I am about to attempt my first stacked cake soon and I have a question. I'm going to do a 9" with a 6" on top...but, I just went to Michael's, planning to buy one of those plastic separator plates for the 6", and they don't sell them that small. I got the 8" cardboard cake circles, figuring I could just cut it to size, and the wooden dowels. Will that work? Should I cover the cake circle, or will that make it more obvious?
Help Please!
thanks.
You can cut down the 8 inch circle to use with the 6 inch cake and I would cover the board. You may want to cut it just barely smaller than 6 inch to make sure it won't show. I just made sure that my borders covered mine.
You can use the dowels in the bottom and them hammer one thru both cakes for stability.
Hope this helps.
Cindy
hi cindy
so if i'm getting this right your saying that i can have a board between the two cakes and hammer a dowel through them with out messing up the cake or bend the board?? this is why i haven't tried this before. thanks for the advice!
You can also buy 6in cake circles. I buy them at a cake supply place but I think I have gotten them in Michaels or Wal-mart in a pack. I cover my cake circles for stacked cakes with clear contact paper. I have heard people say they also use press and seal too. If the cake has to be transported it's preferable to keep the cakes separate then stack and finish decorating when you get to your destination and then you shouldn't need the center dowel but if you have to transport stacked make sure you use the center dowel, place the cake on a completely flat surface with non-skid material underneath and nothing that can slide or fall on the cake in the vicinity, and drive very, very carefully.
Also, put a bit of powdered sugar between the tiers and this helps keep the board from sticking to the icing below when you unstack to cut and serve.
d
I just hammered the dowel for the first recently(because I've always been afraid to do it!!) and I think it's important to make sure the dowel is very sharp and your boards are completely intact. Don't buy boards that have been bent or if you bend them by accident, don't use them for a stacked cake that you have to drive a dowel thru because they won't hold up like they should.
An alternative is to cut a hole the size of the dowel in the boards and lower each tier down onto the center dowel that has been placed in the bottom tier.
Sorry, I was off in Never, Neverland for a bit. I agree with dodibug. Sharpen the dowel stick and make sure your board is sturdy, but not plastic if you are going to drive a stake thru the whole cake.
I have found the 6 inch separator plates at Hobby Lobby. I like the hidden pillar method for stacking myself because I think it is a sturdier construction.
You buy the plastic pillars and cut them even with the top of your cake and you get the separator plates with the little feet that fit down into the
pillars. That is what I used for the wedding cake I made and it was very sturdy.
Hope this info is helpful to you.
Cindy
I made a wedding cake this weekend and it was 12, 10 & 8" stacked. I used the Cake-jacks on my bottom and middle layers, I was even brave enough to assemble my cake at home and it never shifted. I even had to cut down a 10" circle to fit my 8" cake. I didn't do the dowel in the center either. I guess I was just in a tired stuper or something. My cake was fine and never shifted. good luck
bransmom, that's great that you didn't have a problem!! I do have to travel with this cake, and I kind of want to assemble at home...but didn't really want to do the dowel down the center because of the hassle. not sure if I'm going to risk it or not 
I definitely wouldn't risk it. The last thing you want is all your hard work in a pile in the back of the car not to mention all those hours of work down the drain. Doweling down the center isn't really a hassle ( I just hate cutting all those dowels for the tiers!!) and there really is no subsitute for proper cake construction imho.
You definitely want the dowel sharp. I also held my hand around the dowel and held the hammer closer to the top so I would have more control over the hammer and not take a chance on missing the dowel. I just tapped it firmly but not really hard. Make sure you have it measured a bit shorter than the top of the cake and you can use another dowel on top of that to finish tapping it in. And have a plan to cover the hole (topper, icing, etc)
The trick to that would be finding the hole!! And you really want the hole to be pretty close to the size of the dowel.
An alternative to driving the dowel thru is to push a hole thru the cake board with the dowel(so you have your hole in the board), place the cake on the board, place the long dowel in the bottom tier and lower the top tier down onto the dowel and into place on the bottom tier.
You'll have cake board, cake (your bottom tier, say 10in cake) then place the long dowel in the center of the bottom 10in cake. For your top tier-say 6in cake, punch a hole the size of the dowel in the 6in cake board then place your cake on the 6in board. Then take cake on cake board (with the hole in it) and lower the cake down onto the long dowel. Just make sure the dowel is a bit shorter than the height of the cake so it doesn't poke thru the top of the top tier.
Does that make more sense?? 
It's hard to visualize it, I know. I'm the kind of person that needs to be shown stuff!
Thank you! I'm not the best decorator but I try to help when I can. Post here when you get the cake done so I don't miss it!! I don't know if you have seen it, but there's an article on stacked cake construction on this site. Also, I've used the center dowel many times and never had a problem. You don't really need to cut a hole beforehand--just push in the sharpened dowel until you hit the cardboard, give a tap with a hammer, and then push through to the base. HTH!
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