What Size Cakes Should I Use For A 3 Tier With Pillars?????
Decorating By butternut Updated 11 Jul 2006 , 1:05pm by Jenn123
Hi everyone. Alright I have a bit of a dilemma. I want to make a wedding cake. I've never made a tier cake before and I just realized that I may have purchased the wrong size plates, etc. What I want to do is make a small three tier using the push in pillars between each cake. I was going to do a 6, 8, and 10 inch but now I see that won't look very good. I'm starting to think that you need like a 6, 10, and 14 in order to make it look the shape it should be. If this is correct, that's a bit larger than I wanted to make, however I may have to go with that if it looks better. My question is what is the smallest size cakes you guys usually use when doing a tier cake with pillars? Also, am I right in thinking that you would use a seperator plate that is 2 inches larger than the cake? Lastly, should the bottom base be 2 or 4 inches larger than the bottom cake? Whew, I know this is a lot but I've got this thing coming up in the next couple of days and suddenly I realize that I'm not sure of what I'm doing 
Please help me if you can. Thanks so very much!!!!!
Hi butternut! I make 10-8-6 cakes with push pillars all the time. I put the cake on it's own cardboard and let that rest on the plastic plate. That way it is easy to transport & assemble on-site. I use a 7" & 9" pillar/plate for this size, but use what ever works for you. I make the board a little larger than the plate so it doesn't show. Keep in mind- If you use plates too big, the columns won't fit right in the cake below.
There is no set rules on how this should be done. Make the tools you have, work for you. 
This picture is a 10-8-6 with push in pillars as you describe. Feel free to PM me for help.
Fab cake Jenn! I think your method of using a board a bit bigger than the plate really helps balance it out and make the tiers look a bigger difference in size than they actually are - it looks great, I'll have to remember that one!
Jenn - do you recall what size your push-in pillars were on the above cake you posted? That's the exact size that I'm looking for. Wow, that cake sure is beautiful. Even if I do manage to get this cake together, it will never look that beautiful..... By the way, do you have any suggestions you can pass along on how to get the second and top cake onto the pillars without putting your fingers getting into the borders Every time I think I've got this all figured out, I come up with a stumbling block. Anyway, I certainly do thank you Jenn and everyone else who has replied. I appreciate it so much. I did up a dummy cake last night and did some different designs, trying to figure out what would look best for the bottom tier. I'm going to try to post it and please tell me what you think. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much!!!
I use the taller columns (9") because these are 3 layer tiers. I like Coast pillars best because they are sturdiest, but I have used Wilton. I order the longest legs and then cut them down if I need something shorter. I always insert the pillars before decorating. They can help you measure the borders and line everything up.
Advice on fingers in the icing- I don't go all the way to the edge with the border. You can add the last border on at the site if you want to cover the board completely. Use a spatula to lift the board from a flat surface so that you can get your hand under it.
Your cake is very beautiful! Relax!
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