up.



Why not? Did you have a bad experience?
They're made to be used for this, and are quite sturdy for the intended purpose:
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/tiered-cakes/push-in-tiered-cake-construction.cfm
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post #10 of 15
7/17/11 at 7:23pm
Why is it not a good idea to use the push in pillars? I have used them successfully with three tiered cakes. Was thinking of using them again so would be interested in knowing the negatives
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post #11 of 15
5/28/12 at 3:50pm
What are y'all using to cut the columns?

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www.VeryDeliciousDesserts.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Delicious-Desserts/207874222593145

 

It's never "just cake!"

 

You may get a cake for $way to little but you won't get this cake!

Groom's Cakes
(1 photos)
Other / Mixed Shaped Wedding Cakes
(3 photos)
Retirement
(1 photos)
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post #12 of 15
5/28/12 at 4:01pm
I used a small hacksaw.
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post #13 of 15
5/28/12 at 5:03pm
Bakery Craft hacksaw:
https://www.bakerycrafts.com/ItemSearchResults.aspx?SrchStr=saw
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post #14 of 15
5/28/12 at 7:23pm
The Bakery Craft pillars come in two types. One is 9" tall and if you want it smaller you use the hacksaw. The other is a 5" pillar (made to be seen) and then you add 0 or 1 or 2 two inch extenders to it for the final height that you desire. No cutting and it's very sturdy.
www.superstarpastrydesign.com
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www.superstarpastrydesign.com
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post #15 of 15
5/29/12 at 12:49am
I plan on using the SPS clear plates and columns for a three tiered cake over a fountain. The SPS system works great I would rather use this than the two plate system. The SPS system is nice and sturdy and no need to dowel your cakes saving time. I plan on using the 9" pillars this will give me 4 1/2" to 5" space to add my gumpaste flowers. Wilton spiked pillars are not very sturdy but the SPS and Coast pillars are both good. Rama uses coast pillars and her cakes are huge and beautiful. http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1505820/wedding-cake-multi-round-tiers
http://www.cakedeco.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_prodid=8037&p_catid=&page=1
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