Ok, I am making a stacked, 4 tier wedding cake this weekend and I need some input on the structure. The top 3 tiers are made with a choc cake that is very dense and therefore very heavy. The base tier is the WASC cake recipe, but with yellow mix. Basically, the 10" choc is heavier than the 12" yellow. I am planning to use separator plates with hidden plastic pillars; I thought this would give more support than thin wooden dowels, but I have never used them before. They seem pretty sturdy though.

Am I headed for a disaster?? BTW: I inherited this order from someone; I had a collapse once because of the weight and I like to put my choc on the bottom.

Are you putting it together on site? I just use 1/2 inch foam board under each layer and dowels. I hate those hidden pillars. They eat up so much of the cake. If you use enough dowels you'll be fine. If you feel unsure, you can always put a center dowel in too.

I did a huge 4 tier last summer using the hidden pillars(the ones that the feet on the plate sit down in) and plates. You will be fine. They are very strong. But I would assemble on site.