I have a cake due on Monday that i need help with please. This is for a charity event bake-off fundraiser thing, and I really want it to be perfect.

Three tiers. Bottom two tiers are round dummies. Top tier is real cake (10/8/6).

I will be covering all tiers with IndyDebbie's buttercream.

Do I need to do anything special to the dummies before covering them with buttercream?

Should I use a center dowel to make sure all layers stay together?

I am sort of planning to cover the dummies with press-n-seal wrap, put a cardboard cake board under my top 6in layer, frost all layers like normal cakes (but with the surran wrap on the dummies), stack, and center dowel them. Will all of that work?

Thanks!

I've iced straight dummies with no plastic wrap on them and haven't had a problem.

If you are traveling with the cakes completely stacked then I would probably put a dowel through it.

I cover mine with press&seal, so that I can easily clean them and reuse them.

I haven't had a problem reusing them.

TExasSugar, you ice right on the dummies and scrape it off when dry? Does it all come off?

Also, I am thinking of using WIlton icing for the dummies so I can save some time (and since they wont be eaten). Is that a crusting icing (can I use the viva method with it?).

If I center dowel the cake (traveling with it stacked), is it easy to pound the dowl through the styrofoam dummies?

I usually soak mine to get the icing off later.

Personally I would use the same icing on the dummies that you use on the cake. Other wise the colors could be slightly off, or have a little bit of a different look. I'm not sure about the crusting.

And putting a dowel down the styrofoam isn't hard. Just about the same as having to go through cardboard cake boards.