I have been asked to produce a four tier wedding cake. It will be 12 in. fruit, a 10 in. chocolate, an 8 in. Madeira and a 6 in. Madeira. I know that the first three cakes will have to be doweled, but what about the top tier? Do I have to use a long dowel through all cakes? I would appreciate a response. Cheers!
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A friend of mine makes cakes and suggested using (un-cooked) spaghetti for anchoring. Makes much smaller holes.
I am a baker and do all types of cakes. It really depends on how you're going to stack it. I would dowel it if at all possible I made my own wedding cake last year and doweled all layers except for the top layer. My cake was over 4ft in hgt. Each of my layers were 2 cakes, except for the top layer and it was 3.
I put it on one of the reusable hard plastic plates that connected to the columns. That is the only reason I didn't dowel this cake. If I had it to do over again, I would definitely dowel the top layer and use cardboard circles for more stability.
I would never ever trust spaghetti to hold any type cake in place. You put your heart and way too much time, work and money into a wedding cake not to use a few sturdy dowels.
I have made a few cakes, and I used inverted champagne glasses to hold up the tiers. I put a small orchid bloom under each one. Simple and easy. Use the longest stemmed ones you can find. Six would do the base of the size size cake you describe.
I agree on not using the spaghetti. The moisture from the cake will soften those quicker than you would want. You can get kabob skewers to use--both wood or metal, and I have used chopsticks too.
I make wedding cakes and always use dowels, but not for the top layer. After all, this is the layer the bride will want to freeze for the 1st anniversary. Also, a medeira cake is a bit heavier, so you will definitely need the strength of a few dowels. Dowels also make transporting a cake much safer and easier. The top layer usually doesn't weigh much, and can be resting happily on a cardboard round.
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