Hi there, just wondering how you guys feel about wood dowels. I used to use plastic but I switched over to the skinny wooden dowels, easier to cut. My question is how do you feel about "wood" in cake..I know they are for the cakes ( I purchase from Michael's craft store) but I try to put a thin coating of fondant on the dowel.....
Thanks,
Maria

Hi, many decorators love them. Many don,t. Lots have changed to bubble tea straws,Don,t know what they used before the bubble tea straws. Some have switched to single plate system. Everyone is different. I use them all, depending on what i am doing. I,ve never had one problem with the wooden dowels. They,ve been around for 100 yrs. They (wilton) are made for cakes. I,ve seen where some use the cookie sticks, then read where the cakes fell because of the moisture. I see FAMOUS (ones with the dvd's and teach all over the world )decorators, use the long wooden dowels thru 4-5 tiers of cakes for stability, etc. They are not wilton, but , they are used. So, you will get many different answers to your question. I would think the moisture of the cake(with fillings, etc.) would just eat right thru the fondant or chocolate coated dowels. I have used the poly dowels, etc. Good Luck with any thing you use. If you haven,t been decorating long, then you are probably reading more about the bubble tea straws or Leah_s favorite single plate system. Look this up on this site. She is a great decorator and gives great advice.

Yep. Couldn't pay me to stick little twigs in my cakes. I use bubble straws 99% of the time, and the rare occasion that calls for something sturdier-I use SPS.

I've used them for years and not had a problem with them. Just watch out when cutting them, they go flying all over the place.
However, having done some reseach recently on the bubble tea straws, I am swapping to that method instead. Looks so much easier and cheaper.

Every cake horror story I've ever heard used wooden dowels for supports. I know there are people who swear by them but you couldn't pay me to use them. Wilton makes a plastic dowel that's very sturdy and can be cut easily with pvc cutters. They are the only dowels we use.

Minette

thanks sooo much for all the replies, I will have to check out the ones you mentioned..Thank God I haven't had a problem, but after I cut them I feel the edges are not smooth....thanks again

I use chopsticks and think they're great.

I use Wilton dowel rods on small 2 tier cakes and SPS on 3-4 tiered cakes. I make alot of 2 tiered cakes and like using the dowel rods. I also put two long dowels down the center for stability. I have to use hand held cutting saw to cut those dang SPS pillars because they are so hard to cut. Funny, my husband got ME a saw for christmas, lol!
Fedra

I use cake decorating wooden dowels almost all the time. Never had a collapse. I would rather put wood into a cake than plastic. In mud cake they are the easiest to insert (even bubble tea straws can suck in when you push them into a dense, refrigerated cold mud cake).

I also keep longer lengths of dowel a bit thicker which I sharpen and hammer into several tiers for lateral stability in very tall/narrow cakes (which seem to be all the rage atm!!).

I do also have bubble tea straws on hand, and use them occasionally for any stacked butter cakes, madeira cakes, or pound cakes. Also never had a collapse with these!

Yep bubble tea straws here i heard the wood dowels can leave silvers of wood in the cake and someone wood end up with that in there slice of cake

I don't know what bubble straws are - not something I've heard of in the UK.

We have the option of wooden or plastic dowels. My preference is wooden as they're easier to cut and less likely to bow. I've never had a cake collapse on me.

When I cut the wooden dowels, if there are straggly edges, I just smooth them off with an emery board nail file, that I keep only for that purpose. Then wipe it clean to remove the dust.

Suzanne x

You girls are awesome!!!! Thanks soo much for all the great recipes, I truly appreciate you taking the time out for advice!!!
Thanks again,
Maria

The hollow cylinder (a straw) is a much stronger and reliable support than a skinny stick---hollow cylinders are preferred in building for this reason. They are less likely to bow or shift and CAN'T be as easily compressed.

For the above reasons, I use bubble tea or milkshake straws for support. Easy to cut, easy to sanitize, no splinters.

Rae