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Wedding Cakes 4:Assembling A Wedding Cake

by Marye on April 4th, 2008

Image:(c) MaryeAudet 2006

Assembling your cake is really the scary part but it shouldn’t be. It is a lot easier than it looks. It is really important, though, to go slow, and measure carefully. You don’t have time to cut corners or save time at this point!

You will need:

• cakes, baked and iced, on cake bases (either plastic or cardboard)
• 1/4 inch dowel rods OR 1/2 inh if your layers are bigger than 12″ or very tall and heavy
• pillars
• cake separator plates
• something to cut the dowels
• a pen

If you are transporting the cake you will need to assemble it at the reception area. Take along a couple of bags of icing in your icing colors and the decorating tips. Usually you will need to repair a scallop or two, or some piping when you assemble the cakes. Better to be safe than sorry.

1. Bake, fill, and ice each layer. Place the cakes on base plates. Some bakeries use cardboard, I prefer the plastic base plates that Wilton has, they are sturdier. Your bottom cake should be on a base that is cut from plywood. Cover the plywood with foil, then smear some frosting centered on the foil to hold the cake to it. Put the cake carefully on top. If you haven’t put a doily over the foil now is the time to add a ruffle or whatever you plan on using to cover the foil, if you wish. Each tier must be on a cake circle, plastic or cardboard.
2. Using the cake pan that you baked the next size layer in, mark where the next layer will sit. Place the pan in the center of your frosted cake, rim side down. Make sure it is centered. When you pick it up you should have a circle the size of your next layer marked in the icing.
3. Use 1/4 inch dowel rods. Push the rod through the base cake layer. Mark the level of the cake and remove the dowel. Now, cut the dowel just beneath the mark you made. The dowel should be as even with the cake top as possible. You now need to cut 6 more of the same size rods and push them into the cake at even intervals around your marking.
4. Continue each layer in this way until you get to the smallest layer. You will not need dowel rods in it, except it is a good idea to stick one through the center just to hold the layers together. If you have used cardboard to separate the layers you can stick one dowel all the way the stacked layers. If you have used the plastic, of course, you can’t do that.
5. If you are going to use pillars to separate some of the tiers you will need to place a plastic separator on the top of the layer that is going to hold the pillars, over the dowels. Press down firmly but gently. There are small pegs that stick up that will stabilize the pillars. Place the pillars on the pegs, and then place the tier on top carefully. Do not transport it this way!!
6. Here is a video that shows the basic assembly. They use a dowel all the way through the stacks.

Review:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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POSTED IN: Bakers' Tools, Cakes