I just joined this site and am in absolute awe. I will have many questions, but let me just start with this first one. I'm looking to make a 2 tiered fondant covered cake. I want to do the diamond impression mat on the top tier, so I was going to do that before I stacked it. But my question is how to dowel it after the fondant is on. I've only made 1 other fondant cake and it was single level. Maybe I'm in the stoneages with wooden dowels still, but thats what I have. For a previous BC ake I made I did the one dowel hammered through the top and then covered back up with the icing.

First let me say welcome to cake central!!! You will shortly become addicted to the site so I warn you to step away now before it is too late!!!!

Now.. to your question... I don't always dowel my two tier cakes... just depends on how it is put together and where it is going and how it is being transported. If I were to dowel my cake, I would use a small wood dowel and sharpen the one end so that the dowel will go through both cakes and the cake board in between.

Welcome!

With this cake, are you going to decorate the top of the top tier? If so, I would decorate each layer then use the dowels on the first level to provide support to the second. Place the second layer on and dowel the entire cake. Put your decorations on top and your done.

Hope this helps

There are actually 2 different ways you can dowel your cake...one with wooden dowels and the others with straws. I have never used the straw method, but many say it works fine. This video will hopefully answer your question. Hope this helps

I guess I didn't explain this well. I have no problem with doweling the lower cake as the top one will cover that, but it's the top layer I'm asking about...i.e. do I need to do a long dowel down through both cakes, and if so what do I do about the hole that I create on the top tier through the fondant? I only plan on adding a chocolate piped tiara on top so nothing that would actually cover the hole created.

A cake like this one, but with the top level of fondant
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1205993.html

Make a hole in the center of the cake board for the top tier before putting the cake on. measure your center dowel so it is the height of the bottom tier, plus 1/2 - 2/3 the height of the top tier. Hammer the dowel into the lower tier and then lower the top tier down OVER the dowel. No hole

You know, That's what I was thining of doing, but I've never heard of anyone doing it that way....

I have made many two tiered cakes and just dowl the bottom cake for support and left the top tier as is (no dowl) they transported just fine. just make sure you use buttercream between the tiers as a little glue. If you are not transporting I would say there is not reason to dowl the top tier to the bottom. I'm sure some would dissagree with me but thats what has worked for me.