I have a 2-tiered wedding cake to do next weekend and I'm in need of a doweling method that will really hold. It's not a large cake, but I have to take it already assembled to the wedding. It must not shift on the way there b/c of the design the couple wants - a Chinese dragon that will wind down the tiers. If it shifts, the dragon will be ruined and they will surely flip. Any ideas?
This sounds interesting, but I am not sure how to help. Here is a BUMP!
Be sure to post a picture!
Whatever you do, don't try to use a larger sized dowel. When I took my cake decorating classes we had to bring in a wedding cake & the only cake that fell on the way there was one that was doweled with large dowel rods. I (& everyone else in the class) used dowel rods that were about the size of a straw or pencil. The ones that were used in the cake that fell were about twice that size. My instructor said that one would think that bigger is better, but actually with the size of cake she had (12' bottom & 8' top), & by how they were placed (she had quite a few in there) it weakened the structure. It actually fell as she was carrying it in. She had the cake in her hands & before she got to the building the cake just shifted & that was the end of it.
To make sure your cake doesn't move, sharpen 2 dowels and drive them into your cake.
If you only use one in the middle your cake has a chance of spinning around when you make twisty turns.
Good luck and post pic
Thanks for the help!
RisqueBusiness - Do I put the top tier on a cake board?
Yes, always! lol
Cut it to size and hide the cut edge with a border 
ACK! I was afraid you were going to say that! I'm asceered of hammering into my cakes!
lol what you do is measure your dowel just a little shorter than your cake...then you sharpen it to a point..
It's only cardboard..and if you use the cake dowels they are not too fat...what I do is keep a random end of dowel after I push the dowel into the cake..I used the random end to push it in further, then I hide the holes with a decoration.
So, you ice your cakes first? Being that this is a wedding cake they're going to have some type of topper but I don't know the size, etc. and the cake will only have a BC icing. I'm freaking out now.
You have to find out what the topper is so you can make that top cake large enough..
and you need to put a board under the cake topper.
All that will hide the holes in your cake
My advice is dont dowel your cake. Guy some cake supports from lauras-cakes.com. They are not that expensive, will not shift and are reusable. Next to the stress free system that Earlene promotes these are the best. These run a few dollar, the stress free system is several hundred.If you use these you will never go back to dowels.
not laurascakes, lauras-cakes.com
http://www.lauras-cakes.com/supports.htm
Laura's are great-looking, but they won't help me. Right on her site it says, "It is strongly recommended that you never transport any stacked or tiered cake already assembled". I started this post b/c I need something that will keep the cake stable b/c I have to transport it assembled. Thanks, anyway.
And the top tier is going to be 6 inches and the bride knows that so I hope that her topper will fit! I have to call her anyway and I'll be sure to ask about it.
I think they made the statement about transporting because these only support from the bottom and don't connect the cakes to each other, but maybe you could also put in some doweling and then stack the tiers. Just a possibility, maybe someone else has another idea. Janice
Laura's are great-looking, but they won't help me. Right on her site it says, "It is strongly recommended that you never transport any stacked or tiered cake already assembled". I started this post b/c I need something that will keep the cake stable b/c I have to transport it assembled. Thanks, anyway.
And the top tier is going to be 6 inches and the bride knows that so I hope that her topper will fit! I have to call her anyway and I'll be sure to ask about it.
I know that's what you were asking, and that's why I responded that you dowel your cake with 2 dowels to keep it from swinging...but then you asked about the cake topper...you don't need dowels you can support that cake topper with some sanitary straws cut to size under a cake board to place your cake topper on!
Good luck and post your picture
we deliver cakes all the time completely assembled. We put the supports in the cake and put a little BC on them and have yet to have a problem. If you are that concerned about the cake shifting use a wood base and screw a dowel to the base. Cut holes in your boards and slide them over the dowel. You will still need to use supports. We use an apple corer to remove the cake where the dowel goes.
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