Hi! I am going to be attempting my very first "mad hatter" style of cake soon for a friends baby shower. I've seen quite a few tutorials and feel prepared, but one thing I haven't been clear on is... do you need to have a cake board underneath each layer of cake? Or do you just put in the dowels and rest cake on cake?

Up until this point I've only ever made 2 tiered cakes and have never used a cake board. The mad hatter I'm planning on making will have 3-4 tiers.

Help please!

I always have each tier on it's own separate board, regardless of number of tiers and style.

yes definitely use a cake board underneath each layer every time you stack a cake! the dowels will go straight through the top tier just as easily as they pressed through the bottom layer if you don't (disaster pending!). i prefer to use foam core cut to size for each cake because it doesn't absorb moisture as much as cardboard. hth!

How to make a topsy turvy article:

http://cakecentral.com/articles/6/how-to-make-a-topsy-turvy-whimsical-cake

And a tutorial:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-587795.html

HTH

I only use cardboards between layers and have no problems.

Sharon Zambito has a DVD out on tt cakes which delivers a foolproof result, IMO. Well worth the investment!

make sure you use a center dowel! thats so important. always use cardboard or foam core between each layer. i ordered a video by lindy smith for topsy turvey cakes. she explains it really well if you have any problems. good luck

Thanks so much guys! Here's to hoping it turns out