Ok, just when I think I know what I'm doing . . . . I've made a couple of stacked cakes before but I have an "official" one for a wedding coming up. It is going to be 4 layers high. I know that I need lots of dowels for support under each layer and that I shoulder wrap my cake boards to keep them from getting soft, etc. However I'm getting nervous about the long dowel that goes down the center. The wilton dowels won't be long enough for the overall height of the stacked cake. What do you do in this situation? Also if you wrap your boards is it still relatively easy to hammer a dowel through the cake?

The couple also wants a topper on the top layer. It is a topper made out of resin (not ceramic) but still fairly heavy. What would you use to support this? I suggested to them a "dummy" cake on top but the want the real deal. Would you frost over a cake board to make it sturdy enough?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm starting to stress!!!!
Kate

Take a deep breath, you're going to do fine! My first wedding cake was for my sister, so I didn't have AS MUCH stress, but I still know how much it can freak you out!

I never wrap my boards, but I don't know what others do. I've also never done the center dowel, although I know it's recommended...

As for the topper, just dowel the top tier in the area where the topper will be, and make sure the topper is clean! If you're worried about it touching the cake, you can use a small cake board under it.

Good luck, I know you'll do great.

Okay, I just looked at your photos, and I don't know what you're worried about - all of your cakes look great, very professional! You're WAY ahead of where I was when I did my first wedding cake (which was also my first stacked cake)

I really don't have any suggestions on the dowels, my cake making experience is really limited so I will let the professionals here give the advice..All your cakes look fantastic.. I am sure you will have no problems with this wedding cake. Just relax and it will be fine.
Liz

Your cakes look great. Like others say take a deep breath and relax. Dowel everything and what I do for the center dowel is to sharpen one end in a pencil sharpener REAL SHARP then hammer it thru.

I use double cardboards wrapped, plenty of dowels, and the sharpened dowel through the middle. I want to make sure it's not going anywhere. You can get the longer dowels in the craft section at Walmart, they also have them at Lowes Hardware and Home Depot.

If the cake boards you are using will be cut to the size of the cake and not show, it is not necessary to wrap the boards but I do suggest that you use the greaseproof (also called waxed) boards!

You can sharpen a wooden dowel and go through the first three tiers. You can then put on the top tier and use another dowel rod to support your topper. I always use double cake boards. They work a lot better. I am sure your cake will turn out beautiful!
Traci

You guys are so awesome!!! Thanks for all the support and suggestions. I don't know why this one is freaking me out so much. All my other cakes have just been for friends or family, this one is for a person I work with but don't know too well. It just seems so much more stressful.
Kate

Can someone please explain a bit better the center dowel method. When and how is it used?? Thanks so much




Daniela

Hey Kate....your pics of your cakes you decorated look wonderful. If you are nervous about stacking and doweling, everyone has been there before. THis is how I do my stacked wedding cakes:
Cut 2 cakeboards to size of cake layer and tape them together, then cover with contact paper (which you can get cheap at the Dollar Store).
This will prevent any grease from your icing saturating the cakeboard. After getting all layers on boards, iced and ready to stack, I "eyeball" the top of the cake and look for the lowest point. I then insert dowel rod into that point, and mark with a pen where is sets even with the icing. Then, I cut all the dowel rods for that layer to the same length. I repeat process with each layer, because usually the dowels will need to be a different length for each layer, depending on how thick your icing is on each layer. This should get your cakes level when you stack them.
Now, I don't usually stack the cakes till I arrive at the reception site, but I have done a couple grooms cakes of golf bags that I needed to center dowel. To do that, when dowel rodding all the individual layers, I made sure to leave the center area free of dowel rods. I then sharpened the ends of two dowel rods measured the to be as tall as the cake, using a grinder, or you can even rub and turn the dowels on concrete to sharpen.
I used a ping hammer and drove the dowel all the way through the cake till I hit the plywood cake base at the bottom. I don't have any problem getting it through the contact paper covered boards. To place a heavy topper on the cake, I get the topper ahead of time, draw the shape out of a cake board, cut out. I dowel the top layer to have 2-3 rods under topper and place topper on cake. Hope if you use any of these ideas it helps you out...Good Luck!

Thanks again for all the suggestions, I'm feeling a little better about it. It's still 1 1/2 weeks away so you might hear some more rantings in a few days.
Kate

Keeping in mind that I've never done this before, but I've done a lot of research (mostly on the wedding forum on the Wilton site, which you may want to check out) because I'll be doing my sister's wedding cake when she gets married.

One of the things I read was to put the holes for the center dowel in your cake boards before you put the cake on them. Put the dowel through the bottom board, then after you decorate the cakes, thread them onto the dowel. This seems like the best way to me in theory, but everyone will have their own method, I'm sure. I just know that if I tried to hammer it through the cake after it was all done, I would put it in crooked and the cake would fall.

Ali

I've never used the dowel method on a cake I gave to someone. I tried it at home and it was the messiest thing I've ever tried. The way I do my stacked cakes is so much easier and no mess involved at all. I've posted my method and pictures of what I use in a thread months back. Not sure if it can still be looked up. I'll have to try and find it. The cake can also be transported stacked or assembled on site.


Which ever method you use, I'm sure your cake will be just beautiful.

Amy

The center dowels are good if the cake is traveling already stacked. It prevents the cake from shifting and listing to one side or the other. When I've needed extra long dowels - I've gone to good old Home Depot. In the wood section - they actually sell VERY long dowels that can be cut to length right there if needed. Or you can buy it, bring it home, and cut it yourself. They make different widths - so you can get one small enough in diameter to use for your cake.

Well I looked for the post with my pics and couldn't find it! Shucks!!! Well, if you want to know more about it just pm me. My first wedding cake was done with the non-dowel technique I learned taking a wedding cake class. It's the cornelli lace/swiss dot cake in my photos.

Amy