I'm making a 25th Anniversary cake next weekend that will be a stacked 6, 10 and 14-inch round fondant covered. The only decoration will be brush embroidery. (Okay, attempted brush embroidery) The cake has to be taken to Florida by the customer so she wants it unassembled so she can put it together herself. I'm wondering what the best border would be. Should I just go ahead and cover the bottom of all three cakes with a nice ribbon? Or give her filled bags of icing to do a simple border? She did say she could do a bead border. Or should I take a risk and stack the finished cakes ahead of time and use the central dowel? That one worries us both. I have to travel with the cake 30 minutes and she has to travel with it an hour and a half.

If she doesn't drive, like a speed demon, I'm thinking that centre dowel should hold everything together.

If she is to nervous to have it put together I say give her the icing if she is willing and she can do border on the cake and that makes it easier for you too.

I am VERY experienced with transporting wedding cakes and I'm afraid to to take one stacked like this a short distance. If you give it to her assembled she will be a nervous wreck all the way to Florida. Not to mention how heavy it will be. Since she can make a simple border, I would let her. The ribbon might get knocked off. I would give her the ribbon and decorating bag. Teach her how to put the ribbon on and she'll have the icing for emergencies. This way if anything happens, it won't come back to haunt you.

GOOD LUCK

Thats alot of moving involved; first from your house to the car and travel, from your car to their house, from their house to the car and travel and finally, from their car to the destination.

I wouldn't stack them...scared to death the whole time. Let her do the simple bead border.

You may be correct, about her driving...I drove a stacked, doweled cake about 90 miles...not a scratch on it. But then I drove like I had an egg balanced on my dashboard.

You could also send the top two tiers or bottom two already stacked and she would only have to place on the other tier.

Debbie

Thanks everyone. I don't know why but that central dowel just terrifies me. I just don't have any experience with it and I'm afraid of the distance. I think maybe we will try the unassembled deal and I will take your suggestions and send both ribbons and icing. I will get her to take a picture for me when she gets it assembled.

Now...that is a good idea...maybe I can go ahead and stack the bottom two layers and use the central dowel.

oh ugh squirrelly, all that "smashing against the sides of the boxes and slicing down the middle has made me sickly feeling LOL!

I know nothing about transporting stacked cakes, as I've never done it, but if she's going to stack them and do the border, you may want to have her demonstrate to you how she does the border.

Unless you've actually seen her work, I would be concerned that the border won't look the way it should.

I think I'd make a small cake and have it iced or covered the way the "real" ones will be (either buttercream or fondant) and have her do the border to make sure she really can do it.

Good luck!

Laura.

SquirrellyCakes, that kind of talk is just uncalled for!! I mean, I might as well describe my appendectomy in all its gory detail! Sliding, braking, swerving, smashing, slicing it's almost vulgar to talk that way on this site!
I could just hear people's stomachs churning as I read that, to say nothing of my own.


Bekah

I agree Bekah, it made my toes curl.

I may have a Freddy Krueger-ish nightmare about my cake SLICING down the middle or silp-sliding away....

HAHAHA, LOL Bekah!

I can't stop laughing at that one.

Squirrelly, I was getting dizzy as you were going up hills and down hills-- the ferry ride just about put me over the edge!

acutally i agree with squirrely cakes.....

I never have aproblem transporting stacked cake and i too always put in a central dowel ....i think shes the one that advised me the 1st time ....so my rules about the same as her no more than 3 tiers and ive done it with buttercream 4 hours and my most recent one the stork for 1 hour....both were going out to the middle of nowhere and the road andmany pot holes and bumps and could not be helped they were fine.....just layed non skid under my cake box and under the cake board...good luck

All joking aside..I totally trust squirrelly's opinion and the rest of you are helpful as well. If I were transporting the cake myself, I believe I would stack it like you all suggest and use the central dowel and the slip prevention pads but I HATE it when I'm NOT the driver . I can't even stand for someone to pick up the cake and transport it a mile down the road! I will worry constantly! Maybe I should go along..

I just had the same situation. Repeat customer wanted 3 tier cake 12-8-6 and can't finish the job on site. Cake was going to another state. I gave her ALL the warnings and took squirrellys advice I had read on another post. I bought a moving box slightly bigger than the cake base and cut it down the side. Used grippy stuff under the cake and the box and a center dowel. It made it there in one piece with no problem except I nearly had a heart attack and made her promise to call me and let me know how it went!!

Heehee, it appears that I may be the cause of a few "cake disaster nightmares tonight, haha" You guys are such characters, haha! If you drove with my hubby and I, you would know that it really is a matter of time because we brake and swerve to avoid hitting any four legged critters (like squirrels). You do stand a better chance with a dense cake, it is amazing the difference a dense cake and a stable filling make when you have to stop suddenly.
I guess I hate to have anyone else set up my cakes, particularly stacked ones. I just have visions of them putting the cakes on off centre or sticking their fingers in and wrecking the icing. I have a situation like that coming up too.
I sure understand your concern! I don't quite relax until a cake makes it to its destination in one piece.
Anyway, in spite of the serious nature of this thread, I sure got a few good chuckles out of your comments!
Hugs Squirrelly

I brake for all critters. I MUST share this story. My mother, bless her heart, does not share my kindness on that matter. We were riding along one day..(I was driving) and out of nowhere, BAM! I didn't even see the little guy! And I immediately got upset and started swearing about the terrible, awful person that I am and how I'm going to turn around and check on the squirrel and my 76-year-old- mother says "No you don't, he's fine, look..he's playing in the road back there!" I looked and ummm he was flip-flopping alrighty but I don't think he was having much fun.

Anyway.... I have now decided to central dowel my cake!!! Thank you squirrelly and everyone for your help. Bring on the nightmares! I'm ready!

Go with the central dowel....warn her to drive very carefully and it will be fine. I, myself, have trouble stacking cake upon cake...spatulas in each hand, doing a balancing act, trying to get them centered, having to FIX a dent or something.

I would NEVER trust a client to handle that part of the assembly. Not to mention the borders. Her impression of a nice border may be totally different than yours, and ultimately it's your name that will float around as the baker.

Don't have nightmares....I have never had a problem with any cake transporting....and I drive through NYC potholes!!!

You're absolutely right squirrellycakes, of Course we should take great care. The cake in my portfolio is the one you helped me figure out, and I did EVERYTHING you say to when I drove it half an hour across town. I even waited until I got there to put on the bow and squiggles cause they were kind of heavy.
I especially love the moving box trick, cause most of my cakes will NOT fit into my nice little plastic cake carrier. How do you get the cake out without leaning down and having to grab the board with the tips of your fingers? (I'm always afraid I won't get the angle right and then smush something, or my sleeve might scrape the top layer while I'm leaning over it) I've thought about cutting down one corner of the box and then taping it so I can easily cut the tape and open the box out to get at the cake on arrival.
I had to listen to you, cause we live in North Carolina, where the streets are h***y, and w***ing and there are lots of unexpected p**h****s.
Oh, adven68, I cry for you! NYC driving scares the snot out of me, and I would faint if I had to transport a cake around there!
Happy Baking All!
Bekah

dsoutherngirl....I think our Moms must be related!!! She would have said the same thing. lol She would purposely hit them, but she sure wouldn't swerve into traffic to avoid them.

Squirrely...I have a HUGE ceramic squirrel in my front yard. Little did I know one of neighbors is terrified of them until he was playing ball with all the kids and ran into my yard to get it. I have NEVER scene a grown man, much less a Marine, scream that loud in my life! lol He keeps calling it satan squirrel...I have got to come with a better name.

BellaRosa

Lol Bella! Well my brother is afraid of clowns so I guess it's okay for a marine to be a lil skeered of a squirrel!

Squirrelly, he sounds like the bird on the windex commercial. Does she use Windex? Bam!!!!! YEP! She does!

If it was me - I would use the Wilton hidden pillars between 12,10,6 & let the customer stack at the site. That way she is transporting 3 double layer cakes. That should be no problem. Once onsite she just has to put the legs of the plate into the hidden pillars already in the cake. And add her simple border.

I love the hidden pillars, I have never had any problems in using them. There is no additional support needed.