How Many Dowel Rods For A Stacked Cake

by Jane

I am making a 3 tier round wedding cake (14”, 12” and 10”), with pillars. How many pillars will I need and where on the cake should I put the pillars so that they look nice but also give the cake enough support?

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Answer:

If your tiers are heavier than usual, for instance fruit cake or dense chocolate cake, it is recommended that you use separator plates between tiers that are stacked using pillars instead of just dowels and pillars for better stability.

You will also need less dowels, only four per tier, and it makes it easier to mark where your dowels will go.

First ice your separator plates to your cakes and secure them firmly using royal icing. Then gently press the feet of the separator plate for the above tier into the icing of the lower tier to mark where your dowels will need to go and insert your dowels at these marks.

Push the dowels into the cake until they hit the cardboard base. Mark the height of the tier with a pencil on the dowel. Remove it. Do the same with each pillar and dowel. Then, take the longest dowel and remark all other dowels to this length. Cut all the dowels to the longest length. Place the pillars on the cake in position and place the dowels through the pillar and cake. Repeat the steps above for the second cake to assemble the cake.

 

If you are not using separator plates, then it is recommended to have 8 pillars per tier for larger diameter cakes such as 14” and 12”. To make a template that will help you determine where to position your dowels/pillars trace out 14” and 12” circles and cut them out. Carefully fold the circles into eighths. Unfold.

For the 14” cake measure and mark each fold at 4 inches from the centre. For the 12” cake measure and mark each fold at 3.5 inches from the centre.
Place the templates over the cakes and gently mark the cake at each mark by applying pressure to the icing with a sharp object (skewer or a knife). Remove the template.

For each cake:

Insert the dowel into the pillar and position on the cake. Push the dowel into the cake until it hits the cardboard base. Mark the height of the tier with a pencil on the dowel. Remove it. Do the same with each pillar and dowel. Then, take the longest dowel and remark all other dowels to this length. Cut all the dowels to the longest length. Place the pillars on the cake in position and place the dowels through the pillar and cake. Repeat the steps above for the second cake to assemble the cake.

I hope that helps.

Image credits:

Wedding Cake: © Pamela Hodson | Dreamstime.com