2 Tier Cake

Baking By Pastrychef543 Updated 24 Oct 2016 , 2:56pm by mattyeatscakes

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Pastrychef543 Posted 16 Oct 2016 , 10:30am
post #1 of 16

Hi everyone I had a problem this weekend....I worked on a 2 tier cake. The bottom was 3 layers 12inches and the top was 3 layer 9 inches. And the cake had dowels in it maybe 6 and the top one didn have any dowels. The transporation of the cake ended up messing the whole cake and it also sunk into the cake on the bottom..im guessing from the weight of the cake since chocolate is heavier than sponge or other ones....Can anyone help me so that I dont have this problem again?

Much appreciated in advance :)

15 replies
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Jinkies Posted 16 Oct 2016 , 1:39pm
post #2 of 16

It has nothing to do with the weight of the cake because the dowels should keep the top cake from putting any weight on the lower cake, that's what they are for. It's really just an illusion that one cake is on top of another.  If the top tier sank into the bottom tier, you did not have it doweled properly.  It's difficult to say exactly what you did wrong without seeing the cake, type of dowels, how they were inserted, etc.  We can give you ideas on what may have happened but no one really knows w/o being there and seeing for themselves.

You need to do some research and watch some tutorials on how to properly dowel a tiered cake. Don't give up  :)

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julia1812 Posted 16 Oct 2016 , 5:21pm
post #3 of 16

What type of dowels did you use and how did you cut them (all to the exact same length?). If doweled properly this shouldn't have happened. I use the wilton plastic dowel and use 4 of them in bigger tiers, 3 in smaller and that's all it needs. It could also be that you used too many and you cake was more of a swiss cheese...more is not always better...

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remnant3333 Posted 16 Oct 2016 , 7:49pm
post #4 of 16

Use SPS which is very sturdy for tiered cakes or like Julia said the Wilton ones. I have only done a 3 tiered cake one time and luckily it worked out fine. If I ever did another one, I would definitely use the plastic dowels.

I have seen many use wooden dowels or the straws and they have never had issues but it is better to be  safe than sorry!!  Don't feel alone because many people have had cake disasters. That is how one learns from their past mistakes.  I am sure this will never happen to you again. Hang in there, you are not alone!!!

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Pastrybaglady Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 1:30am
post #5 of 16

I've only started doing tiered cakes recently and looked into many different types of supports. For only two tiers I chose these. These are basically capped straws with a larger surface area to support the upper tier. I use royal icing to adhere them to the upper cake board. So far so good! It feels very secure.

Wilton 399-5004 14-Piece Support Rods and Caps, Purple

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kakeladi Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 3:02am
post #6 of 16

Everyone has mentioned the use of dowels...... but....did you place the top tier on a cake board the same size as the cake before placing it on the doweled bottom tier??  If not then the dowels did nothing to support the upper tier because there was nothing but cake on the dowels.  There needs to be something solid (a cake board) between the cake and the dowels.

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julia1812 Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 3:43am
post #7 of 16

Good point @kakeladi ‍ !

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Pastrybaglady Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 6:17am
post #8 of 16

That very salient point didn't even occur to me as a possibility! No cake board... excellent figuring @kakeladi ‍ 

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Pastrychef543 Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 7:28am
post #9 of 16

Hello! Thank you all for such useful tips ! Yes there was a cake board cut the exact same size as the top cake which was 9 inches. The dowels I used were wooden and I used around 6 ....I do not live in the United States so wilton products such as these are very difficult to find. I need an alternative method. I guess that the dowels were not cut the exact same size. It was fully supported until it was transported the whole top layer moved and the bottom broke ! 

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julia1812 Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 7:40am
post #10 of 16

Was your cake chilled?

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Pastrychef543 Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 9:15am
post #11 of 16

No it was at room Temperature 

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julia1812 Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 9:26am
post #12 of 16

Maybe concider to chill it next time. I find it way easier to transport a cake when it is cold as it's not moving around at all. 

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Pastrychef543 Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 9:36am
post #13 of 16

in the freezer or fridge?

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julia1812 Posted 17 Oct 2016 , 9:48am
post #14 of 16

In the fridge. Once you're done decorating box it up nicely and chill it in the fridge until delivery. I have ac on in my car to keep it cold during the drive. I've never had a cake collapse and I've just done a 50 kg monster, almost 30 inches high and I used 4 wilton dowels in each tier.

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Pastrychef543 Posted 24 Oct 2016 , 12:42pm
post #15 of 16

Thank you everyone! very useful tips! I am positive the results will be better next time ! :)

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mattyeatscakes Posted 24 Oct 2016 , 2:56pm
post #16 of 16

hi, i noticed you had mentioned you used wooden dowels. I have read many articles/forum threads where bakers no longer use wooden dowels as they are not as stable because they can displace the cake and tend to shift during transit.  If available, you can also try using bubble tea straws, these are very fat milk shake straws. These straws are very cheap, can be bought online or in asian stores, and very sturdy.  These are what I use for all my tiered cakes, and so far so good :)

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