I apologize in advance for how long this will be but I want to make sure I get this right!!!
OK - so I have my 3 tiers iced & in the fridge.
The bottom layer is Devils Food Chocolate cake made w/ the Super Enhanced cake formula from CC. It's 3 layers of 9x1" rounds filled & iced with Chocolate SMBC. The taller side is 5" & the shorter side is 4".
The second layer is 2- 6x2" rounds made of lemon cake w/ the same cake extender as above and filled with Kahlua raspberry filling. The taller side is 4 1/2" and the shorter side is 3".
The third layer is a 3" lemon cake (no filling) and is 3" at the taller side & 2" at the shorter side. (Don't know if any of that matters for my questions but figured I'd give that info in case it helps with your answers!)

I've only ever stacked one cake before & it was in my Wilton Elegant fondant class & the teacher didn't have us dowel as it was only a 6" on a 10"... so I'm very nervous about stacking this one!! Especially since it's to be tilted!
I used Rainbowz method posted on CakesCanada of using the filling to create the higher layer instead of carving a hole in the cakes. So now, I have a couple questions:
1) I am supposed to dowel the bottom & middle layer individually & then one through the whole thing right??
2) I have heard of using straws to dowel & was wondering if you think straws would be strong enough for this cake due to the tilted construction?
Or should I maybe use hidden pillars instead? I have wooden dowels & was planning on placing one (or 2) down as close to the center of the whole thing as possible but I'd rather not have to use wooden dowels in the layers if I don't have to.
3) I'm using cake circles under the top 2 tiers & plan to do a border around the bottoms of each tier of fondant balls to hide where they meet. I can't really assemble it when we get to dh friends house tonight so I'll have to stack it at home & then transport it in the back of our van- it's only about 8 minutes away though. When can I take the layers out of the fridge to stack them without fear of the BC melting & the cake sliding apart when moved but still have it soft enough to taste right when we go to eat it? (I'm assuming it will sit out at the party for about an hour before we're ready to dig into it.) There's NO way it will fit in my fridge stacked!

Any other tips I should know before putting this thing together? I'll attach a picture of the undecorated layers so you can kind of visualize how it may need to be constructed.

I am sure you may have already completed the cake by now. You did a wonderful job putting your tiers together with such smooth icing. I would use more than just straws to support the cake. I would use the wooden dowel in the second and third tiers and then the long dowel in the center.

I am sure the cake looked great after it was completed...please post a picture of it!

Actually, I haven't quite got it finished yet. I have the bottom 2 tiers together & I'm letting them chill in the fridge to set a little before adding the top tier. I was actually considering doweling just the second & bottom tier too because they look SO big to me! I have hidden pillars in the base tier & straws in the second tier since the third tier is pretty small & light.
I'll be sure to post a pic of it once it's completed--- before it has a chance to tumble!!!

Good luck...I can't wait to see it!

I'm so happy!!! It all worked out great!!!
If I was to redo it I think I would put less decoration on the top tier - there's too many diamonds I think - it looks too busy. But, other than that I'm pleased with it - especially since it was my first attempt. It's in my pics but I'll post it in here too.

wow. that's awesome. great job!

Exellent! Looks like a lots of hard work!

wow very very very beautiful cake ... i haven't made a single stacked cake ever...i don't even know how you use the dowel, the straw or the pillars... can you give me some tips? i am confused with the instructions on how to make this type of cake...your pictures helped a lot but i really can't figure out the dowels can you pm or email me? thanks a lot

great cake. but can you elaborate on this part...

"used Rainbowz method posted on CakesCanada of using the filling to create the higher layer instead of carving a hole in the cakes."

When stacking the tiers, did you carve a hole in the cake so it would sit upright? can u elaborate on Rainbowz method.

TY!

I believe it means that you build a higher dam on one side of the cake, then fill..this will cause the next layer to sit on a "tilt".

Thanks for the kind words everyone.
That's exactly right IHATEFONDANT. That's how it was done. I didn't want to go through the trouble of carving a hole out of the cake so I tried the method he posted here:
http://www.cakescanada.com/HowTo/

The website is cakescanada.com (in case the link above doesn't work) and go to the How To section from the top menus.

great website!!

Congratulations...your cake looks fantastic!!!!

I really want to try one too!

Your cake looks great! I haven't been brave enough to attempt one yet. Maybe some day!

I am guessing that you used a sharpened dowel down the center to secure the whole cake????

I made my first whimsical cake (see my photos) a couple of weeks ago and I just torted each cake at an angle and then reasembled so that it tilted. I then cut a small part of the cake out so it was level and put the layers in that way, doweled through the entire cake with a couple of skewer (It had to travel assembled) and it survived fine. I would be afraid of making an Icing Dam as it would slide, no?

Traci - I used 2 sharpened dowels actually - probably overkill but I wanted to be on the safe side since this was my first time. I put one through just the 2 bottom tiers & then one through all 3.
loriemoms - I'm too lazy to do all that cutting which is why I never tried one of these cakes until I found that way of doing it. The icing dam was fine. I used SMBC so it was VERY solid after it had been in the fridge for about 20 minutes. It sat out at a party (kinda hot in the house too!!) but the only thing that slid was the ball of fondant on top holding the wires with little balls on it. This was a very easy way of doing it in my opinion - and based on my results I think it's a pretty sturdy way of doing it. Don't know what the results would be like using crusting BC but I would assume it would be ok too?!

Great job!! Love it. Someday I will try a tilted cake.

thnx for your replies. another question(s). what is SMBC. i know BC is buttercream, but not sure what SM stands for. Would a crust BC work as well? also, putting a sharp dowel thru the tiers....there's no problem getting the dowel thru the cardboard plates? I havent tried one, but i keep thinking i would have trouble getting the dowel thru the cardboard plates.

ty

Falenn - SMBC is Swiss Meringue Buttercream. This was my first attempt so I'm not sure about a crusting BC but maybe someone else here knows. As for the dowel through the cardboard it's actually easy. You just make sure it's sharpened to a point & it goes through with a light tap from a hammer. I actually just pushed mine all the way through the second cardboard circle with no problems & no hammer though. Try it without a cake on it first if you're really nervous about it - that's what I did!

Great job! Love the colors.

very nice, i really like the colors and it doesnt look busy.