I've just started using cake jacks to support my cakes. I love them!!! They're so easy to use. (They're more expensive than dowels, but I seem physically unable to cut a dowel straight, and I also have a mental block on how to cut them so that they are actually level with the top of the cake so I can stack cakes flush. Ultimately I decided time was money and after I had to re-cut the dowels for the last cake I made four times and then finally had to have my husband cut them a fifth time I gave up!) So my question is how many cake jacks are needed to support each size cake? Is there a rule of thumb? The last cake I made I used four to support the six inch round cake, and five to support the eight inch round. I had no problems. I'm wondering if it's necessary to use that many. The wedding cake I have to deliver tomorrow is all square but it's also all carrot cake-so it's really heavy. My other problem is that I only have eight cake jacks that are the right height. Is it possible to use three to support the six inch cake and five to support the ten inch? Or can I use four and four?

Hi... I googled the word "cake jack" and came up empty.

What's a cake jack? Have any weblinks?

Visuals?

thanks

I'd also like to know what a cake jack is? Bump

Me Too!

Cake jacks are plastic rods that come in three different heights 3", 3 1/2" and 4" (those are approximations, but I think I'm pretty close). On the top of the rod is a plastic screw that you can twist up to make the rod 1 1/4" taller. You stick the rod in the cake just like you would a dowel, but unlike a dowel you can adjust the height if necessary while it's still in the cake just by twisting the screw. You know how sometimes a cake looks perfectly level until you try to stack another cake on top of it and you can see it's not level? If you use dowels then you have to pull them out of the cake, hoping that you don't mess the cake up too badly. Well, this totally alleviates the problem because you can just twist the screw up or down to fix it in no time flat! They're AWESOME!

How much do they cost and where do you buy them? TIA.

I don't know what they are either but found this online. These are cake jacks: http://www.cakeartpartystore.com/store/e-StoreOperations_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=249

I know that you can buy them in sets of four at specialty stores, but they usually charge a fortune for them. I found them at a place called CJ Enterprise (8293 Tinkler, Sterling Heights, MI 48312; 586-979-9133). They don't have a website. You can order them by the gross for $52 plus shipping. You can order even more for a bigger discount, but I don't know what the discount is. Like I said, they're more expensive than dowels but they're so easy to use. I just factor their cost into the cost of the cake.

wow thats great I have never heard of these but am going to have to find them.I had to pull dowels out and refix last week and its annoying,this sounds like such a problem solver

Yep-those are them... as you can see they're pretty pricey to buy in small quantities (oops, sorry, I thought they were sold in sets of four, but that says six), but they're not too bad to buy in bulk.

I'm telling you they are worth their weight in gold! I literally cannot cut a dowel straight to save my life!

www.countrykitchensa.com
www.sugarcraft.com

They have them

Having never heard of these, I visited Sugarcraft to see what they are. They have a chart that tells the proper number to use with which size cake. According to the manufacturer, 8"-4 jacks, 10"-5 jacks, 12"-6 jacks and 14"-7 jacks. HTH

Ah-thank you! That's exactly the info I was looking for. So, essentially, you need half as many jacks as you have inches of cake. So I should be fine to divide the jacks I have with three jacks to support the six inch cake, and five jacks to support the ten inch cake. Thanks again!!!

Here is a tip for using the wooden dowels. After you cut them SAND them straight with some fine grit sandpaper. I lay the sandpaper on a table in our garage, then rub the end of the dowel on it.

Google cakes jacks again you can buy them direct, and if you buy enough you can get wholesale. I love them. They have a guide on the website on how many to each tier, but I use them just as I would wooden dowels because they are just about the same size and I feel the cake needs to be supported completely.
Good luck,
Cakes By Shara

For those of you who have used cake jacks, do you find them strong enough to hold really heavy cakes? I am just concerned because it isn't one whole piece and the cake would be resting on the thinner part that is screwed in? Thanks