Used SPS for the first time this past weekend. Absolutely loved it! I will NEVER go back to wooden dowels
Sue
HELP! I am transporting a cake from Denver up to the mountains (approx 11,000 feet) up a 4% road grade with twists and turns and truck run-offs (to give you an idea of the road) for a wedding....do I dare travel with cake assembled with SPS or should I wait and assemble on site. I keep hearing how sturdy the SPS system is, but I am nervous with this travel. Does anyone have any similar experience to give me any tips? This may have been addressed already, but after reading half of the pages I haven't seen it yet and am running out of time! Thanks!
If you're too nervous to transport it assembled, then assembled on site. SPS is still the easiest system to use to get your cake centered and straight and the assembly is super fast.
Leahs...I need your help! How do you use the SPS system in a cake like this one? Please help, and TIA
I don't know why it didn't post my pic...here is a link.
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1742327
Thank you again.
I did a similar cake once with the styro spacers. Here's what I did.
put base cake on board, insert SPS plate and pillar assembly. Set stryo block on top.
Put next tier on foamcore board, insert SPS plate and leg assembly. Place on top of stryo block.
Think of the stryo block as the *bottom of your tier" and also as as extra support.
The SPS assembly is holding up the styro and cake above it. The styro adds no weight, so it's still just the weight of the cake. I'd use foamcore as the base, because the stryo block is small than the cake above it, so you need support for the perimeter edges.
On the cake I did, I was able to pipe a bead at the bottom borer of the foamcore board.
I seriously only do that cake in fondant if I ever did that type of design again. And the maker of that cake says as much in her notes under the picture.
I am looking for the directions for the sps system. It says to go to page 15 or the sticky. I don't know what that is or how to get there. Sorry probaly a dumb question, I'm not to good on the computer, and this is my first time on a forum.
thank you
dkr8rtjd
Go to the very first page of this discussion. The 1st post will say attached. Right under that is a blue box with a bunch of jibberish in it. Right under that, there will be a small box with and X and it will say "sps.pdf". Right click on that little box and choose to open network. That should open the file and you will find the directions there.
I sure hope that I explained it where its not confusing. Hope that helps.
HI I have a ??? about SPS, I'm doing a 3 tier cake for my neice, 12" 9" (round ) and a 4" box on top. How do I do SPS, I get the 9" plate but what do I do for the top, the smallest square plate is 6"? I need it to be secure as I will be traveling 3 hours in the car with it! (fingers crossed)
Also I have a silly "duh" question. These plates dont lock together, so is it just the cakes sticking to the plate that is holding it tight? I'm so worried about the long travel upstate.
Any information is gladly appreciated!
Thanks
No the plates don't lock together. That would be a complete impossibility. But then those dowels don't lock into anything at all either. At least with SPS the legs lock into the plate.
And no, SPS doesn't come in a 4" size. And that's why I NEVER design anything with a 4" tier on top.
I have read until I am cross-eyed so if I missed this question being answered before, I apologize...I'm half blind at the moment.
I'm making my first wedding cake...12/9/6 round...and plan to use SPS. The border on this cake will be a satin ribbon, and I have wilton pans. Since the ribbon border isn't as forgiving as a fondant or bc one, would you recommend I go with a size smaller SPS plate to accomodate for the post-baking shrinkage? (hahaha) And is there anything I should know about attaching a ribbon to a cake with an SPS plate under it? Any different than on a cake board/dowel cake? Board/plate size has never been an issue for me before, but I have only used wilton cake boards and piped borders. Both my border and plate will be new to me with this one!
This thread has been so crazy informative...my DH resents it-and this site-for the amount of time I have spent reading it.
I do ribbons all the time, although I generally do fondant ribbons. The SPS plate is the same size as your cardboard. You put bc on the cake using the edge of the cardboard as your guide, so the bc goes to the edge of the cardboard and therefore also to the edge of the SPS plate.
If you want to use a smaller SPS plate you can. or not.
So just to confirm, if I'm ordering from Global Sugar Art, I pick my plate sizes one by one, and I order the "Grecian Column 4 inch" set of twelve? Does that have all the pieces I need for a four-tier cake, or do I need to get one of the "multi-piece" column sets?
Also ... anyone know of any discount coupons with Global Sugar Art right now?
Thanks for any guidance!
You only need the multipiece set if you have either a) a cake with separations or b) a tier than is 5" or 7" tall. Those are the only two reason to use the multipiece set.
I'm not able to open this or view anything.
attached
Would this be one of those things I would ask to have back after the event? Like what would be covered in an equipment deposit? Or should I just add the cost of this into the cake cost and never see it again lol?
Thank you for all the information !!! Ive ordered my first sps Wish me luck lol! I ordered mine Monday from Oasis Thank you for the website and I found to be cheaper . Do they usually ship fast? Im excited to try it out . I have a stacked cake Monday which Im very nervous about !
Ordered on Thursday for a Monday cake? I hope you paid for expedited shipping. Since your cake needs to be finished Sunday night and some delivery companies don't deliver on Saturday, you would have had to pay for overnight shipping.
is there any way we could get a picture tutorial on this? i am a visual person i need to see it. thanks
ok the link is not working for me...when i click on it the page never loads and it just says that it has stopped...idk...please help i want to see this
I ordered the legs you specified in the tutorial. It came with the ridged grecian columns and the 2" columns with notches on the bottom lip. Which do I use? I looks like you are using only the grecian ones....but what are the others for?
I honestly don't have a clue what you've got, unless you ordered the multi-piece legs. Those are generally for cakes with separations or, I suppose, really tall cakes. I use the GC-4s. They come in a bag of 12 pieces, each one 4" in length.
And second. I use 1/2 foam core for the base of my layers. Do you think that it matters if I use that? I know the center notch won't go all the way through, but it should lodge in there well enough right?
Well, since the legs only give you 4" of height, and you're devoting 1/2" of that to foamcore, your cake could only be 3.5" tall. Remember with SPS your cardboard is sitting on a sturdy plastic plate. Really, truly, a regular cake carboard will be fine. The extra sturdiness you wanted when using dowels, and your decision to use the foamcore, just isn't needed with SPS. You've already got the sturdiness of the plasticplate and leg assembly. That thing isn't going anywhere. You just don't need the foamcore.
Also, do you push the plate all the way down before you put the next layer on OR do you leave it up a bit so it will be push down by the weight of the cake?
I do push the plate and leg assembly all the way in, but that's jsut personal choice. No real reason, and either way should be fine.
are the GC 4's that you speak of the Grecian Columns 4"
Bakery crafts = yes.
GC-4s = Grecian Columns, 4" tall. The manufacturer is pretty straightforward with the name.
Just a couple of questions...btw Leah, thanks for posting these directions.
1.) Where do you buy the sps materials?
2.) Wilton suggests driving a dowel rod through the center of the cakes with the use of the cardboard cake boards. I've seen it done also by the pros on shows like Amazing Wedding Cakes but they use a wooden like cake board. Can you do this with sps? The reason I'm asking is that I would be a little afraid to move a cake around having only secured it to the (plastic) board with icing.
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