Hi all!

its going to be my first time stacking a buttercream cake... i was wondering, do i need a board in between the tiers? meaning, does my 2nd tier need a cake board (a thin one) under it? if i dont put a board, will the cake sink into the first tier since the dowels can just go through the cake?

many many many thanks!!!!!

You are correct. You need a cake board under each tier and I usually double them if I am using the cardboard cake circles. Some people also wrap them to keep the grease from making them soft. Basically the cake board and dowels are building a little table that the tier is sitting on.

If you did not have a board underneath, yes the dowels would just push right into the top cake and sink.

I am a big fan of SPS (single plate system). It's a plate and pillar system with no dowels. There is a plastic plate that locks into plastic legs that you push into the bottom tier and set the next tier on top of it. It's similar to the Wilton Push In pillars but SPS seems be stronger quality and has a better design. It would be worth checking out if you're going to do a lot of tiered cakes.

You can see the instructions and lots of info here.
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-603925-0.html