Stacking Cakes (with or without pillars)

How to Stack Cakes - without pillars

You'll need:

• Cake boardsfor each cake tier


• At least 3-4 dowel rods for each cake tier (except top tier)
  

Instructions:

1. Place your base cake (the largest) on the largest cake board or cake base. Remember to 'glue' it by adding a dollop of butter cream or frosting.
   


2. Place the other tiers on cake boards of the same diameter size. The reason lies in that we don't want these boards to show.



3. On top of the large cake (first tier) mark the diameter of the cake you are going to place on top (second tier). Within this diameter imagine the position of the dowel rods as a triangle or a square ( 3 dowel rods if the second tier is not too big, 4 dowel rods if it is a big one).



4. Take a dowel rod (these are sold in cake supply stores and are FDA approved), and poke it into the base cake until it touches the base. Mark the height of the cake. remove rod and cut where you marked earlier. Repeat with the rest of the dowel rods you'll be using for the base cake.



5. Place dowel rods in base cake with a gap of 2-3 inches apart (remember they should be within the diameter of next cake tier.



6. Repeat the process for all tiers except the last one.



7. Stack up the cakes on one another.



8. Decorate your cake!

How to Stack Cakes - With Pillars

There are many pillar sets out there. Here is a quick link to Cake Pillars.

These sets come with their separator plates and pillars.

Instructions:

1. Start by placing your base cake on its cake base.



2. Identify next separator plate size and press gently on top of the center of base cake to mark the place for the pillars (don't press too hard so you don't spoil the icing on the cake).



3. Place tier cakes on their separator plates (with their respective size).



4. On the base cake that you have marked for pillars, poke each pillar until you can feel them touching the cake board. Tip: The pillars are normally hollow and I haven't had any problems with having stable cakes, however if you feel tha your cake is not stable enough, you can poke dowel rods at the center of the hollow pillars for extra stability.



5. Place second tier cake on top of the pillars by securing its separator plate to the pillars from base cake.



6. Repeat the process for all tiers, except the top most.

How to Make a Cowboy Hat - Step-by-Step Instructions

How to Make a Cowboy Hat - Step-by-Step Instructions:

You'll need:

- gumpaste/fondant Mixture
- Small Cake (desired size of hat)
- Knive for carving
- Buttercream for frosting

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. We need to start by making the brim of the hat as this will take a day to dry. For this cake I used a gumpaste/fondant mixture (just knead a 1:1 ratio of gumpaste and fondant). If you use fondant only, it might take several days to dry.




2. Use a real hat brim to draw a template on a poster board.




3. Roll out your gumpaste/fondant mixture to desired thickness and cut out the brim using your board template - If you don't have a cut just cut a gumpaste/fondant circle that is larger than the cake (which is going to be center of hat). If you like use a fondant sewing wheel to mark around the edge of the brim a 'seam'.




4. Place gumpaste/fondant brim over upside down cake to hold its curl shape. If you don't have a hat, place the gumpaste/fondant brim over a surface and lift its side by placing something under the sides to hold the curl until it dries.




5. Use whatever size of pan to create the size of your hat. I used the small wilton oval pans for this cake (2 layers) and torted them into 4 layers to add alter layers of chocolate fudge and dulce de leche. Place on top of a cake board of same size and trim to fit the size of cake.
   
   
   
6. Trim and shape your cake to look like your hat. I carved an indentation on top.




7. Cover with frosting or buttercream.




8. Then, cover with fondant.




9. Once the brim is dry, place the cake on top of it.




10. Decorate your hat to your desire. I added a fondant ribbon and bow.