How To Stack And Transport A Chocolate Fudge Wedding Cake?

by Lisa
(Ireland)

Hi there,

A family member has agreed to make my wedding cake, which I am very happy with because he is amazing at baking. He had mentioned that he never baked a wedding cake before and he's not 100% sure how to stack it.

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It’s a 4 tier chocolate fudge cake sizes 14", 12", 10" and 8". I am curious if he will need dowels & pillars or will he just stack each one on top of the other? Also, how do we transport this?

Answer:

That’s so nice that your family friend is going to make your cake for you. It sounds like it will be delicious.

For stacking your cakes, you have the option of using pillars or putting the layers directly on top of one another. Either option requires the use of dowels to ensure that the cake is stable, supported and won’t collapse.

If you decide to have the layers stacked one on top of the other, you should use 4 to 6 dowels per layer. Each layer should be placed on a cake board. Start from the bottom and stick the dowel into the layer, mark with a pencil where the dowel is flush with the top of the layer. Cut the dowel to that height and then stick them in the layer.

 

Place the next layer on top of that layer and repeat by cutting and adding the dowels.

If you prefer the look of pillars, start from the bottom layer and simply measure the height of the layer plus the height of the pillar then cut the dowels for that layer to the correct height and insert them in the layer. Once the dowels are in place, cover them with the pillars and then place the next tier on the pillars, repeat for each layer.

I recommend transporting your cake unassembled in single layer cake boxes for it to arrive in the best condition. You can measure and cut your dowels beforehand so everything is ready to go for assembling at your venue.

Image credits:
Chocolate wedding cake: © Eric Limon | dreamstime.com