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Do you use Bubble / tea straws for cake tiers? - Page 2

post #16 of 34
6/15/12 at 8:43am
Thread Starter 
I have never see 4" SPS legs locally. Only 5,7 and 9". Found that to be very odd for a cake store to carry those lengths esp since wedding cakes are 4"H.
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post #17 of 34
6/15/12 at 9:14am
I use drinking straws, wood dowels, and cakes over 3 tiers I use foam core. I have never had a cake fall or shift - and I deliver cakes in one the the most challenging places to do so - San Francisco.

Correction - I have had one 4 tiered cake shift, but that was because it was the 2nd delivery of the day out of the city up in the mountains, that cake literally sat in my van for well over 2 hours before I got it where it needed to be. I know that cake was 100% fine until I had to go down a dirt driveway with probably an 8% downgrade and man-made dirt speed bumps. It shifted a fraction and cracked the SMBC on the bottom tier. All I had to to was push it back in place with a spatula and the cake was perfect.
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post #18 of 34
6/15/12 at 9:34am
I love SPS and I do normally order the 4inch legs. You can get a small table saw at places like Northern tool for around $30 and it makes cutting the legs super easy. If you like SPS and have trouble getting your cakes the perfect height, the saw is a great investment.
Visit me at www.keeponcaking.com for tutorials and other cake stuff.
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Visit me at www.keeponcaking.com for tutorials and other cake stuff.
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post #19 of 34
6/15/12 at 12:52pm
I'm in the plain old drinking straws camp. 700+ weddings and counting! (up to 4 tiers, that is, and then I throw in a few wooden dowels to ease my mind)
www.superstarpastrydesign.com
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www.superstarpastrydesign.com
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post #20 of 34
6/15/12 at 12:59pm
Thread Starter 
Where do yal buy foam core? Is this just a 1" styrofoam dummy? I googled photos of foam core and I've never seen this selling anywhere locally. I just see dummy styrofoam pieces 1" high.
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post #21 of 34
6/15/12 at 1:02pm
Google foam core again. I promise what you are seeing is what we're using.
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post #22 of 34
6/15/12 at 1:03pm
http://www.google.com/search?q=foam+core&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=CJXbT9T8IOry2QXz8L2HBg&biw=1024&bih=567&sei=DJXbT_2nLorg2AWKxInYCA

You cut your own cake rounds from sheets of this.
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post #23 of 34
6/15/12 at 1:48pm
Thread Starter 
Yes this is the link I saw. Interesting. I suppose a hardware will sell this? Never seen this in cake stores here. Do you use an exacto knife to cut this and cover the foam core with any material to protect the cake?
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post #24 of 34
6/15/12 at 2:13pm
Michaels, Joanns, Exacto knives, drywall knives..lots of ways! Good stuff.
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post #25 of 34
6/15/12 at 2:24pm
sorry to hijack (never used boba straws) but this foam core...what I dont understand is when you put a dowel through it, dont tiny bits of foam get into the next cake layer??
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post #26 of 34
6/15/12 at 2:28pm
Nope.
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post #27 of 34
6/15/12 at 2:38pm
I'm not sure if this is a dumb question or not, but I'm going to ask anyways because I don't make a ton of tiered cakes, I only make them for family & friends, so when placing the straws do you mark where you put the straws?

For instance after you stick the straw in to cover the hole do you use a different colored icing to know where you put it? Or do you remove the straws before you cut it?

Because I did a tiered cake for a friend and when we cut the cake we kept cutting some of the straw off.
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post #28 of 34
10/5/12 at 12:10am
I also use foam core boards between my layers and hammer a sharpened wooden dowel all the way to the bottom until it cannot go any further. Before hammering them through, I measure the height of the cake and cut the dowel 1" shorter. I counter sink it with a smaller piece of dowel and put a icing "plug" where the hole is. I get them from the craft section at Walmart or the wooden dowel section from Lowes or Home Depot.
I have NEVER had a cake slide (knock on wood) when using this method[/quote]

My cake instructor told our class to be sure to use only wooden dowels made specifically for cakes since they are food safe. She said the wood used for craft dowels and hardware dowels are usually treated with pesticides and other chemicals. Just wondering if you had heard anything about this since you mention that you get your dowels from Lowes or Home Depot. If she was wrong then I'd like to know.
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post #29 of 34
10/5/12 at 1:48am
SPS only for me. I wouldn't trust anything else!
Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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post #30 of 34
10/5/12 at 6:11am
I normally combine the two support systems. I have had several 4 tiered wedding cakes that I have used an SPS or Wilton plate on the bottom tier to support the 2nd tier, and then use bubble tea straws on the other tiers that don't have so much weight resting on them. It's very stable and I've never had a bit of a problem.
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