When I make stacked cakes, it doesn't matter what I do, the icing from the lower tier sticks to the plate above it so that no icing is left on that tier. What can I do to stop this? This weekend I made a 1st birthday cake with a smash cake on top. I iced the cakes in bc. For the smash cake, I used a foam core board and placed a piece of fondant on the cake where the smash cake went, thinking that it would not stick to the bottom of the foam core board. It did and it pulled all of the icing off of that piece of cake. It wasn't a big problem there because it was only a little area, but what do you do for stacked wedding cake type cakes???? When you remove the cakes to serve, do those pieces just not have a top layer of icing?

You can sprinkle some powdered sugar on the area where you plan to stack your next tier.

...Or you can cut a circle of wax paper, or use both powdered sugar first & wax paper, then your plate or board.

I think that making sure your dowels stick all the way up to the top of the icing helps, too, so that the cake isn't sitting firmly on the icing, but instead resting on the dowels. It also helps to use parchment on top of the icing before stacking.

Obviously, if it is a crusting BC, let it crust real well before stacking. I cut my dowels on the longish side, let the icing crust, then use parchment, and I have never had the BC stick.

Thanks!! I have no idea why I didn't think of that!

I also know some people cover the whole section where the top cake is going to sit with either jimmies or sparkles.

I cover my cardboard with saran wrap and that has help tremendously (folded side on top so uniced cake sits on it). I have also heard you can sprinkle a few flakes of coconut on the icing before stacking the cake. I personally have not done this so I cannot say for sure.

how do you stabilize the top tier if is sitting slightly above the cake on slightly elevated dowels? i have read this suggestion before with much interest because i do smbc, so crusting over before putting it on doesn't work for me...but i think i am dense because i still don't get it, lol.

Your top cake should NEVER be resting on the lower one. The point of the dowels is to take the weight of the tier to prevent compression of the cake below. The upper tier should be sitting just barely on the icing of the cake below it, not on the top of the cake itself.

If you cut your dowels to the height of the cake (below the icing), then you have a situation in which the icing that is being compressed by the weight of the tier(s) above having to go somewhere. The weight presses down, pushing down on the cake with potential issues accompanying that, such as bulging or collapse.

If the cake is being transported, then just short dowels in each tier isn't going to work. Yes, if you set the top tier on dowels that are really too short, and chill the heck out of the cake, the firm frosting MIGHT hold the cake above it and prevent slippage, or it might not. That is why people use systems like the SPS or the bigger dowel rods that connect to the plate above. People also put a long (sharpened) dowel through the entire cake, top to bottom, to stablilize.

Does this help at all?

hi redpanda,

i dumbly used the word cake to encompanss the whole kit and caboodle i should have said icing. my dowels are flush with the top of my icing (above the actual cake).

i sort of count on the bc to mildy "glue" the top tier to the bottom...
i usually only do two tier cakes, nothing higher so i generally don't dowel all the way thru.

so if my top tier is resting just slightly above the icing of the bottom tier to keep from stripping off the icing, what keeps it from wobbling? there is nothing securing it to bottom tier, correct? unless i put a center dowel thru.

diane

When I make stacked cakes, I don't rely on the icing to glue the tiers together, which is probably a good idea where I live. I live on top of a steep hill, with nice, windy roads down. (Oh...the speed limits are anywhere from 40 to 60, depending on which side of the hill I descend.) In addition, it can be rather hot here in Southern California.

If I am going to be traveling with a cake, I always use some sort of secure system to hold the tiers together. I used to just use wooden dowels, including one going all the way through the whole cake, but decided the peace of mind was worth using an even more secure approach. Also, I hate trying to remove the long dowel to disassemble and serve.