I am sure this is posted somewhere, but I couldn't find it when I searched. So from watching Ace of Cakes the cakes are delivered stacked and they are tiliting them and being so cavalier about how they carry them sometimes. How do they assemble the cakes so that there is no fear they will tilt over...

I think some of the dowels are actually screwed into the bottom of the board but don't quote me on that.

As for me, I use 1/2" foamboard for the base and put my dowels (I use two) all the way thru and into the base board

Along with the screwing down I believe he is able to interweave the dowels and layers so that nothing can just pop off. And maybe there is one long dowel that runs up the entire cake. That would be easy too.

Good luck.

I deliver all my cakes but the tipsy ones stacket.
I use big straws and a center dowel in all my cakes, nothing happens, im my gallery there is a 6 layer cake that I deliverded in one piece. It arrived just fine.

I've delivered stack cakes okay also... I've also delivered stacked cakes not okay.... I would just like the confidence they have on the show where they are balancing this stacked cake on their knee as they open the door and they tilt it to do this and don't seem concerned about it falling.....

I think you just answered your own question - CONFIDENCE

what about bumps and corners and stuff when you are driving? Where do u place the cake in your van/car?? When i bring just a plain old 8 inch cake with buttercream on it (decorated pretty) to my familys house im a nervouse nut!!! I hold it on my lap and i feel EVERY bump and turn!!! Then my arms are tired and soar from holding it! and its only like a 10 min drive! I couldnt imangin driving with a stacked cake! Please share on how u keep it safe in the caR!!

You do NOT hold the cake, Aleesha.That's where your problem lies. You put it down on no-slip stuff. You can find it cheaply in the silverware section in a roll.

Your body moves constantly when riding in a car, and is not flat. It's sort of like don't hold a baby while driving - put it in a car seat.

Welll... u dont hold a baby cuz if u get in a car accidnt it will fly out of your arms no matter how hard you hold on to it. But anyways... ive only transported cakes for my familys bdays.. and i didnt wanna put it on the floor cuz its dirty.. maybe i can put a non-slip grip thingy on the floor then put a larger widers tupperware container ontop of it and then more slipstuff in it.. then sit my cakes in it. What if you have a car? then where do u put it? I have an SUV so its ok.. but isnt it usually more bumpy in the backs of suv/vans?

Any stack cake I do, I also deliver it ready to go. First, DON'T carry it in your lap! Nothing beats a FLAT surface. I mean you'll move it more carrying it and trying to 'protect' it than it would move on a flat surface.

Second, I'll put a towel (others on here use a non-slip material) under the cake to it won't move.

Oh, and I'll put the care in the center - away from walls, objects. And make sure your car is clean

I have always been too chicken to transport a stacked cake! I transport each tier in it's own box, and put them in the trunk of my car with the non-slip mat on the floor of the trunk. Then I obsess the whole way to the destination! Hubby calls me Nervous Nellie.

I transport about 50% of my cakes stacked but I really believe you do need the confidence and strength to pull off what Duff and his gang do. You need to practice with some wood that is screwed on a board and see how it feels to carry it. If you do not have the strength in your arms or legs to carry the big boys then it is easier to stack on site.

When I deliver cakes in my SUV I first roll out a vinyl table cloth (the ones with the fuzz on the underside) over the carpet and tape to the sides of SUV. I then put the grip mat down on that and cakes on top of that.
I have never (knock on wood) had a cake issue using this method.

And always carry a cake emerg kit with you!

If you ever look at what is between the layers of the cake you will notice that they use a very thin layer of frosting in the middle, not like us cake decorators that want our customers to truly enjoy the taste of the cake. (nothing against duff and his crew, im just sayin) My husband and I realized why they do this technique when we did our semi cake. I layered it like I would a wedding cake and that amount of frosting in the middle makes it very unstable. Also, the fondant once it has sat for a day (which most of theirs do because of the time it takes to decorate) is quite strong. The dowels also play a big part.

So just advice, if you are doing a very tall teired cake dont put so much frosting in betweent the layers, the same goes with a 3-d cake.

The last cake I delivered unstacked was a disaster. I stuck my fingers in it while stacking. I am just more relaxed decorating in my space.

If your car floor is too dirty to place a cake on that's an issue that can easily be fixed. Clean it.. and cover the rug with some non-skid material. If you have a car, usually you can scoot the passenger seat forward all the way and have room for a cake on the floor behind it. If not.. and you want to assure that the surface you want to place your cake on is as level as possible you can build a platform that can sit over your back seats. Then you can put the non-skid mat on that and you have a nice level area for cakes. In my SUV I put them in the cargo area.. It's clean and I cover it with 1/2" foam and non-skid material..

If you use a sturdy support system for your cakes.. transporting stacked cakes isn't as scary as if you just have dowels and cake boards in there. The SPS is a great and affordable support system that makes rock solid cakes.

I transport my wedding cakes stacked ALTHOUGH......the wedding cake I did last July, yeah, that was my first disaster. The top two tiers popped off when I came to a stop at a light right around the corner from my house. Those two tiers weren't secure enough.

It all has to do with how you secure your tiers when you stack your cake either using a dowel hammered through all tiers or separator/plastic dowel method like I use. This method is pretty secure unless you use the wrong size plastic dowels like I did with my last cake and assumed that the tiers were heavy enough that the larger size wouldn't make a difference!

Definately use the non-slip mat. That stuff worked for me both in my car trunk and now my van. I am glad I got a van, not just because I have two boys but it's more professional IMO to deliver a cake out of a van rather than the trunk of a car.

Duff uses his power tools to create wild contraptions so it wouldn't surprise me at all if he made his own method for "cementing" his tiers together so they don't fall. I did see someone using the dowel method on the last episode I watched. She was having a tough time getting it all the way through too.


Amy

I was just saying this very same thing to my husband the other day. They just put em all in the back of that truck and away they go! I also think that because they are all fondant they don't have that slide factor as much (the tiers sliding on each other). I have only done BC tiered cakes and both times (with a center dowel) they slid! I'm still trying to figure that one out?!

It's TV! I think we don't get to see a lot of what happens in between loading up the cake and the actual delivery. They edit the show to make it seem like it's so easy (most of the time.) I find this show very unrealistic.

That is true, very true! We see a seriously edited version and of course they won't show major disasters especially when it comes to a "Duff" cake. I'm sure he's made plenty of disasters and has since taken steps to avoid them in the future but you never can tell.


Amy

Even celebs like Duff and his gang make cake disasters.
Did you see the one where the huge Scottish castle cake fell at the clients home and in a few hours they had another baked and decorated. Amazing

Even celebs like Duff and his gang make cake disasters.
Did you see the one where the huge Scottish castle cake fell at the clients home and in a few hours they had another baked and decorated. Amazing

SPS + non-skid works for me!

I would imagine that they can be more confident knowing that if they do have a disaster, they have a ton of people back at the bakery who can come together to help fix or redo the cake. A normal one-person operation just does not have that luxury.

I have to say SPS.... wow I was tilting my cake from side to side and that darn thing didnt move

I have to say to best of my knowlegde, I've never had a stacked cake fall.
I ALWAYS deliver them stacked. I think it's too much to try and stack a cake and finish decorating at the function site.
I've also always made sure to use dowels and cardboards in between the layers.

Danielle

Any cake I transport I place on a silicone mat. I find them to be "stickier" than the shelf liners.

Could one of you ladies post the sps system for me to see? PLEEASE

I used to stress, but now I use logicpic's system for stacking and doweling, and they are so secure with that center dowel through all the cakes and into the base, plus hexagon support frames holding the dowels in each individual cake, that I have no fear at all in transporting stacked cakes. I put them on nonstick, in a big cube box, on the front seat of my car, wrap the seat belt around the box, and away I go. The only reason I wouldn't transport one assembled is if it's just too heavy for me to lift and carry.

I always joke that you'd have to actually drop the cake box on the floor to get something to dislodge on one of mine--The security of the layers is really the last thing I'm concerned about when I move a cake. Which is nice, because it used to just freak me out. Saves a ton of time at the venue, too. Just unbox and go.

Try logicpic or the stress free support system and you'll see.

Donna,
If you PM me with your email, I'll be happy to send SPS instructions with pictures. However, the file is too big to receive if you're using a free email service such as yahoo or hotmail.

Okay, I've heard about the SPS system but what is the logix system? On the SPS can you put the long dowel down the center of the cake?
the only person I trust driving is my DH! He knows how I like for him to drive and he's very aware of each and every bump! I've trained him well!
As for Duff, some of the ones that they seem to carry so easily are for orders that are "dummies" and they weigh much less. I was actually glad to see when they dropped that castle cake, my husband said "See they have delivery issues too!"