Help! 4 Tier Stacked Cake

Decorating By TastersDelight Updated 21 Jun 2006 , 5:42pm by Eren

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TastersDelight Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:03pm
post #1 of 12

Hi,
I have a wedding 4 tier stacked cake due sat. i'm trying to "pre drill" my holes thru the foamcore so i can make sure my cake is stacked evenly, needless to say it's not working. I cannot get these holes aligned evenly, now i've got a ton of holes in the board from re-aligning.

Could I just use separator plates and not worry about doweling? I will be setting up on site.

Please help.

Thanks
Joanne

11 replies
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TastersDelight Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:14pm
post #2 of 12

Bump please

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Jenni27 Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:20pm
post #3 of 12

Is the whole cake going to be foam? If so, I myself would not dowel it if you are going to set it up on site. As for the holes that are already there, fill them with frosting and you should be ok.

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bakers2 Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:21pm
post #4 of 12

I'm not sure I'm understanding what you were attempting to do - but...if you use foam core you need to have dowels in each tier to suport the next tier and then you can sharpen a dowel with a devoted pencil sharpener and 'drive' it though all the layers to keep the cake from shifting side to side - as long as the dowel is sharpened - I've never had an problems (100's of stacked wedding cakes) you can also go with seperator plates - as long as you use push-through pillars you won't need the dowels - if your not using push through pillars you need to dowel the same way as foam core....hope this helps...

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TastersDelight Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:22pm
post #5 of 12

Hi,
Thanks for your quick reply. The cake is a real cake, I'm using foamcore for the boards under the cake instead of cardboard.

Thanks
Joanne

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bakers2 Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:33pm
post #6 of 12

yep - i was talking about real cake - was referring to using foam core as the cake boards - cake can be very heavy and doweling is important - I use 3/16" between the tiers and 1/4" to 'skewer' the cake - never have had any problems with cardboard cake boards or foam core.....

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TastersDelight Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:39pm
post #7 of 12

sorry for the confusion, sometimes it's hard to understand what people mean on here, lol. anyway, so you think as long as i dowel in between layers to support the layer above i will be ok?
How do you get a center dowel thru the foamcore after it's stacked? I tried a sharpened dowel and had a hard time with no cake, i'm scared to death of cracking this cake.

thanks
joanne

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TastersDelight Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:43pm
post #8 of 12

btw cakes are 6, 8, 10 & 12
and i looked at your site baker, beautiful cakes!!

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bakers2 Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:52pm
post #9 of 12

dowels between each layer - has always worked for me- I place the dowels after everything is completely frosted and chilled - I center an empty board on top of the bottom layer, trace around it, remove it and then I place the smaller dowels - usually six dowels for 10" cake or larger and 4 dowels for smaller....I push the dowel in mark it even with the frosting with a pencil - pull it out a little ways and cut it off with a pair of dikes (devoted to cakes) - then I push them all back into the cake and place the next layer on...- I transport stacked so I dowel through all the layers after it's stacked - I just sharpen the dowel - pencil sharp - and then push on through! Can be scary - and you have to go slow so when the dowel hits cake you don't push your hands in it!!! I have heard that some people use a rubber mallet to help get it through the foam core....hope this all made sense....Good luck!

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bakers2 Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:54pm
post #10 of 12

thanks for the compliment - some days are better than other! icon_biggrin.gif

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Jenn123 Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 3:55pm
post #11 of 12

You must use dowels for a 4 tier cake or the bottom will collapse from all the weight. You don't need the center dowel unless you are traveling stacked.

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Eren Posted 21 Jun 2006 , 5:42pm
post #12 of 12

Sharpen the dowel with a pencil sharpener and use a mallet (with soft taps) to drive it through.

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