This is my first time to make a two tier cake. My cake pan is 10" square x 3" thick. How many dowels do I need to support the top tier? Where should I position them in the cake too?

Thank you for any advice you can give.

You position them directly beneath the tier you are supporting. What size is your top tier?

Ooops sorry I meant to include that. The top tier is a round 8" x 3" cake pan.

What kind of dowles are you using? Wood? Straws? Pillars?

I use drinking straws, and I'd probably use 6 (in a circle) under the top cake and would probably use an additional center dowel thru the 2.

I was going to use pillar. Could I use wooden instead?

This is probably too late, but for a short tier like a 3" tall one I wouldn't bother doing more than 3 or 4 dowels. Especially if there isn't another tier on top of that and you're not travelling far with it.