Hey everyone!

I live in the Sacramento Area and I am supposed to deliver a cake to tahoe tomorrow (8/16) morning at 10am. The bride just called me to inform me that the wedding planner told her that all cakes made in the Sacramento Area collapse when they are driven up to tahoe due to the elevation change (needless to say, she is flipping out). My question is...is there any way to reinforce a cake to withstand this or am I just doomed? I have not covered the cake with fondant yet but the layers are filled with frosting already, but I am wondering if there is anything that can be done to the layers themselves. HELP PLEASE!!!!

The change in altitudes doesn't affect your stacked cake, it affects the baking. So if your cake is well stacked, dowels and the works, I don't see any real problem. Of course systems like sps, sfs would be best, but if you don't have them I think dowels are just fine.

Is there a way that you can travel with it unstacked and then stack it when you get there?

I normally travel with mine completly stacked...but I might not if I thought it would fall.

The other thing you can do is use the sharpened dowel in the center of the cake. I have used one dowel through the first 3 tiers and used another one for the tiers stacked on top of that. It seems to work well as some of the roads I have traveled have been bumpy...but the cake made it still intact.

Best of luck...I am sure everything will be fine.

.........The bride just called me to inform me that the wedding planner told her that all cakes made in the Sacramento Area collapse when they are driven up to tahoe due to the elevation change.....

Another planner who doesn't know what she/he is talking about
I haven't baked/delivered in that exact location but I have done many, many wedding c akes w/similar situations. As other posters said, it's in the baking that there are problems. If the cake is properly baked, stacked etc there should be no problems The suggestion of putting the cake together on site is a good one.
How do you usually support your cakes? Dowels, straws, SPS or stress free sytem?

I normally do a crap load of plastic dowels...probly more than I should but I would rather be safe than sorry! What is SPS or stress free sytem?

I would definitely travel with it unassembled (we just came back from Tahoe and I am thinking of those tight roads right before Strawberry, etc.) As for the elevation thing, if this wedding planners theory is correct than any cake that is flown in an airplane would collapse too so I think she is a bit off.

If anything, try to get your hands on a single plate system since it is very, very sturdy - and I would still recommend assembling onsite rather then taking a chance on those mountains.

The other concern is the heat. I am in Central CA and its 105 today - not much cooler tomorrow either. Hopefully you have great a/c and I think you'll be fine.

I dowel my cakes but I don't ever stack them til I get them where they are going, better safe than sorry. This is how I dowel. Put the long dowel in the center of the bottom tier, mark just where it touches the icing or fondant. pull it back out and cut it on the cake side of the mark. then cut (4 more if its square and 5 more if its round) dowels the exact same length as the first one. put one back in the original hole then put the others around just inside where the next tier would sit. One at each corner if its square and at the star points if its round. Do this for each tier that will have one sitting on top of it.

Jibbies

Yeah, WTH, I think that is the most bizarre thing I have ever heard. What about my fake boobs, those gonna deflate or blow up too? Its elevation, not Mars atmosphere!

So I am happy to say that the cake did not topple or implode in any way! The only thing that happened was that it slid the teeniest bit on the base so I had to push it back (I actually delivered it completely assembled...yes, I know I'm insane to do that with all those curves on highway 50). I basically made sure the wedding planner saw it just to tell her maybe she shouldn't tell the poor stressed out brides that her cake will implode the night before the wedding. Here's a picture of the completed cake

Very nice cake!!

wow lovely cake... you did a great job and shame on the wedding planner lady hmmmm

Duplicate post, please also see:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-599593-.html

HTH