Building The Cake: Combination Pillar & Stacked Construction

Use any combination of dowel rods, boards, separator plates and pillars. You may also use push-in pillars, which eliminate the need for dowel rods and a plate or board to support the pillars.
Photo by all4cake

FOR PILLARS WITH DOWEL RODS:
The key to success is inserting dowel rods accurately at every level for support. 1. Mark all tiers for dowel rod placement using a separator plate (for pillar tiers) or a cake circle (for stacked tiers) the same size as the tier above. Insert dowel rods. 2. Position tiers that will be on pillars on matching separator plates. (Note: separator plates connected by pillars must always be the same size in diameter). 3. Starting at the bottom level, stack tiers. 4. Position the separator plate (feet up) that will support the tier on pillars. 5. Position pillars over feet. 6. Carefully position the plated tier on the pillars.

Push-In Pillars

Ice cakes on cake circles. To mark where pillars will go on highest stacked tier, center the separator plate for tier above (projections down) and gently press onto the tier. Lift plate off. Position stacked tiers, insert push-in pillars on highest stacked tier and position plated top tier on pillars.