I have a cake due in June that will have a 10,8 and 6" X 3" layers. Can I stack them all towards the back or is that too much weight on the bottom cake. This cake will have a waterfall and I was wanting more surface space for the water.
TIA
Nikki
I did a 5 tier wedding cake and I dowelled and used cake board supports under each cake.
I'd rather be safe than sorry.
And yes, you should be able to stack them toward the back as long as you have an adequate support system.
It will be fine. I did the exact same measurements on the blue cake in my pics. Mine were more centered, but it was so sturdy- I'm sure I could have done it off centered and it would have been fine. I used cake boards and dowels under each one. Good luck!
thanks, I was hoping that would be the answer. I do intend to use dowels and even one going down the whole thing since I will be delivering it fully assembled. Which dowels are better the wooden ones or the plastic ones?
Sorry if I'm barging in here, but I need to do a 12, 10 and 7 and deliver it assembled and was wondering the same thing. Thanks for posting this, I was just about to ask myself.
My question is for those of you who say to use cake boards and dowels as support, are you talking about the wood dowels and just the cardboard cake boards in between?
Or are you talking about the plastic plates with the plastic dowels underneath?
I wasn't sure which would be sturdier. It would seem that the plastic is stronger but the cardboard allows the center dowel to go through the whole thing which I think would provide more stability for travel.
Thanks, and sorry pumpkinroses, for just barging in like this 
I use the cardboard plates under my tiers cut to the size of the cake and then use the plastic dowels in the cake layers. At the end I use the wooden dowels to go all the way through the cakes and into the cake drum under the bottom tier. I use three wooden dowels and that cake is not going anywhere!
I travel with my cakes fully put together and have not had a problem so far.
Each tier will need it's own cake board and set of dowels(wooden, plastic, heavy duty straws-boba tea). For tiered cakes, there should be no exceptions to this rule, imho! It is amazing how heay the tiers can be.
If I travel with a cake fully assembled I use cardboard rounds and dowels (plastic, wood doesn't matter, personal preference. Plastic is easier to cut). Then a sharpened dowel the length of the entire cake gently hammered thru all the layers.
I'm doing a wedding cake in May that I will be using plastic separator plates and hidden pillars because it is a monster-6/10/14/18 so I want all the support I can get. And I will be assembling on-site! 
For the cake that has most of the weight to the back make sure you are doweled in the right area and everything is level!
Good cake karma to you both!
projectqueen, no need to apologize we're all here to help. If my question helps you then great.
dodibug, how do I know where the right place to dowel? I have never done a cake more than 2 tiers and these were centered.
Like DianeLM said you don't want to be too close to the back edge of the cake. Since your tiers will only have a 1 inch difference all the way around (if it were centered) you won't need to off set it by much at all and you will still be able to get a nice effect. I would probably shift it back from the center only about a 1/4in or 1/3in. In this case I would definitely use something to mark the area where the tier above will sit-cardboard round, separator plate with the feet would be even better since the little feet will give you good markings on the cake below. Then you have a guide and can see where the tier will go and exactly where you need your dowels to be.
thanks so much for all the help. I will definately keep all you suggestions handy when the time comes to complete this cake.
It will be beautiful! I'm a real dummy! I've only done one 3-layer stacked cake where I
used a dowel. I pushed a drinking straw through the bottom layer, cut a little higher than the layer. Then, I set the next layer on first layer and the dowel sticking up held the layer in place. The next layer was only 4", so I did not use a dowel. When you use cardboard plates under each layer, how do you get the dowels through the cardboard under the second and third layer without tearing up the whole layer? Is this making any kind of sense???? Thanks for any help. Opal
No dummy ??, just learning ??.
You dowel each layer individually with dowels cut to the height of the tier. Some people do recommend cutting just a hair higher but imho it makes the cake unstable. Once you have the cake assembled, you cut a dowel the height of the entire cake then sharpen one end and then gently but firmly using a hammer or mallet tap the sharpen end thru all the tiers, cardboard. Just use gentle but firm taps.
Check out the article on cake construction in the articles section too!
The cake boards also have to be covered so they don't get soft from the grease/oils in the cake and icing. You can cover with clear contact paper, press n' seal, foil, etc. Contact paper is my personal preference.
hth
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