Ok, I guess I am being silly, but I haven't slept in 3 days and I need to vent.....
I have a wedding cake due on Saturday. It is the largest cake I have ever done and I am stressed. It has four tiers (I know, I know, I am a baby right?) but the most I have ever done is three. The setup is this: 14" round cake, 10" round cake, 5" pillars, 8" round cake, 5" pillars, then topped with a 6" round. I have NEVER done a cake with pillars (let alone two sets....) and I worry about it falling over. I have wooden dowels to put in the cakes, but will that be strong enough or should I use plastic dowels in the bottom cakes? Any advice would help a ton - I start baking tomorrow and will decorate Friday night. Please help to calm my nerves.
Wooden dowels should be sufficient, just use plenty, at least 6 in the 14"
I do like the plastic dowels that are about 1/2 hollow tubes. they are easy to cut and very strong.
As long as you cake layers are perfectly level, and you dowels are cut perfectly even, it will be fine.
Make sure that your dowels are cut even and set level or just below the surface of the cake. Are you using seperator plates or push in pillars I love the push in pillars myself.
If I were doing this cake with the double plates, I would cut push-in pillars to use for dowelling. I would cut them and hot or super glue them to the bottom plate, making a table support for the tiers above. Deliver with the "table" already in the cake, and when you get there, you can add the next "table" which is the top plate with the four pillars hot-glued in place. I'm hope that made sense. Hot glue usually pops off with a little effort, or can be scraped off without damage to your plates/pillars after the event, when you get them back. Just a little insurance.
And take a deep breath and relax, you are going to do great!
What a beautiful cake!!! Great job! Glad everything stayed in place!
We love the plastic dowels that fit into the bottom of the cake plates. We have already had a cake fall (practice cake thank god) from either a dowel not even, layer not even, gravity or 100 other things that could go wrong. With the plates and fitted dowels it is very, very sturdy.
You did a beautiful job! It's perfect and even prettier than the original model 
I ended up just using wooden dowels, but the ones in the bottom two cakes were about 1/2" diameter. My DH marked and cut them to make sure they were all even and we used a level to double check.
I love the idea of the plastic dowels though. I think if I ever make a cake this large again I will use them. Just for the peace of mind. I was so nervous stacking up this cake - just waiting for the disaster....but it didn't come. (Hooray!!)
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