Okay, so last night we were going to dowel the two tiered cake I made. I dowelled the bottom tier, but we were going to put a dowel through the whole thing.

We sharpened it, and went to do it, but it wouldn't go through the cake board. I used a cardboard cake board, and covered it with clear contact paper to keep it from getting soggy...

How are you supposed to dowel the entire cake???

hint: preslit...esp. if covering w/ tough contact paper.

Did you tap it in with a hammer? Sorry to state the obvious.....

im sure its the hammer. i cover mine in contact paper and it goes right through w/a the tap of a hammer.

I have only done one, but it went through fairly easily using a mallet. I sharpened the dowel really well with a pencil sharpener.

I'm confused, but since I haven't ever had to dowel a cake yet since I am a 'newbie', I will ask anyway. Please forgive my ignorance.

If you have sharpened your wooden dowels to a point to get it thru the contact paper and into the cardboard:

1) how many cardboard layers are you using?
2) how do you hold the cardboard layers together?
3) do you screw the dowel into the cardboard or a piece of plywood under it????
4) how do you get your cakes to sit right?
5) do you cover your dowels in foil do keep splinters out of the cake?
6) you mean you have to cut them to the length you need them in???? I thought they had them in all different sizes and you just bought what you needed. Sounds like I'm gonna have to make a trip to the hardware store soon.

Once again, please forgive my ignorance, but that is what CC is for: to help fellow cake decorators.

Thanks!

fourangelsmommie I will see if I can answer a few of your quesions. I have only done one stacked cake so someone else could probably guide you better...

There is only one cardboard circle per cake...so if you have just two tiers you would have one cake board underneath each cake. After your cake has been doweled on the bottom and you have stacked your top teir you should drive a center dowel through both cakes to keep them from sliding around. You do this by sharpening a dowel rod (it is smooth and I doubt that you should have problems with splinters) Anyway, you a hammer or mallet and tap the dowel through the center of both cakes (so it is not screwed in or anything) it should go all the way through to the bottom.

Yes you will need to cut the dowels that you need them. To dowel the bottom you stick it in, mark where you need to cut, pull it back out, cut, stick it back in. To do the center dowel I just eyeballed it, you want it to be shorter than both tiers (I am not sure if there is an exact method for measuring the center dowel) Also you can just get the dowels from your craft store in the cake section.

When do i put the dowels in the cake after i have finished decorating it or when marzipaning,, all the instructions say is remember to dowel bottom cake tier beneath the seperator?