Hello there! I have a question about supports for a stacked cake. I have worked with stacking different sized tears (ie 6" on a 9") but what I mean is, if I stack four or five 6"x2" cakes to make a 'tower' that is 8-10" high, do I need to put any dowels or boards in it so the bottom layers don't get squished? I do plan to put a dowel all the way through the center so it doesn't fall over. I hope that makes sense. Thanks in advance!

I am not a professional but I believe you would have to have some sort of support between all those cakes--both boards and dowels. Hopefully this will bump you to the front where the experts will be able to help you.

Sheryl

yes! you need a support system of some kind:

plate and pillars
boards and dowels; bubble tea straws
stress free rings
sps system

One needs support for any amount over 4 or 5" of heigth....so put a cake board &/or plate along w/dowels, straws, or hidden pillars between each tier (4" of cake).

yep. What kakeladi said.

You must use dowels (not wooden-preferably SPS, or at least large, plastic tubes). You also must use boards under each cake. Plastic, foamcore, or cardboard that has been wrapped with wax paper. HTH!

Ok. I'm going to step up and ask the probably stupid question. Is the SPS system different than the plates and hidden pillars that I see in hobby lobby? If so, what would be a good purchase for a beginner to try SPS? I know it depends on what size cake, etc., but just a very common size beginner package, if you will. Do they sell it piece by piece or can you buy a set? I hope this makes sense.

Lisa

YES! SPS is different than the Wilton products, in that SPS works waaaaay better. The SPS legs lock securely into the plate and if you bake to the correct height, don't even have to be trimmed. Most anything Wilton is going to be inferior to what I would call professional products. And SPS really doesn't cost more.

SPS comes as separate pieces other than the legs which come in a ba of 12 - enough for a four tier cake. So what you need totally depends on the size of the cake you're making.

Please see my siggy.

dowel, dowel, dowel! put your dowels in and then a board the same size as your next layer... you can never under support a tall cake. If you look at my castle cake that thing had more dowels in it than a new york skyscraper has beams!

That's what I figured. Thanks for your help ladies!