When decorating a stacked cake do you stack it first then decorate it? I thought it might be easier for me to decorate each tier then stack it but I'm not sure if this would be problematic. Before I get started I thought I'd get some opinions about this. Any advice?????????
Thanks,
Sandy

Depends on the design. Most of the time, I decorate each tier, then stack on site.

That sure would make traveling with them easier. The cake is decorated with scroll work and bead borders. Do you place the center dowel rod down the center at the reception hall or do you eliminate it because you set your cakes up right then and there? I have a long ride, over an hour, to the hall. How do you keep your fingers from damaging the cake below when you put the next tier on?

If you use SPS as your support system, you don't get your fingers in the cake.

Believe me I am VERY new to doing wedding cakes, but I recently encountered what you are asking about. It seems to me, it's very important to have a cake board beneath each tier, slightly smaller than the tier, of course, so it won't be seen. That gives your fingers something to hold on to when you place one tier on top of another. I used a large spatula, my hands and my husband's hands to place the tier in the center of the bottom tier. Hopefully the only part of the tier below that gets damaged is what's under the tier you are placing. I suggest icing the cake as smooth as possible, then assembling the tiers, and finally do the piping or decorations. I have not found a way to stack the tiers without some fingers getting in the way and having to do some touch up work. In the event you have to move things a little, you won't be as hesitant if you have not already spent a great amount of time decorating the tier. For peace of mind, i would insert the center dowel rod at the site. the cakes settle under the weight of the tiers and i think they need all the support they can get. i did not use a center dowel rod, only inner dowels and my cake was leaning just a little backward after sitting there over an hour before the wedding started and during the wedding. Looks great in pictures, because you can capture it from any angle you want, but it was obviously leaning at the wedding. Also, i did NOT use the cake board under the middle tier, so i believe the tier was sinking on top of the dowels. You learn something new every time.

Like leahs said if you use the sps there isn't any need for dowels. Too me the sps is a whole lot easier than have to measure and cut each dowel the same length. The sps is a wonderful system and it works better and the cake is much more supported because the weight of the cake is on the pillars and the plastic plate as opposed to the cake itself. It is well worth the investiment. Also with the sps you can decorate the whole cake and transport it with minimal decorating on site. You won't have to worry about the cake leaning and if the boards are going to buckle with the tiers above it. It doesn't cost that much but it is well worth not having the headache of worrying about the dowel rods. I wouldn't have it any other way

If you look at leahs signature line you will find more information on the sps

Thanks! Excellent information on the SPS. Very informative. I love this website.

i was actually reading the sps sticky last night (and adding it to my wish list, lol).

this may be a dumb question (not my first, lol) but i could not figure out what keeps the tiers stable and staying put once stacked from the photos. it seems like you just set the second tier on the pillar-supported plate on top of the first tiesr. what keeps that second tier, from going oopsy-daisy off the the first tier? is it just sitting there? are there interlocking plates? what am i missing?

diane

There are no dumb questions. Actually if you do like leahs says the cake is very stable. It seems like it would be unstable because the plates don't interlock. I am not sure of the science behind it but leahs does best in explaining it. But your pillars actually go inside of the cake which is much more sturdy then the dowel rods. if my memory serves me correct there is a notch on the center of the plate and you put a whole in the center of your cake board when you line those up there is a noise that is heard which seals it. I know that you are supposed to put some icing on the plate which acts as the glue. I promise you it is stable. I drove an hour with an assembled cake and it didn't budge. In fact I usually have a problem with the icing cracking and it didn't even crack on the trip.

thank you cakeandpartygirl!

i love everything i am reading about the sps except for having to get my cake to a specific height. i am not sure if i can get my cake to 4" everytime. i am usually in the neighborhood, but if i am at 4 3/8" or 3 7/8, then i am unable to use the sps, right? this is the only part that seems like a big challenge.

the sfs has legs you can adjust if you don't hit the 4" target but it is seriously more expensive...

i don't want to spend the money for agbay (it's more a case, of i don't have the money to spend on an agbay, sigh).

getting to 4" dead on makes me anxious...are there tricks to fudge it if you are 1/4" off?

thank you !
diane

Go to the How Do I section of the forum, its like the 2nd tutorial down.

Thank you soooo much, Bakesatthebeach. Don't know how I missed it.
Thank you Leahs for sharing. This is going to curb the stress and the white knuckle driving.

drakengore,
I wish that I had some tips to offer you as far as if you don't get the 4 in dead on. I purchased the legs in which you can adjust the height. I think that if you torte you layers that would increase your height. I don't do too many wedding cakes but I have the 2 in depth pans and I just make sure that when I bake that there is enough batter so that it will be 2 inches.

HTH

Oh sweetcake the cakecentral store doesn't exist anymore. Try globalsugarart.com of course to purchase them. Of course there are other websites but that is a start.

There was a previous post that someone had talked about the expense of the ajustable legs. Actually this morning when i was doing a cake I was cutting them and God gave me this idea. The legs are long enough to get 2 legs out of each one which will cut down the price considerably. In fact I believe that it is cheaper than than the 4 in. ones for me. You can use the side that has the ribs no one sees it. Sorry I am so excited about it and wanted to share that with you.