We all can use a little support

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the moral support of my husband when it came to my business. I touched a little on support in a cake. Today, I want to expand on the topic of support in a cake.

Cake is delicate; it can fall apart, topple, or the frosting might melt in warm conditions. Proper care is essential for the cake to arrive intact at the event. However, no matter how carefully you handle the cake after receiving it, it won't matter if it wasn't assembled correctly from the beginning!

The most traditional way of adding supports to a cake is when you have a tiered cake. (A tier is each level of a cake where the next level traditionally gets smaller.)

Between each tier, you need to add a supportive disk, typically a cardboard round, and supports in the lower cake. For this type of cake, I use smoothie straws. But if I'm adding a third layer, I will use cake support straws for the bottom layer. The heavier the cake, the more support you need. I always add a support that will go through the board and into the next tier of cake. This adds support from back-and-forth movement when transporting the cake.

However, sometimes you need support in a cake that is just tall! This cake was 8 layers of cake. The rule of thumb is that you need to have support every 3-4 layers of cake. Once again, the heavier the cake, the more support that is needed. In a case like this, you would want to do a support every 3 layers because of the weight of the cake on top of it.

Not all supports are obvious. In the Tinkerbell cake, the support runs up the tree trunk. Because of how this cake was made, I had a dowel that was screwed onto a wooden base. Once the base cake was in place, we had to add a wooden cake plate that was screwed on top of the dowel. The small tree-top cake was then added, and the cake was decorated.

Other times, the cake decor is the support. This cake comes with its own set of supports that are needed to not only support the top tier of the cake, but to add to the decor of the cake. Depending on the situation, this isn't always feasible. But it can make some cute-looking cakes!

What happens when there are people in your life who push your abilities? You get your husband to build you supports out of PVC pipe!! This cake was tricky because the cake had to be in the right spot so it wouldn't tip. But we had to figure out where the right spot was before we knew the weight of the Eagle! Two pieces of PVC pipe created the branch, and a screw went through a wooden base plate and into that pipe. The legs cover the screw. Each individual feather was formed, textured, and placed on the eagle. While the photo isn't of good enough quality to really appreciate it, the eyes are made of poured sugar.

Here is another example of having my boundaries pushed! When my husband built the support for this cake, I knew I didn't want a straight branch like the last cake. But I wanted some movement. The base is cake, the trunk is Rice Krispies treats covered in fondant, and the hive is a honey cake.

But let's be honest, most people aren't going to be building PVC pipe supports for their cakes! If you have, drop a comment below because I would love to hear about the cake you make.

Most cakes that are stacked are for weddings, anniversaries, and milestone birthdays. This cake almost collapsed on me. It was supposed to be a stacked cake, but it was so warm that day, and I couldn't get it to stack without the entire thing being destroyed. So, with permission from the bride, I had to go to plan B. You can get these really nice support systems from stores like Michaels. They are sturdy, and they completely remove the fear of collapse. I was lucky I had this one on hand! There are also other options that, if I had had them, you would not have seen the support system.

What happens when a cake collapses?

Great question! I have had this happen to me twice. Luckily, neither time was for a client.

The first time, I was making a cake for a potluck, and it fell apart as I was taking it out of the pan. So, I took a deep breath, regrouped, and made this instead.

The only other time, I had made a stock cake for my store. I was rushing to get the cake done before heading out, and I knew that it should have been chilled before leaving. I left without doing this step. When I got to the store, the top layer was in two pieces and slid off the bottom layer. It was a stock cake, so no big deal. I brought it back home, sliced it up, and had cake slices available. In the end, it was a win!