Cake Would Have Tipped If The Program Was Any Longer!
Decorating By pursuing_perfection Updated 11 Aug 2009 , 10:57pm by sugarsugargal
I had agreed to make a 3-D Hot Air Balloon Cake for a Bridal Shower (the couple had gotten engaged in a hot air balloon just outside of Paris). Well, I searched CC and asked a few questions, but obviously not enough questions! Since I couldn't arrange for a stand to be welded as DOUG suggested (would have worked the best), I came up with a different plan:
I used a dowel all the way through the center of the bottom two tiers and up into the balloon basket. Then I used dowels for the "ropes" on the balloon which extended from the balloon down to the bottom of the second tier. I obviously should have gone all the way to the bottom of the bottom layer, as my cake began to tip during the program. Just as they were concluding the program, I noticed that the cake was about to tip. 
Since, the couple had already done pictures with the cake at the start of the evening, I quickly disassembled the cake and moved it from the diplay table to the dessert buffet, and no one noticed. (Phewww!) You can see the tipped cake as the last additional pic of my 3-D Hot Air Balloon Cake pictures.
Perhaps there was another way I could have done this cake...if I am ever insane enough to try it again! 
Dowelling is tricky. You should always go to a stable surface. If you did not want to go to the bottom layer, a cake board would have kept the support you need.
The cake was beautiful and inspired. However, why did you put cake on top of the RKT balloon? The extra weight of the cake actually made the top want to tip over. In the future, use all RKT for the balloon and dowel all the way to the bottom and you shouldn't have any problems.
Loved the cake!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%