As I was delivering this three tiered cake (10,8,6) (2nd picture) I heard a thud. Hoping the tindkerbell didn't fall off and damage the icing I stopped the cake and had a look.

The top two tiers and flipped off the bottom tier and were leaned up against the sid of my storage bin.

I rushed home and to minimize further damage I slid the bottom tier our from under the others and then tipped the bin to set the top two upright. Amazingly the top two tiers were still together with out a budge.

I was able to fix the cake (1st pic) and deliver it in the nick of time.

The only thing I can see that may have caused this is the 8" cake board had a bend in it so it didn't sit flat. When it fell it fell back and to the left so it didn't fall because of braking or anything like that.

That is my greatest fear. Great save!!

Well you came up with a great save! I never have liked stacks w/just 2" difference. That makes cakes top heavy. There just is not enough base to handle the weight of the upper tiers.......that's my theory anyhoooo!

Well, two things:

1) if the cake board underneath the cake had a bend and wasn't sitting level, that's a problem. For cakes to be straight and secure - with any support system - all the parts have to be level.

2) It sounds like the system held two tiers together that were "leaning up against the side of the storage bin." That should prove that the system (with level components) does work quite well.

The fact that you flipped the top two tiers back level without a problem says a lot.

Great save, overall and I don't agree that it's a SPS failure. It sounds like a cake board failure, and that SPS saved the top two tiers.

Like KakeLadi I think a 2" diameter difference makes small cakes top heavy, but if that's the number of servings needed, it is what it is. I most likely would have set the top tier on, onsite though. I always like to put a level on the cake one last time before settng the top tier.

Great job.

I thought that the cardboard cake circles sat on top of a plastic plate when you use SPS. So wouldn't the support be taken from the plastic plate and not the cakeboard?

Also how tall were your tiers? They appear higher then 4" in those pictures. Did you have to cut your own pillar supports to match the height of your tiers or did you use the standard size?

Oh OK thanks Leah, I was wondering if she "forgot" the plastic plates, but I guess that wouldn't have been possible to do while assembling.

Yeah, I'm interested in the height of the tiers too it could have been an issue.

Was there anything used to secure the cake circles to the SPS? If there is no glue like carpet tape doesn't that mean the tiers are just stacked up and not anchored down? I was reading in another thread on SPS and I thought about the cake circles just resting over the center spike and how that wouldn't really hold it in place while driving. Then I read further down and saw you must anchor the cake circles to the plate with something.

I don't know if you must anchor the cardboard to the plate but I always do - I use a few strips of doublesided carpet tape and those puppies aren't moving an inch! That stuff is super sticky so I try to cut a short section and then cut that strip in half lengthwise and I put about 4 pieces around in a circle on the plastic plate - it doesn't need much b/c of how sticky it is!

The bottom tier was less that 4 inches like maybe 3.75 so I had to trim the sps columns. The top two were 4 inchs.

I don't blame sps for the failure at all. Those top two tiers were stuck together like glue it was quite amazing.

I stuck the upper cakes to the sps plates with royal icing.

I think it had to be that cake board that caused the problem. I wish I'd thought of it sooner though. I have safely delivered a cake this sized stacked before with no problem. I will be more careful of my cake boards next time.

Glad you were able to fix it. It is a really cute cake. The after picture isn't clickable for me.

your cake is very pretty... i can,t see the disaster picture either.. glad you could save it though..

I used SPS for the first time this weekend for a 14-10-6 wedding cake. The 10" kept sliding off of the plate until I put some tape on the plate. It worried me that I couldn't put a dowel through the whole cake like I usually do, but the fully stacked cake made the trip to the venue, across a parking lot, up a freight elevator and through 2 dining rooms without any problems. Oh, and it was probably the first time ever that my tiers were completely centered. I really like how you can use the plate & legs for exact placement.

oh, I am sorry but it was an excellent save! I haven't had it happen to a big cake yet, knock on wood. Your cake was still pretty!

I need to get this someday! Sounds so cool! Too bad the wedding cake I'm doing next has offset square tiers, or I'd think about getting it for that cake!

Going on my wishlist, along with a stand mixer...

I'm ordering it today! I have a cake next weekend that I want to use it on. I'm excited! I've read through the directions and they seem clear enough to figure out for a first timer.

Btw, OP, great save and beautiful cake!

Leah- We need to put you on the SPS payroll

I can do this with SPS?

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=56812

If so, that would be AWESOME...

I was on GSA website yesterday and only saw/noticed the pillars for the SPS, do they still have the plates?

Thanks~

I've been eyeing the SPS for a long time - but still don't have a large cake to buy it for. I read the sticky tutorial (THANKS Leahs) but still have one question.

How do you manage to center the hole on the cardboard base to line up with the spike on the SPS plate below. Seems like it would be pretty tricky to get exact.

Thanks in advance.
Pat

Patty, you just line the cardboard up on the plate and poke the hole into the cardboard before you put the cake on the board. Thenk when the cake is ready to be stacked you just slide it on and into place. Its super easy.

kansaswolf- yes you can do that. It might be trickier to line it up but you could do it.

Where is the best place to get SPS?

SharonK- I get mine at oasis supply. They have the best price that I have found.

http://www.oasisupply.com/Products/Products.asp?CategoryID=65

Thank you leuleu. I am new to this site, and I can't believe how nice everyone is, and so willing to share information. Very nice!

What is SPS?

You can push down on the SPS plate on a *slightly* out of level high spot to re-level. It looks completely scary to do it, but it's fine.