Building a Properly Supported Cake

Adequate Support for a tiered cake is, of course, an important consideration in the construction of the cake. If the tiers are to be stacked, they will require added support (possible exceptions are British- and Australian-style cakes, which are often solid enough not to require additional support). This added support can be supplied by wooden dowels or pipes cut to length and inserted into each tier prior to placing the next tier on top. Thus the weight of the tiers above is supported by the dowels rather than by the cake below. If pillars or columns are used, each type has its own system for providing strength and support to the layers above.