I am making a cake for a baby shower this weekend. Its a two tier cake 6" & 9" and normally I would just assemble it there with wilton dowels. But I was really hoping to transport it already stacked.

What kind of inner support do I need to have in place so that the cake will not slide? Will a center dowel do the trick or do I need something else? The shower is like 10 mins from my house, but I would really like to not be freaked out for the whole 10 mins.

Thank you in advance.

I just did a 2-tiered shower cake and I had 5 dowels in the base tier to support the top tier (my cakes were a 12" and 10" so you wont need as much support) and then a center dowel that ran through both. I also put a little bit of butter cream on the cake board before setting the base tier on. The weight of the cakes should keep it pretty secure. I traveled 25 minutes with mine on dirt roads and hills. Good luck!

You should be fine with the dowels for a cake that small. However, if you ever what to be *really* secure, check into SPS. It was created to permit customer to transport their own stacked cakes, for bakeries who don't offer delivery.

leah, do you know if you can drill holes into the center of the sps plates to allow for a central dowel???

I only ask because I have a cake safe and I'm dying to use it........but I don't feel secure with just dowels and cardboard anymore after using the sps.

I looked into just plain ol' wilton plates (since I don't NEED sps w/ the little poky thing if I'm drilling holes) but they're actually more expensive than the sps plates lol

Just wondered if you knew if it was possible to drill the center out of them (like a 2" hole or so)?

If I were doing the cake to be delivered on Sat. I'd make sure the entire cake was completed before going to bed on Friday!

Whisperingmadcow - I just used support dowels on the bottom and BC to "attach", no center dowel, and mine was just fine for a 45 commute over bumpy roads. I've read that a center dowel really isn't necessary for a two tier, but if you really don't want to worry, then center dowel it is!!

K,
I have never drilled a hole in an SPS plate and see absolutely no reason to do so.

lol.....I know I know...but it's a cake safe!!! lol

If it's a cake "safe", why do you need sps, bwah ha ha! You need to really test it, girl, go sps-less!

it's so hard..........I'm so scared!!!!

I am not a professional, but I have done stacked cakes (all with 6 and 9" tiers) and delivered them with no problems. I used 4 bubble straws in the bottom tier and put a wooden dowel down through the centre. On my last cake (train cake in photos), I didn't bother with the centre dowel and it was fine. I also "glue" my bottom tier to the cake board with buttercream to help prevent movement on the board and I've never had a problem. Good luck!

I deliver to an area about 2 hours away 2-3 times a year and they are usually smaller two tier cakes and have always stacked them before travel and have never used a center dowel for any of them. Anything higher I would have to stack at the venue so I still wouldnt need a center dowel. HTH