I was watching a cake decorating show and they were using straws for supports. I have used dowel rods and plastic supports from Wilton, but never straws. Has anyone tried this method?

Hey JRiley!! I've heard not to use straws because they don't support weight well. But you can get those wide and thick straws that should have no problem supporting weight, I'm guessing those are the wilton ones you are referring to. I use wooden dowels in my cakes.

They were likely bubble tea straws, not regular straws. Bubble tea straws are fatter than regular straws and made of a sturdier plastic. You can find them in Asian markets or on Ebay or Amazon. I usually can find a pack of 100 for a few dollars.

It's a very common practice. Many, many people on CC use them. I've been using them for years. They're stronger and more stable than dowels, and MUCH easier to trim to size.

Since I've been using them, my curiosity about bubble tea was piqued. So I checked into it and now make my own. It's a delicious fun drink!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea

I use bubble tea straws but I've always wondered if they are suitable for heavier tiers (say a cake with 12", 10", 8", and 6")?

Would they still be asuitable option?

Any chance I can interest you in SPS? Very stable, strong and easy to use. Also cheap.

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I used something similar to SPS. Unfortunately the wedding is Saturday. I found the straws at an Asian market and they were very inexpensive.

Bubble Tea Straws are the best!

I am also a bubble tea straw fan. I've never had any problems at all and use the really heavy duty white plastic dowels from Wilton for any 4 tier or heavier cake but for anything three tier or less I trust bubble tea straws without question and they are so much easier to size than wooden dowels (with no wood shavings to worry about either)

Thank you all for the information. I am making a 4 tier wedding cake and I think I am going to used the heavy duty plastic dowels on the bottom layer and then the bubble tea straws for the other layers. I purchased the straws today for .99 for 40 of them. Much cheaper too.

I use regular drinking straws for support and have not had a single problem, even on 20+" base cakes. I like the red ones I get from the warehouse club, they're very sturdy and are very easy to find inside the cake.

I use bubble tea straws and a cake safe ( www.cakesafe.com ). Never had a problem! I get the bubble tea straws in bulk, 500 for $12. Very sturdy, and super easy to use.

Wow that cakesafe is crazy. I am actually stacking the cake at the venue and adding the bow and ribbon there.

I used the poly dowels today and liked them also.They are small like the wilton wooden dowels , but hard plastic. easy to cut. i like the sps system also. hth

I have used the regular (non-flexible) straws and the dowel rods with equal success.

Burger King Straws work too if you are in a bind!

I used the bubble tea straws last weekend on my Cat in the Hat cake. The cat and hat were made with rkt so it was pretty heavy. I had no problems at all with 2 tiers. I liked the explaination I got about using bubble tea straws, which was instead of the wood dowels pushing the cake out of the way, the straw itself fills with cake making it sturdy. The straws are easier to cut, and you don't have to worry about splinters.

I am like Loucinda I have a cakesafe and I use the bubble tea straws with no problems

I only use bubble tea straws and have never had problems. And, I have stacked large 4 tier cakes using them. I always stack on site because I have steps down to my vehicle & can't carry an already stacked cake.