Which do you prefer - wooden dowel rods, plastic dowel rods, or do you have another method that works for you? If you've used multiple kinds, give us pros and cons of each!
TIA!
I use both, depending on the application. For very heavy, large cakes, I prefer the plastic dowel rods. For smaller, lighter tiers, I'll usually use wood.
Rae
I used wooden dowels in my own wedding cake. I was completely mortified when we started eating it and anyplace a dowel had touched the cake it tasted like you were chewing on a Popsicle stick. The flavor of wood was so strong you couldnt even taste cake, just wood. I had only doweled it the day before so I was shocked they did that. I havent used a wooden dowel since and I never will.
I haven't tried the plastic ones yet, but I always have so much trouble with the wooden ones, getting the cuts straight. Maybe it's because I'm not using the right tools for the job.....
I haven't tried the plastic ones yet, but I always have so much trouble with the wooden ones, getting the cuts straight. Maybe it's because I'm not using the right tools for the job.....
dito here my cakes with wood dowls are always crooked i love the plastic ones
In a pinch, I've used the Wilton cookie sticks (that they sell to make cookie bouquets).
Tomay - what do you use to cut the plastic ones?
I prefer the plastic and do use wood sometimes. A year ago I got brave enough to try drinking straws, I get the fattest ones I can find and they have worked great. I usually use wood or plastic on the larger bottom tiers and then straws on the upper smaller tiers, they work great for me and I have not had any problems with them. They are so easy to cut too!!
~Luraleigh~
I normally use the wooden ones till this week. I needed the plastic ones for a wedding cake Im doing right now and I'll tell you no one in Utah carries the 3/4 in. plastic dowels! I drove around and called every place allay yesterday up in northern Utah and I finally found some pillars that will work at Joannes in Ogden! If I had more time I would of ordered them from here, but I didn't get the stuff from the Client till Sunday and she said she had them. Very frustrating! So now if I can get rid of this migraine I can resume on baking. So wish me luck!
I always use wooden,I am afraid to try the plastic rods because they just don't seem like they would be sturdy enough.aside from wooden there have been two occasions where I just didn't have any left and have used lollipop sticks as dowels,but only for two tier cakes,anymore than that and I think they might buckle.
I use wooden dowels, but mostly now for the big cakes I use a Stress Free cake system, which has a metal ring under each layer to hold it up, and you screw in the plastic dowels of the right length to the underside so it's all hooked together. I also use cake jacks which can be adjusted when you don't get it quite even 
If you do use wood dowells, make sure you measure all of them from the first one- they come out more even that way. My husband cuts them all at once for on his circular saw, then I sand and wash them.
use straws, but only when I'm trying to hold a cake together, like the top tier, or a stand up bear. They're cheap, easy to cut, and colored brightly so they're easy to find even in a dark cake.
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