Ask Nancy Archives
Do you have a baking, decorating or celebrating question for Nancy? Now is your chance to have it answered.
Check here each month, Nancy will select ten questions submitted by viewers and posting her answers here.
Tiered Cakes Questions
How do I place a shaped cake on top of a round cake to ensure it does not fall off?
Kim - from Chesapeake, VA
How do you stack a top cake without the bottom layer crushing?
Angel - from Newport News, VA
When making a stacked cake without pillars, do you put a cardboard base under each cake? How do you take apart and cut the cake to serve without the frosting sticking to the other cake?
Terry - from Moreno Valley, CA
What is the tool called that you cut the dowel rods with?
Ann - from St. Louis, MO
How do I put dowels in a cake, and how do I stack the second cake on top of the first cake by using dowels?
Ali - from Port Coquitlam, WA
I'm going to be making my first wedding cake in June. The bride wants a tiered cake with 3-4 square tiers, however, she doesn't need all that cake. How do I do this?
Sharon - from Kansas City, MO
I have been asked to make my uncle's 3-tier wedding cake. What type of cake would be the best to help support the top layers without the layers sinking into each other?
Ruby - from Yorkton, Canada
I haven't been successful at getting my support dowels exactly the same size when assembling a stacked cake. Any suggestions?
Holly - from Port Hope, MI
Is it possible to use cardboard cake boards to make tiered cakes? Or, must I use only the plastic stacking plates with the feet?
Billie - from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
For a stacked wedding cake (6, 8 and 10-in.) what sizes do the separator plates need to be?
Angie - from Toronto, Ontario
How do you prevent a cake from falling apart when you are placing the second layer on top?
Denise - from Bronx, NY
I am just starting to make fondant-covered tiered wedding cakes. I recently made a tiered cake and noticed that the bottom tier started to sag. I used plastic dowels for stronger support. What can I do to prevent this from happening again?
Pamela - from Fremont, CA
When making a topsy turvy cake, do I have to cut a hole in the bottom layer for the next layer or can I just stack them on top of each other and use a wooden dowel rod?
Rachell - from Haltom City, TX
When un-stacking my fondant cake to cut it, the fondant on the bottom tier sticks to the cardboard on the top tier. How can I prevent this?
Monica - from Burton, OH
Nancy, when I make my cakes and I’m doing stacked tiers (no pillars, just separator plates or cake rounds), as I place the cakes on top of each other, there always seems to be a gap in between. What am I doing wrong and what can I do to fix it?
Susanna - from Santee, CA