I was making a stacked cake for this guy that I worked for, It was my first one I have ever done, and it turned out really good, but I had a problem with one part and I was hoping y'all coulf help me with it. It will probably sound really simple and I know there has to be a better way to do it then the way I did it!

OK, Do you ice the stacked layer before or after you put it on the cake, and with whichever one you do, please explain why you choose to do it that way! Any advice and help would really be appreciated!

Thank you
Connie

I decorate first. that way, if I drop, drip or spill anything, I'm not worried about messing up the bottom cake. I can also get at the top tier from any angle without mushing my hand/finger/decorating bag into the decorating on the bottom tier. Just use a sturdy piece of cardboard underneath, and lift and move carefully once you've decorated it.

HTH
Bekah

Definetly ice it before you stack it. But you do the borders and add decorations once it's together.

I have another question on this topic - if you put the upper tier(s) on a cake board and use powdered suger to keep it from sticking to the bottom layer, what keeps it from just sliding right off the supporting dowels and on to the floor?? I am doing a stacked cake soon - thanks for the help!! KM

take a long dowel (or whatever you're using, but wood works best for this) and sharpen it with a pencil sharpener. Once the tiers are stacked, take a HUGE breath, and drive the dowel down all the way through top tier, cake board, bottom tier, and just into bottom board. You will probably have to use a tack hammer to get it through the boards. Make sure you've cut it to extend from the bottom cake board to at least 2/3 of the way up into the top tier once fully pushed in. If it goes below the surface of the top tier, you'll need another dowel to help you countersink it.

First time I did this, I nearly screamed with nerves, but it did work beautifully. You will need to cover up the hole with something afterward, either icing, a fondant "plug", or some sort of caketop decoration.

I just drove over half an hour to deliver a stacked cake today, and it didn't even budge, anchored this way.

HTH,
Bekah