I have never put a dowel through all three tiers, but think I should with this upcoming cake because the tiers will be high. Each tier will be on cardboard, and I'm worried the dowel, even though it will be sharp, will squish the cake trying to get through two layers of cake and cardboard before hitting the cardboard base. Any experienced folks willing to talk me through? Thanks! <<<<<<<Cheryl

Sure. You cut a small X at the midpoint of the cardboard so that the dowel can go thru without bending the cardboard. But really SPS, Bakery Crafts' Single Plate System eliminates the need for any dowels.

Hi,
Trust me when I tell you the first time is the hardest! I sharpen a long dowel and just pound it in with a wooden mallet. It goes right through all the cardboard cake boards with no problem. I haven't ever had a problem with squishing the cake layers at all. Just be sure the tip of the dowel is sharp and that should prevent any problems.

Another way to do it is to poke a hole in each cake board prior to putting the cake on it. Put the center dowel in the bottom cake so it touches the base board and sticks straight up. You'll have to measure how tall to make the center dowel so it's the right height. Then take the next cake tier and put it down onto the dowel from the bottom hole that you already poked. And so on until you get all your tiers on.
Hope that makes sense.

KimAZ

I dowel all the way thru all my doweled cakes...never had a layer "squish in"....You just need to sharper the dowel...I find a pencil sharpener works great and then push it in a little, get your hammer and smack it on it...It really ONLY SOUNDS scary....I promise youll only be scared of doin it the first time...and from now on your hammer gets to be a new cake tool! yay!

i was surprised the first time i did it how easy it went through everything and there was no squishing and i just pushed it by hand. i only did it on a two tier that had a styrofoam ball covered in fondant roses at the top of the cake that i wanted to make sure didn't go anywhere so i put a hole in the styrofoam first, put the dowl through my cake and stuck the styrofoam on like an eraser on a pencil. it really hold everything together nicely.

Thanks for the confidence everyone! Leahs, I think you are going to get me to join the SPS club. My husband wants me to get an SPS so he won't have a coronary. Poor dear, I said, "these have to be cut EXACT, or this cake is GOING DOWN!!" He said he needs a xanax for the wedding cake this weekend. <<<<<<<<Cheryl

Hey, look everyone, I'm a "regular member" (little do you know!)! Some magic must happen after 100 posts. I'll have a piece of cake to celebrate! <<<<<<<Cheryl

I stuck the center dowel for the first time this past weekend on a 4 tier wedding cake, and I was scared to death. Once thing to make sure of is that when you are covering the boards (I cover mine in the bakery foil type stuff) that you are careful where you tape. I had some tape on the back of the board in the center and I had to resharpen my dowel several times to get through the cake...the other levels the dowel went right through since they didn't have the tape in the center. Just an FYI!

I've read everyones posts on this, but I still don't have the confidence to do the center dowel thing. Good luck to all that are willing to try it though. I agree with KimAZ to start from the bottom though. It sounds safer to me. Good luck everyone with this!! Trust me, my luck will be the first cake to 'smoosh'.

Hey crazycakes,
It just occured to me that when I was at a FN Celebrity Cake Challenge that I noticed Bronwen using SPS. So its not just me. You do need to bake to the size of cakes that will make your tier 4 - 4.25" tall and then you don't have to cut anything. That's assuming that you can find the GC-4S legs, not the multipart ones. I get them direct from BakeryCrafts, I know that Sugarcraft.com carries them (sorry) and I've asked CK to start carrying them. I'll bet if CK starts getting a lot of requests, they would add those legs.

Muchos gracias. Bakery Crafts... I'll try one. My cakes are 4-4.25" high on a good day, so that would be no problem. Do you still put your tiers on cardboard before you put them on the plastic? Ribbitfroggie, I have been putting my cakes directly on the cardboard rounds, then only wrapping the bottom base that you can see in bakery foil. Is this not cool? Give it to me straight if you think that's gross! Again, my friends, thank you for your time. <<<<<<<Cheryl

Yes, you do need to use a cardboard under the cake which then sits on the SPS plate. It will make more sense when you see. it.

no you dont need bakery foil on those top tiers
if youre using the proper cardboard circles, then theyre all made food safe anyway... no need for any extra step on something that wont be seen

um well how many days you gonna have them on that cardboard??

I bake one day...put cakes in freezer and make icing the next day, then on third day take cakes out of freezer and frost and assemble....never had a "soggy" one... I use 50/50 crusting BC

This is my process for wedding cakes and larger tiered cakes

I used SMBC on a tiered cake yesterday, set the cake on just the cardboard, and did not seem to have a problem with sogginess. It seems like an extra step you could skip, and no tape to get in your way! Cheryl

Wow-no problem with sogginess if you don't cover the cardboard between tiers--who'd have known--I've always covered inner cardboards with freezer wrap, but maybe no more!! And as many have said, pounding the dowel through the first time is the worst--after that you will see how darn easy it is and you'll be so confident!! I have my own hammer in my cake drawer in the kitchen and my DH knows to leave it alone!!!!

I went and bought my own little hammer so I didn't have to keep hunting for dh's when I needed it.

I use central dowels all the time! On smaller cakes I'll use a bamboo skewer or thinner dowel but I find it helps so much to keep the cake from moving around at all.

Courtney

Yeah for Fran!

You bought the plates , too I hope . . .

Personally, I like to cover my boards with contact paper for nicer cakes I do.....I don't like the idea of tape for fear the taste might absorb into the cake - some tapes have a stronger smell.....Man, I'm going to try the wooden dowel thru the center this next week....I'm doing a 14" square 5" high, 12" square 6" high, 8" square 5" high and a 6" square 5" high - sort of a whimsical look but not topsy turvy.....

I need feedback on rolling a big 24" piece of fondant though...Anyone buy anything from Home Depot to put on kitchen table to roll the fondant on? I have nothing in this house that is flat enough to roll such a big darn piece......

Any feedback on any of this is appreciated......I'm airbrushing my black tiers black!

Well, you guys have done it to me again. I'm going to have to start removing the word "never" from my CC vocabulary!

First, I had to stop saying I "never" do fondant, when I tip-toed into the fondant world with my Hershey Kiss cake.

Not 20 minutes ago, I did my first dowel-thru-the-cake. It's a mini wedding cake (10" styrfofoam, 8/6/4) that will be covered in chocolate ganache from top to bottom. No way I can finish the assembly at the site so I HAVE to assemble it here and ganache it, then transport it.

So, with a big, deep breath, I sharpened the end of that sucker and hammered it in. I even managed to keep my eyes open the whole time. (I think that was the hardest part!)

Just like y'all said .... sounds scarier than it is, but it went thru! I've been carrying the cake around the kitchen and jiggling it to try to simulate travel and I'm (deep breath) confident!!

So now I have to remove the phrase "I NEVER transport assembled" from my word list!

I can see that slippery slope catapulting me into the fondant world getting closer and closer!

You guys are a BAD influence on me!

How do you sharpen your dowels? Someone mentioned a pencil sharpener but that doesn't sound very sanitary. I just can't figure out the best way to sharpen and I don't whittle at all. lol

I whittled. But hold it over the trash can. (dont' ask me how I know that.)

ha,ha...Hey, what's a little pencil shavings in the cake.....I would probably assume they (What I will be doing this weekend) is buy one that is strictly for your cakes only - No kids allowed! ha,ha......

My question though was what if you have a bigger dowel you want to sharpen.....A friend of mine used her husbands grinder, but again how sanitary was that I wonder.....hmmmm

I always use a pencil sharpener for the dowel through the middle and I've never used a dowel bigger than 1/4" (or pencil size) so it fits perfectly in the pencil sharpener. The pencil sharpener I use I keep exclusively in my cake tools drawer, so it's all good and works like a charm!!!!! Indydebi I'm glad you came around on that never thing!!!!

WTG Debi on your first "all the way thru" dowel!!!!


and I keep my own pencil sharpener for dowels only
for my cakes, just a little manual one, and it has 2 holes
one for regular pencil size and the other for larger "fat"
pencils...so I have had great success with it

I hope this inspires more people to be brave like us LOL

Thank you everyone! I'm seriously scared but will give it a try. I would have tried a fat honkin dowel before you all told me to keep it to pencil size! I do the deed on Monday, so thanks for the info and encouragement.

Cheryl

Cheryl--you go girl--It will be a success! Just pound that dowel in with authority!! Good luck!