I cannot remember at all what we did in class. I use the dowels, then put the seperator plaste on the bottom tier. Then the colums go into the "pegs" on the plate? and the next plate's legs go into the top of the column? I am sooooooo confused

I use the hollow plastic dowels and the separator plates in all my wedding cakes all the time. Here's how I do it, based on a three tier cake.

- 6", 8", 10" cake, all iced or with fondant. I will need two separator plates for this cake, a 8" and a 6"

- I take the 8" plate (not attached to dowels) and lightly center it on the bottom 10" cake to mark where the legs will go.

- I take the 6" plate and lightly center it on the 8" cake to mark where the legs will go.

- I insert a thin wooden stick or dowel in each of the four "marks" to measure the depth of the cake. This will tell me how long to cut the hollow plastic dowels. Then I cut them according to the measurement

- Attach the dowels to the separtor plates. It should look like a table when it's assembled.

- I press the "table" into the 10" cake about two thirds of the way. I then lift it completely out and remove the cake that's trapped inside. Then I put it all the way in. If I don't remove the cake, the "table" won't fit all the way down.

- I press the 6" "table" into the 8" cake and do the same thing to remove the trapped cake.

- Now you should have the top of the 8" separator plate showing in the 10" cake and a 6" separator plate showing in the 8" cake.

- The top 6" tier should have nothing in it.

- I put a big dab of icing onto each separator plate.

- Holding the 8" cake by the bottom, I gently slide in on the 10" cake that has the 8" separator plate - it's a perfect fit.

- I take the top 6" cake by the bottom and slide it on top of the 8" cake that has the 6" separator plate. Again, a perfect fit.

- Make sure they are perfectly centered and then let them rest for several hours or overnight.

- Next day, I take an icing bag which has the same colour icing as the cake and fill in the seams. That will cover any gaps. I gently smooth it with my finger.

Now you are ready to pipe your borders, attach your ribbon, etc. This is when I decorate the cake with the design, like scrolls, swiss dots, etc.

Many decorators decorate their cake first but I do it when it's fully assembled. For me, I find it easier because I don't mess up my design trying to stack it already decorated. I guess that is personal choice!

Good luck with your cake!

I thought that was what we did and I was second guessing myself. Thank you so much for helping me know I wasn't going goofy.

You're very welcome - happy to help!