Hi everyone..
Just wondering what everyone prefers to use... I have only ever used cakeboards between layers and MDF for the base board.
I'm not quite sure how foamcore supports the cake.. and do you cover it to make it food safe?
Do you use it just like you use a cake board between layers and then MDF for the base board?
Sorry for all the questions but i just have no idea about foamcore... 
I use 1/4" foamcore for all tiers but the base. The base is 1/2". The reason I use the foamcore vs. cardboard is because when I use cardboard, it flexes on me and then I have cracks in the icing. The foamcore does not flex. Use whatever you are comfortable with. 
I use cardboard for all sheetcakes, and for tiered cakes I use cardboard in between the layers, and 1/2 foamcore for the base. When I dowel a tiered cake, I like being able to sink that center dowel all the way through the base board. That makes it so much sturdier. I cover all base boards with freezer paper, shiny side up.
I use 1/4" foamcore for all tiers but the base. The base is 1/2". The reason I use the foamcore vs. cardboard is because when I use cardboard, it flexes on me and then I have cracks in the icing. The foamcore does not flex. Use whatever you are comfortable with.
Ditto! I dont use cardboard between the layers anymore. A few years ago I had a fondanted 3 tier topsy turvey that started to sink a little bit too much from the second tier. I was a wreck even though the Wedding group didnt seem to notice. Save yourself the drama. If you use the 1/4" foamcore (its not thick at all - just cut to same diameter as your crumb coated cake) for 2nd tiers and up it is thin enough to run your mid dowel though and I have had no structural drama since.
I always use foamcore too. I use the 3/16" for the regular boards and I'll use a double thickness of it for the bottom board, or if I'm feeling rich 
I'll use the 1/2". I cover it with press and seal wrap, except for the bottom board which gets fondant.
ok sounds good.. thanks for the tips everyone.. Just one more question.. When u are putting a centre dowl into the cake with a base foamcore doesn't it go through the bottom board too? I just see the foam core as being very flexable and brittle... But i'm keen to try as i have had cardboard flex on me too 
The only problem I have with cake boards is that it's not often that I can find the waxed ones anymore.
I'm switching to MDF for all my boards. I don't sell cakes, and I don't do enough cakes to need a huge inventory of them, so it won't be much of an inconvenience. I really wished I had them last weekend, when I stacked 4 tiers of pound cakes on each other. I was so worried that it was going to crush down on itself, because the separators were made of dummies that were backed on the bottom with cake board. The cake would have been much more secure if I had backed the dummies with MDF, and used the same under the cakes.
Theresa
do you have to cover each board if you use MDF? do you have to cover them if you use foamcore?
That was my next question..
But still want to know if you just use foam core for the base board and nothing else.. Does the centre sharpened down go through the base board??
[quote="playingwithsugar"] I was so worried that it was going to crush down on itself, because the separators were made of dummies that were backed on the bottom with cake board. The cake would have been much more secure if I had backed the dummies with MDF, and used the same under the cakes.
Theresa [/quote]
I don't understand. It's not the board, it's the dowels or legs attached to the board that are supporting the cake. Why would cake "crush down on itself"?
thanks jamie i thought that might be the case! lol. i really want to give it a go now!
I use 1/2 inch fomecore under each tier: SUPER stable for very heavy tiers and I like the added height. The way I ice/prep my tiers you never see the board and I can go borderless if desired.
center sharpened dowel thru all tiers
MDF for base
HTH
Thanks heaps for the info everyone.. Foam core sounds great! will be trialling this soon
Hi everyone..
Just wondering what everyone prefers to use... I have only ever used cakeboards between layers and MDF for the base board.
I'm not quite sure how foamcore supports the cake.. and do you cover it to make it food safe?
Do you use it just like you use a cake board between layers and then MDF for the base board?
Sorry for all the questions but i just have no idea about foamcore...
I use 1/2 inch foamcore for the base and 3/16 inch between layers.
Foamcore is thin but very strong and makes an excellent support material for cake tiers.
Save yourself a bunch of work and wasted time running to craft stores to buy foam board.....you can now buy premade foamcore cake boards in many shapes and sizes and they are already covered with a waterproof and grease proof FDA approved styrene coating....all I do is glue a 1/2 inch ribbon around the outside edge of my 1/2 inch base board.
Visit http://store.foamboardsource.com/cake-boards.html for all shapes and sizes of pre-made boards.
thanks so much Jeff the site is great! 
Makes it easier than cutting everything out..
You can purchase MDF boards at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.
whats everyones favorite tool to cut the MDF boards?
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