Help With Stacking A Wedding Cake Please!!!
Decorating By daisyanita Updated 28 Sep 2012 , 4:20pm by daisyanita
I am doing a wedding cake for this saturday for family (my husband's cousin to be exact!) It's my FIRST wedding cake and I am a little stressed, but coping it most of it but...
The main thing that is worrying me is what to do with the set up. It's a three tier cake (stacked on top of each other). Should I stack it at home and put a dowel through it? Stack it at the venue, no dowel. Stack it at the venue and put a dowel in?
Or is there something else I should do???
Thanks for the help!
Since this is your first cake I'd stack it at the venue. That way you eliminate the problems that could come with transporting a stacked cake. Putting a dowel through the middle won't stop it from shifting if it really wants to, it will just rip it up it one tier does start going.
You could also use the hidden pillars and the plates that go on them with the little legs thingies on the bottom of the plates. That way all you'd have to do at the reception site is put the upper tiers into the holes where the hidden pillars are inserted into the cake, and it would be really solid for you. If you did it that way you could stack it at home and take it there, too, unless that makes you nervous.
....hidden pillars and the plates....all you'd have to do at the reception site is put the upper tiers into the holes where the hidden pillars are inserted into the cake, and it would be really solid for you......
I agree w/costume ^^^. I would stack at the venue since you don't say how far the drive is - nor what the road is like. Make sure you take a kit along to do the borders and fix any little flaws that might happen. Using hidden pillars would give you much needed calm and far less chance of any problems 
If not, then You still need to put dowels/straws or such in each of the supporting tiers and each tier needs to be on a cake board the same size as the cake.
Thanks everyone!
All your ideas have been very helpful! Thank you!!
Decided to stack at home but do supports for one tier to the next rather than a dowel from top to bottom - hopefully, that'll add stability. Straws for weight support and YES - rescue kit coming with me!!! Just feel nervous about stacking at the venue as I have lots of finishing touches to do once the cake is assembled.
Thanks again!
If you can chill the whole cake after you stack it, even better.
Decided to stack at home but do supports for one tier to the next rather than a dowel from top to bottom - hopefully, that'll add stability.
Regardless of which internal support system you use, EACH tier requires supports for one tier to the next (instead of "rather than a dowel from top to bottom")... it's a MUST for every 4" of cake height. Center dowels are only used for transporting a cake that's already stacked (and optional).
Decided to stack at home but do supports for one tier to the next rather than a dowel from top to bottom - hopefully, that'll add stability.
Regardless of which internal support system you use, EACH tier requires supports for one tier to the next (instead of "rather than a dowel from top to bottom")... it's a MUST for every 4" of cake height. Center dowels are only used for transporting a cake that's already stacked (and optional).
I'm glad someone else read that the same way I did!
Decided to stack at home but do supports for one tier to the next rather than a dowel from top to bottom - hopefully, that'll add stability.
Supports (straws) inside are always needed to carry the weight of the upper tiers. But they will not keep the tiers from sliding off each other as you travel. I don't recommend stacking before traveling if you don't use a center dowel - that's a disaster waiting to happen. Best of luck and enjoy the wedding!
Decided to stack at home but do supports for one tier to the next rather than a dowel from top to bottom - hopefully, that'll add stability.
Supports (straws) inside are always needed to carry the weight of the upper tiers. But they will not keep the tiers from sliding off each other as you travel. I don't recommend stacking before traveling if you don't use a center dowel - that's a disaster waiting to happen. Best of luck and enjoy the wedding!
Sorry for the confusion 
Doing straws for support (always do that) and have added dowels between each layer to stop them sliding on each other. It's all together now and feels pretty stable. So kind of doing a combination of the ideas given :/ hope it works! going to chill cake tonight as well.
Thanks again for the suggestions. I think I'll do it completely differently the next time round. Just thought about the support structure WAY to late to do it properly! Amateur mistake....
(Attached a really bad photo of the cake, will take a better photo in daylight! But just to give you an idea of the cake - thanks to all once again!)
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