Do all tiered cakes need support?

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Permalink Reply by Eileen S on February 25, 2011 at 12:10am

Chendra - there are lots of forums that deal with this topic on here, but the short answer is YES - you need some kind of support system for each tier.  The generally accepted method is to put the second (and subsequent tiers) on a cardboard cake board, place dowels, straws, or (I use) lollipop sticks into the underneath tier (make sure they are all the same size!!), then set the next tier on top of those.  Cake is not structurally strong enough to support the weight of another cake.  It will sink into it - especially when you add things like fondant to the design.  

 

If you go more than 2 tiers, it is also recommended to have a dowel through the middle of the cakes.  Most people drive a sharpened dowel down from the top through all the tiers.  I prefer to put a long, sharpened dowel into the center of my bottom cake, make sure I have holes punched into the centers of my top tiers' cakeboards before placing the cakes on them, and then place the cakes down over the dowel. 

 

THere are many video tutorials on here that show how to put together a structually sound cake.  Check them out. :)

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Permalink Reply by Jo-Ann Jacobs on February 25, 2011 at 8:56am

The only thing I can add to Eileens post is that when you put your dowels or straws(this is what I use) into the cake, make sure they are going in perfectly straight up and down. If they go in at an angle, they will be useless, they'll slide when the top tier is put on.

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Permalink Reply by Chendra Mitchell on February 25, 2011 at 9:23am

thanks ladies i will definetly check the forums and videos out and thanks for all the useful info! =)

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Permalink Reply by jeri c on February 26, 2011 at 12:46am

My answer would be yes!  I even support 2 tier cakes with the cake board and dowels.  That way you don't have any "sinking suprises"! :-)

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