Cake Stacking for Beginners
This is a post on how to stack cake layers on each other. In this post, I will show you the most basic way of stacking cakes. I will also be sharing several cake stacking tips with you. Although the method below is how I stack all my cakes, it is advisable that you get stronger cake support systems for very large cakes. The highest number of tiers I have stacked using this method is 4 tiers.
The purpose of stacking cakes is to ensure that the top tiers do not implode into the lower tiers. When a cake is properly stacked, the top tier will be resting on the cake board and dowels and not directly on the bottom tier.
TOOLS:
(1) Dowels
(2) Cake Cards
(3) A Sharp Knife or Blade
(4) Toothpicks
(5) Melted Chocolate
HOW TO STACK CAKES
(1) Dowels are the main support system used to stack cakes. There are several types of dowels depending on the materials used to make them. Dowels could be plastic, wood or paper. Other materials can be used to act as dowels. These materials include large straws and lolly pop sticks. Ensure that you use only food safe materials. I tend to avoid using lolly pop sticks and paper dowels when stacking cakes as these soak in moisture after some time, making the top tier tilt.
(2) Aside from dowels, cake cards are also very important when stacking cakes. Each cake tier should be placed on a cake card when the cake is being frosted. You can learn more about the use of cake boards and cards here.
(3) The number of dowels you use will depend on how heavy the cake above is. The weight of higher tiers should also be taken into account when you are working with more than two tiers. For this cake (7 inches in diameter), I used 6 dowels.
(4) Dowels should be placed in all tiers aside from the topmost tier. The dowels should be hidden under the top tier and should not be visible from outside the cake. In order to achieve this fit, place a cake board or pan the size of the top tier on the bottom tier, making sure it is in the middle of the cake. Use a toothpick to make tiny holes all around the board or pan. This will give you a parameter within which to place the dowels.
(5) Next, take a dowel and run it through the center of the cake. Make sure the dowel is not slanted in any way when running it down the cake. I always start with the center of the cake as this is almost always the highest point of a cake tier.
(6) Use an edible color marker to mark the dowel at exactly the point above the cake. Take out the dowel and cut it at that point with a blade or sharp knife.
(6) This step is very important. Use that same dowel to measure the height of all the other dowels you will use. Mark the other dowels with edible color marker and cut them with a sharp knife. Do not cut the dowels according to the height of each side of the cake. The cake tier might be uneven and using several sides of the cake to measure the height of each dowel might lead to a tilted top tier.
(7) Next, brush the cut ends of the dowels on your work surface to remove splinters and make the ends flat.
(8) Insert the dowels into the bottom tier, spacing them as far apart as possible within the marked parameter. There should be a dowel in the center of the cake and others spread around the spots which will house the edges of the top tier. Some dowels might poke out from the top of the cake. All this should tell you is that your bottom tier is not really leveled. No cause for alarm.
(9) Spread he top of the bottom tier with your gluing medium of choice. I almost always use melted white chocolate as this gives me a very strong hold. You can also use butter cream frosting and royal icing.
(10) Place the top tier on the bottom tier, using the spots you made earlier with your toothpick as a guide.
(11) Again, you might notice a little gap between the top and bottom tier in some areas. This is fine. It will be covered with a boarder placed around the top tier. Do not boarder your top tiers until they have been stacked on the bottom tier.
(12) If you have more than 2 tiers to stack, as an extra security measure, sharpen the tip of a long dowel and pass it through the entire cake twisting as you get to each cake board until they get to the bottom of the cake. Mark the dowels where they come out of the top of the cake, take them out, cut off the excess dowel and return the dowels to the cake. This would provide extra support and structure for the cake. Fondant can be used to cover the hole on the very first tier.
Terry Adido is passionate about showing people how easy it is to recreate restaurant quality meals in the comfort of their kitchens. With a style of cooking he refers to as Afro-European Fusion, his meals are influenced greatly by French and Italian Cuisine with a West African twist. If you love good food, you are in for the ride of your life.
thanks, this is awesome & easy to follow
You are welcome Eunice.
Thanks, am going to try this today.
Awesome!
Thank u so much.
You are welcome.
Thanks a lot for this!
You are welcome Shade.
Thanks so much. I will definitely try it soon. U inspired my backing skill again.
Thanks so much
You are welcome.
I am glad I can help Joke.
Awesome tutorial
Thanks Janet.
Thanx terry
You are welcome.
pls Terry,SO the cake cards carrying the top tier are not suposed to sit on the dowels on the bottom tier ,both cakes shld have contact no cards in bw the two cakes?
No. The cake card underneath the top tier is supposed to rest on the dowels in the second tier. The cakes do not touch eachother.
Thanks a lot Terry.
You are welcome Angela
Pls, naturally wat is d height of cakes shd b supposin am stackin up to 7 cakes althogether .
It depends on you as a baker, the needs of your client and the design you want to execute. For tiered cakes beyond 2 tiers, I generally do not go beyond 4 inches per tier.
Terry, u re too much. May God bless u richly, make his face shine upon and grant u more wisdom. I ve been following ur posts and I must say that they ve really bn helpful. Thanks, I am grateful. I honestly desire to ve a one-on-one class wt u. I want to start doing WOW cakes. Thanks a mila
Thanks. You are welcome.
Hello Terry, u said cakes re not to sit/rest on another tier. So am asking wat keeps d tiers firm as not to shake or eVen fall off? Do I need to put holed on my board so dat d dowels in d alreaDy place one can go tru d top tier as to touch d cake. Thanks
In a 3 tier cake, the cake card underneath the top tier rests on the dowels in the second tier and not on the second tier itself. The cake card underneath the second tier in turn rests on the dowels in the third tier. So in reality, the cakes tiers are not resting on each other. To hold the tiers in place, you spread melted chocolate, royal icing or buttercream on the tier below before placing a tier on top of it. When you are done, you can sharpen the tip of a dowel and pass it through the entire cake from the top of the top tier, through all the cake cards until it gets to the bottom of the 3rd tier.
Does this mean the boards shouldn’t be very thivk
Yes
How long before the cakes should be made before stacking…..
I would not cover a cake the same day I bake it. For instance, if I bake on Wednesday, i frost on Thursday and cover with fondant/stack on Friday. Cakes need time to settle so they dont develop air bubbles.
Thank u so much terry,im new at this cake decorating stuff and your article is very helpful, thank you
You are welcome Anathi.
Thanks Terry. I want to know if each cake in each layer should ve its own cake board? And, if yes, how can one run a dowel through the stacked cake becos d cake boards are very thick? I like to get the answer soonest.
Yes each cake tier must have a cake card (not board) underneath. The dowel when sharpened can pass through the cards.
Hello Terry, please I would love to know what brand of paste/gel colours you use for fondants. Thanks a lot.
Wilton
thanks Terry. pls i would like to know the importance of dowelling a tiered cake n is it compulsory? thank u.
This is so the ties do not implode (smaller tiers falling into larger ones due to their weight). It also makes your tiered cake to look leveled and prevents the tiers from sinking or tilting. Some people stack cakes without doweling. I for one will ALWAYS dowel my stacked cakes.
I agree with you. I made the mistake of not doweling a 5 tier cake I made with dividers. It fell after stacking because the weight made the bottom cake to sink. It was a bitter experience.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Yeah, better safe than sorry.
Hi Terry,
Thanks for the tutorial. I’m making a 2 tiered cake (7 inch base and 5 inch on top) for my friends birthday and driving it about 40 miles to the venue. This is my first time stacking fondant cakes and I’m so nervous that I’ll disappoint her. Would you suggest poly dowels or wooden dowels? and should I drive a stake down the centre of a 2 tier to keep it safe in the car? I’m transporting the cake in my small 2 door car so keeping everything crossed that it goes well – this is seriously stressing me out – even more than the cake decorating 🙂
Sorry for the 20 questions 🙂
Hi, You should be fine. Its quite a small cake. I use only wooden dowels, thats not to say poly dowels are no good. For a cake of this size, I wont bother running another dowel down the center. But if you think you need to, go ahead. Better safe than sorry. All the best.
Hi Terry, thank you so much for your useful tutorial!!
I’m wondering if you would transport a 3 tiered cake (6′, 8′, 10′) in one piece in the car or you would assemble the 3 tier at the venue. Thank you, Terry.
I thin you can conveniently transport a cake of that size. Stack properly with dowels and transport in a van so it sits on a flat surface.
Thanks. so loving your style nd methods. God bless u.
Thanks Sommy.
Hi Terry, for 6 tier cake, is it okay to stack from home or at the venue?
I would not. I would stack 3 – 3 and finish at the venue. But you do what you are comfortable with.
Thanks Terry for your quick response and advise.
Hi Terry,
Found your post informative and was of timely help ,as i was searching for some valuable inputs in making tier cake. Thanks,
You are welcome Roopa.
Hi, Terry, in our country, we don’t get cake-card. So, what should I use instead of it? If I only use duels, is there any chance that my cake will break down? Please reply me, it will be a great help.
Thanks
You can make your own cake cards with thick cardboard paper or any other firm material. Without the cake card, there is no need to use the dowels. Stacking acts as an extra insurance to ensure your top tiers do not implode into the lower tiers and to keep each tier straight.
I think our own version of Cake cards in Nigeria are called separators,and these are quite hard. I doubt that a dowel rod would pass through them. I might just consider making my own. Thank you so much Terry.You are such a sweetheart, and ever so giving too. Please how would you recommend I stack very large cakes more than 4 tiers?
The same way shown here.
I just read through this. Thank you.
You are welcome Bonaye.
Thanks. I am researching how to assemble a heavy fruit 3 tier wedding cake. This is not only the simplest explanation I have found but the most fool proof. Single dowel down the middle to finish – I will feel so much calmer when the cake is inevitably moved after assembly. Phew!
You are welcome Sue. I am glad I could help.
Hi Terry,
I am stacking 3 sizes of cakes (“8”, “10”, and “12” together on a “16” board/ drum.
Do you think the weight of the “16” cake drum at the base will be able to uphold the TOTAL WEIGHT of the 3 cakes.
Or
Should I glue together 2 of “16” inch Cake Drums together??
A 16 inch drum should be sufficient. I assume your drums are about .5 inches high.
Thanks Terry for your fast response.
Hi Terry, thanks for this post. Pls my question is, since each tier s dowelled with a dowel rod first placed in d middle den around, wen dowelling from d top tier, how can d dowel pass tru each tier of cake with dowels already in d middle of each tier? Will appreciate ur explanation on this. Thanks.
It is very rare for both dowels to clash Onyin. Unless of course you are marking out the middle of the tier with mathematical accuracy. Most times, they miss each other. I have only had a clash once of the many times I have done this. I just took the dowel out and reinserted it in a different spot. I used a small ball of fondant to cover the hole.
Hello Terry, was wondering about the cake cards, must it be the same measurement with the tier sitting on it? Could it be less? For example, can i use an 8″ cake card for a 10″ cake that I am going to stack? I’m asking because of when I cover it in fondant, i don’t really like using ribbons or other details to cover the bottom and I don’t like covering the edge of the cake card in fondant (Nigerian cake cards are rather thick). Hope you understand me.
For me, yes. The cards must be the same size as the tier. But I believe you should be able to adapt your style according to your peculiar situations.
Forgive my novice question but what happens with the dowels when the cake is served? This is a great tutorial but I’m wondering how to cut and serve a two tiered cake. New to dowels here obviously! Thanks!
You take out the dowels from the tier you are serving before cutting the tier. Its really quite easy.
Oh OK! So if my cake is two layers, I put the dowels in the bottom layer and serve the top layer first right? Then after its served I take the rods out and service the bottom?
Exactly. Or after the top tier is done, you divide the bottom tier into segments and remove dowels from each segment as you slice it.
Thanks Terry for ur tutorials. Pls when do I fondant my tiered cake? Is it after stacking.?
Hi. Definitely before. Each tier is covered separately.
Hi Terry I am making a chocolate truffle cake, a light deep cake covered in chocolate icing (milk chocolate and whipping cream). I would like to stack another tier of the same cake on top ( I have never tiered a cake before). My question is can all cakes take dowels or are there certain cakes that it is not possible to dowel and stack? Thanks for taking my question.
All cakes can be doweled Sue.
I understand doweling. We do it on our three tiers. We have a wedding cake for new years eve, 5 tiers. Our biggest. Bottom will be a 16” and go down from there so probably pretty heavy. How many dowels would you suggest in say the bottom three tiers? And how do you get the long dowel to go through the cardboard and cake of this many tiers? Ive seen them beat them with hammers on shows but with my luck cake would split open or something
I usually use the same size of wooden dowels as the circumference of the cake. My cake cards are soft enough for sharpened dowels to pass through. You might need to use more than one dowel through the cake. One for the bottom 3 tiers and another for the top two tiers.