First, I've never made a tiered cake before. I am making a baby shower cake for my niece, and she has decided that she wants it to be "classy chic" and very little "baby" decoratings. She picked a cake by cakesbymay.com that she'd like me to do. It's an 8" hexagon as the top tier and a 12" round as the bottom tier. When doweling a cake, do the dowels go through the first and second tiers, or are they just in the first tier to hold up the second tier? Also, I have to drive down a very windy road to get to the baby shower location, so am thinking it would be best to leave them separate until I get to the location and put it together then. Agree?

Second, with her mom's influence, she has decided that I can put something "simple" on the top of the cake that is "baby" related. I wanted to do a large peony-type flower and put the first impression baby mold baby inside the flower, so it has to be kind of open at the top. Where I'm lost is, I don't want to put the flower on wires, but need to be able to get it off the cake when I start slicing it, so how do I support the flower so it can be taken off as one piece for serving cake? I'd appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks!

Dowels are placed in the bottommost tier of cake to hold up and support any tiers above that.
In the description you give, you would put them in the 12" round - just tall enough to come up to the top of that tier of cake (4"?)
I have delivered many 100s of 2 tiered cakes alredy put together w/o any problems. IF you would feel better, then yes leave them seperate until you reach the destination. That way you do not need a dowel that goes through both tiers - that is only used when you transport a cake already put together.
There is no need to support that flower on top. It rests on the top of the cake and is very easy to remove when serving the cake.
You could put/form/make the flower on a small round plaque of gumpaste or fondant - that would also make it very easy to remove. Just put the spatula under that plaque and lift away

If you haven't stacked a tiered cake, I'd hesitate to do at the location in case something major happens. Two tiers traveling is not that bad. Remember you have to support your top tier so you need dowels for the bottom tier and a cake round under your top tier for it to rest on the bottom tier. If I were you, I'd google search 'how to stack a tiered cake' and see all the tutorials that pop up. There are so many different types of dowels to use, and methods of stacking...from straws to plastic dowels, to wooden dowels, etc. It really depends on how heavy the top tier will be and if you're dealing with a buttercream or fondant covered cake.

Please make sure you have the cake flat in your car and use one of those mesh rubber shelf liners under it so it won't slide around.

As for your topper, if all you're going to do is a flower with the baby in it, there's really no reason to put a wire through anything. Just set it on top of your cake when you get there and remove to cut. If you need to secure it with a little butter cream you can do that.

I'm sure you will get lots of answers from CC'ers on this so mine is just one of many to come! Good luck!

Thank you both for your responses. It will be fondant covered, both tiers. I do have those shelf liners to prevent cakes from moving around in the car and I drive a Honda Pilot so definitely have a flat place to place the cake. This is the first time I'm transporting a 2-tiered cake, though, so am so afraid it will slip as I've been told the road is very windy. Do you put anything on the bottom of the board for the top tier to help hold it in place on the bottom tier since it's going to be fondant covered?

I put several straws in the bottom tier to support the top tier. Be sure to cute all the straws the same length and even with the cake. Then I put a thin layer of buttercream on the bottom tier to hold the cake round the top tier is on. I've never had any problem with the cake slipping. If it were me, I'd secure the cake in a cake box and then sit it on the rubber mesh to help prevent sliding around. You can even place things around the box to help secure it. I tape the sides of the box so it doesn't mess up the cake top and then tape wax paper around any opening to seal it. HTH.

If you decide to stack it, I think it would be smart to pound a dowel down through the top and bottom layers and into the cake board. My only transporting disaster was when I decided it probably wasn't necessary and my top tier slid totally off the bottom tier. It wasn't a very big cake either(the zebra/pink cake in my photos). Better to be safe than sorry!

I, too, put buttercream on the board before putting the cake on it. I didn't explain myself very well. What I was trying to ask (and hope I do a better job this time) was whether anything is placed on the bottom tier to keep the board from the top tier from slipping or moving around. When the bottom tier cake is frosted with buttercream, the board on the bottom of the top tier will stick to the buttercream, but when there's fondant on the bottom tier and I'm putting another tier on top of it, what holds the top tier in place on top of the bottom tier? Do I put buttercream on top of the fondant on the lower tier, then place the top tier on top of the bottom tier? Sorry to be asking so many dumb questions, but I am totally new to tiered cakes.

No question is a dumb one when you're trying something new! I put buttercream on top of the fondant so the cake round will stick with no problem.

Gerle, have you heard of "hidden pillars" ? I use them ALL the time...... they are from Wilton, and they are soooo easy....... they are hollow plastic tubes, and the cake plate on the top layer fits right into them..CAKE PLATE..... with the little legs on the bottom, NOT A CARDBOARD separater....... you just sit it right on top of your bottom layer, and it hold it pretty firmly....... It is very easy to use, but hard to explain........( google " how to use Wilton Hidden Pillars) I think I only paid about 3.00 for a set of four. You just cut them to the size you need. ( I use a serrated kitchen knife, and just "saw" through it)..... You can stack them at home, or do it at the venue..... it just "POPS" on......... lets say your top layer is 10 inches........ then use an 8 or 9 inch plate, and it won't show at all...... For your topper layer, just use a 6" plate ( with the little legs on the bottom) and press it right into your top layer...... it won't move around, because the little "legs" go right into the cake......... I hope this helped.......

Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions and help. I will have to look into those "hidden pillars". I have to laugh...started out with just 2 questions...but ended up with more! Oh well, 'tis life! Thanks again for your help. I shall see how it goes this Saturday. 45 minute ride on a windy road...here I come!

Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions and help. I will have to look into those "hidden pillars". I have to laugh...started out with just 2 questions...but ended up with more! Oh well, 'tis life! Thanks again for your help. I shall see how it goes this Saturday. 45 minute ride on a windy road...here I come!