I am in no way referring to corrugated, plastic board--I believe that is known "tuff board". As with any corrugated product, this can bend along the corrugation lines when overly stressed and lead to cracked icing and much worse disasters.
I am referring to foamcore/foam core-- a flat finish sheet material available in thickness from 1/8" to 1". The inner medium is foam and the outer liner is a filled, high quality paper board. The paper finish would be the same type (or better) that is used on the cardboard rounds, or other types of cardboard surfaces that touch food. It is essentially greaseproof because of the gloss finish. This product is extremely sturdy and bend/break resistant. Foam core can be purchased at art supply stores and is it fairly expensive compared to cardboard. It is usually reserved for applications which demand a higher degree of finish or refinement than corrugated cardboard can accommodate. I am NOT referring to any type of insulation material. This product can, indeed, support weight VERY WELL. As to breakage, the 3/16th inch that I use under cake layers is actually difficult to break by hand. When I have an unusally heavy layer or complete cake, I simply double it up.
I learned to use this product during classes with Colette Peters and Wendy Kromer, two highly respected individuals in cake "construction", and I find through personal use, that it provides a wonderful underpinning for heavy & complicated cakes.
Rae
Here's a site that specializes in foam core drums and cake boards (with various shapes!) and has a new support system that's cheaper than the stress-free version Earlene sells (same idea, but doesn't use metal rings):
http://www.logicpic.com/
HTH
Great site, HTH ! That support system looks interesting.
The Elite Drums sound like they're made from GatorPlast-- an all plastic sheet with extruded polystyrene foam core laminated on both sides with a 15-mil high-impact polystyrene cap sheet with a special matte finish. Gatorplast can be cut in a variety of ways, including table saw or a razor knife. Detailed shapes and contours can be added with a router.
This is a lot more expensive than standard, paper faced foamcore--I can get 6 10" rounds (3/16th thick) for $1 versus their 4 10" rounds (3/16th thick) for $12. I think I'd want this stuff back! But, the price does go down with larger bulk purchases and pre-cut is really nice-I cut my foamcore with a hot knife and even though it's pretty quick & easy, it's still a job I dislike.
Thanks!
Rae
I just checked out the logic pic site and I really like their idea! I'm one of the ones that has to save up for the support system Earlene offers, but I've got a really tall cake coming up, so I ordered the hexagon stands and look forward to seeing how they work.
The foam board that Ray is talking about really works well. I purchased the heaviest quality at a craft store for maybe 3.00 (much cheaper than the wilton cake drums). I put a 16 inch double layer square cake on it this past weekend, and it looked really nice. You can see the board in my photos under "ribbon rose cake". (one of my latest cakes). The cake must have weighed at least 30 lbs. I glued a ribbon around the base of the board, and it was wonderful. I highly reccomend the foam board...it supported the cake beautifully.
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