Giant, multi-level cake - how?

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victorhooi

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
5
heya,

I have a friend's 21st coming up, and was thinking of making one of those giant-multi level cakes for his birthday party, perhaps around 3 circular layers.

Maybe not big enough to have say, a girl jump out and sing from it, but fairly large (enough for around 35 people).

A friend mentioned that I'd need cake pillars or some sort, but I don't know anything beyond that. Also, our oven at home is fairly small, is there any way to work around that? (Each layer would be circular, not sure how I could cook that in pieces and put it together.). Or would I somehow need access to a bigger oven? Or a recipe that doens't require an oven?

Are there any recipes that members could recommend, or resources I could consult on doing this? I've actually kinda left this a bit late...:angel:...2 weeks to the date, but I was in China till yesterday..hehe.

Thanks,
Victor
 
tower cake

Crikey you have left it a little late but all is not lost.
Are you planning fruit cake or sponge cake?

Sponge - Make it now and freeze it. An eight inch, ten inch and twelve inch sponge is my usual cake but I flavour each sponge - i.e. Bottom lemon, centre orange, top vanilla, almond, coffee or coconut. Use zest instead of flavourings because its only a hint of flavour you need.

You can use anything sturdy for pillars - I like to use small glasses coated in coloured sugar. Use egg white to dip them in because if you use water the sugar will eventually fall off.

decorate your cake three days before the event - in case of any disasters then when you have finished panicking and losing the will to live you still have time to regroup.

Are you planning on a cream frosting or a rolled out iced cake?
I use roll out fondant icing because you can repair it in situ if you knock it.

hope this helps a little
 
Your best online resource would be Wilton (Wilton) and their supplies would be the best as well (best in that they're readily available all over the U.S.). The Wilton site has step-by-step photos on how to make a tiered cake.

Meanwhile, it's NOT that difficult, but there are a couple of things to know. I'm happy to walk you through it if you'd like.

Also on the Wilton site, find the serving charts. You'll see that serving 35 people actually takes relatively little cake (maybe a 6", an 8" and a 10") so don't expect to end up with a really huge cake, even though when you add pillars, it does get tall and dramatic. You might want to back the layers in succession, but otherwise, your home oven should be just fine.

Can you confirm that you're located in the States?
 
Like Ayrton said, Wilton would be a good resource for you. Do you think your friend meant that you'd need support within each layer for stacking the cake as opposed to actual pillars between layers? When you place cake layers on top of one another you should use thin wooden dowel rods gently tapped into each layer so that they can support the weight above. If you want a more dramatic look and are still feeling a bit novice, there are also cake stands that actually hold each layer (sort of envision a spiral staircase but the "steps" are trays for the layers of cake). You can find them at cake decorating stores, craft stores or on line.
 
Thanks to both of you for your help.

I should probably state as a disclaimer that my culinary experience is a bit limited still...lol...so I apologise in advance if you have to hold my hand a bit on this.

squirt: I guess I'm going for a sponge cake, since it sounds easier. Any recommended recipe for this, so that it will hold up? With the frosting, I'm not actually sure, what would you recommend based on easE?

Ayrton: I'm actually located down here in sunny Australia :). Not sure if Wilton products are available here, but I'll have a look around in the supermarket tomorrow. I had a look around the Wilton site, looks very useful, is perhaps a bit daunting at first. Will I need to buy a tin like this?

Mini Tiered Cakes - Wilton

P A Baker: I think they might have been referring to the dowels, but the stand idea is looking nice, if only to stop my amateur attempt from falling in on itself.

To be honest, this entire thing is starting to look a bit daunting...lol...I'll hit the cake store today, and ask about the dowel rods, the tiered tins, and also those cake stands, to see what I can try.

I was thinking something basic like this:

Wilton: Recipe Box: Gifts Of The Harvest!

would do the trick, but would anybody know of even more "hold-your-hand" instructions than this, for doing a very basic tiered cake?

Thanks,
Victor
 
victorhooi said:
Thanks to both of you for your help.

I should probably state as a disclaimer that my culinary experience is a bit limited still...lol...so I apologise in advance if you have to hold my hand a bit on this.
No need to apologise -- it's fun! Sorry can't be there in person to show you.

squirt: I guess I'm going for a sponge cake, since it sounds easier. Any recommended recipe for this, so that it will hold up? With the frosting, I'm not actually sure, what would you recommend based on easE?
Any basic, reliable cake recipe which produces a fairly dense cake (i.e., not angel food). Yellow, chocolate, whatever. Preferably one you've made before and been succesful with!

Ayrton: I'm actually located down here in sunny Australia :). Not sure if Wilton products are available here, but I'll have a look around in the supermarket tomorrow. I had a look around the Wilton site, looks very useful, is perhaps a bit daunting at first. Will I need to buy a tin like this?

Mini Tiered Cakes - Wilton
Don't find mention of Wilton in Australia, but that doesn't mean it's not there. In the U.S. cake decorating supplies (or at least Wilton) are sold in crafts shops, however, if you're in or near a major metropolitan area, you'll find a professional supplier somewhere. Check your phone book.

No, you wouldn't need special tins -- just regular cake tins. You would probably need at least two of each size, however. The mini-tiered cake pans result in really tiny, tiny cakes -- something like 4 inches tall!

P A Baker: I think they might have been referring to the dowels, but the stand idea is looking nice, if only to stop my amateur attempt from falling in on itself.
Dowels are always needed if you have more than one cake stacked, whether you use separating pillars or not. The exception to this is if you use a product which is meant to cover both needs, i.e. a set of pillars which goes through the cake below, providing support for the upper cake. You can see the difference in this diagram from the Baking911 site: cakes_assemble_tiers

To be perfectly clear about the function of each: dowels are buried within the cake itself and exist purely to provide the support for the cake above. Pillars are decorative additions sometimes added to separate the cakes from one another and to add height and drama.

To be honest, this entire thing is starting to look a bit daunting...lol...I'll hit the cake store today, and ask about the dowel rods, the tiered tins, and also those cake stands, to see what I can try.

I was thinking something basic like this:

Wilton: Recipe Box: Gifts Of The Harvest!

would do the trick, but would anybody know of even more "hold-your-hand" instructions than this, for doing a very basic tiered cake?

Thanks,
Victor
I'm going to swear to you that if you can bake a couple of cakes, the rest is NOT as difficult as you might imagine, in fact it's remarkably simple yet very impressive. The dowel rods are just normal wooden dowels, so you can get them at a woodworking/DIY sort of store (they'll be cheaper too!). Evidently plain plastic drinking straws can be used as well, although you need a few more.

The "Gifts of The Harvest" cake looks very do-able to me so don't give up yet Victor!

I suspect you didn't find the right section on the Wilton site if you're still looking for "hold your hand" instructions: it's under the Wedding section, both "general cake information" and "making the cake." It's there where you'll find the diagrams for how much each size feeds, and also the step-by-step instructions for making, icing, stacking, etc. the cakes, all with very nice photos. Try again!
 
Wowzers! Well obviously yes you're getting a late start as far as planning goes, but the good news is that no matter how early you start preparing, you really can't get the project done until the last few days anyway due to its perish-ability.
The cake is the easy part, so you can get those levels done anytime and freeze until you're ready for decorating 1-2 days prior to delivery.
Since you're not too experienced with multi-tiered cakes, assembling them and transporting them, I say take this time to order some good support systems that you won't have to worry about.

Don't go overboard though - as you know, it's the thought that counts ;)
 
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Wowzers! Well obviously yes you're getting a late start as far as planning goes, but the good news is that no matter how early you start preparing, you really can't get the project done until the last few days anyway due to its perish-ability.
The cake is the easy part, so you can get those levels done anytime and freeze until you're ready for decorating 1-2 days prior to delivery.
Since you're not too experienced with multi-tiered cakes, assembling them and transporting them, I say take this time to order some good support systems that you won't have to worry about (I personally prefer the products at Cake Support Solutions).
Don't go overboard though - as you know, it's the thought that counts ;)

Kay, welcome to DC, but actually you're the one that's late, over 8 years to be exact. Don't worry about it though, it's something a lot of new people do and it's lovely that you want to help, just don't expect an answer back.
 
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