I am making my first 3 tier cake. 2 questions...What kind of support do you use for the base? and What do you use for each of the 3 sections for the bottom? Cardboard, Plastic? Thanks for your help..

Hi! And hope your cake is going well!
And here's hoping that you've done some searching here on cc to find the answers you are looking for!

Here's my 2 cents:

I use a cake drum or several layers (2 or 3) of foamcore board for my base board. I make mine at least 4 inches bigger than the size of the cake tier= a 14" cake on an 18" board.

Many decorators here on the board use the single-plate support system, but if you have only access to Wilton products, you can achieve the same idea with a separator plate and a set of Hidden Pillars. You will need a serated knife to cut the pillars to the height of each cake.

Other options are wide, thick drinking straws, "cake-jacks"(adjustable plastic dowel rods) or wooden dowel rods and the use of foamcore board between each tier. With this method you can use a sharpened dowel rod to drive thru the entire tiered cake for stability.


As I said, there are many tutorials available on youtube and here on cc....or even check the back of a Wilton Yearbook!


Good Luck!

Cake drum on bottom, SPS for internal supports (SPS consists of special plastic dowels and plastic cake plates that lock together).