How to stack wedding cakes ???

Salam to all...alhamdulillah..kita masih lagi diizinkan Allah untuk bernafas and semuga kita terus diberi rahmat n hidayah dariNYA...Actually I would like to write about my cakes..but I received an email from a dear sis from Penang asking me how to stack 3 tiers wedding cake...1st tier being the actual cake n tier yg kedua n ketiga dummy...Before this i always reply any questions personally but I guess it's better for me to answer her questions here..so that insyaAllah it can benefit more people...By the way, i'm not an expert and my jawapan is based on my own experience which insyaAllah works...will like to receive comments n advise from my senior decorators out there..So to sis Shariffah Shams from Penang I hope my answers will help u...

Taklah susah sangat nak buat stacked cake 3 tingkat apalagi if diatasnya dummy...normally i will decorate all the cakes satu persatu and i make sure every tier ada kesinambungan or sama theme dgn yg lain..and by the way...always gunakan 2 warna yg berpadanan...example...for wedding cake theme merah n putih...ahhemm...signal for my best friend Elaine...but jgnlah guna 1 plain merah aje..cuba bagi hue...is the bunga is merah..jgnlah semuanya merah garang...cuba add variation of reds...and if u hv to use a third color..make sure the color berpadanan dgn the 2 main color. As for flowers..for sure daun nya hijau..but cuba kita perhatikan daun diluar..walaupun hijau..ada different tone..and kalau boleh..jgnlah keras kejung daun tu..cuba create effect n movement sepertimana daun2 yg kita lihat diatas pokok..U know what? I find it very amazing..sometimes in trying to do all the flowers n leaves..I learn to appreciate ciptaan Allah..now I will stop wherever i can find flowers..belek satu persatu n every time I belek...terasa betapa indah dan agungnya ciptaan Allah..subhanallah...

So back to stacking cakes...for 3 tiers hv to decide sizenya dahulu..selalunya base mestilah besar...and tinggi yg cantik untuk wedding cake is minimum 3 in...2 inch will be so flat..n I normally buat at least 4 inch..with layers of filling. Then just imagine mcm mana kita nak susunkan kek tu..tak semestinya dibahagian tengah sahaja..so hias setiap cake...Sebagai menjawab soalan sis Shariffah..base cake is real cake...and ther two are dummies...For the real cake..balutkan fondant seperti biasa and hias...but for dummies..memang nampak senang...memang senangpun...lol...sebab tak payah khuatir risiko kek rosak ke..jatuh ke...cuma satu aje....for the edges of the dummy..try to tumpulkan dgn menggunakan roller kecil atau apa2 shaja alat yg sesuai...what i meant by tumpulkan is not...potong or kikis...but gosok saje dgn roller? Kenapa ye? Supaya edges nya tidak mengkoyakkan fondant kita....so sebelum dibalutkan fondant...basahkan sikit polystrine tu..jgn banyak sgt..cukup sekadar sapuan yg nipis utk melekatkan fondant..and hias both dummies....

So when all the cakes sudah siap dihias...it's time to stack...but I will guide u all for both..sets of real cakes n sets of real plus 2 dummies...So for real cakes..lets say if i'm having susunan 10in, 8in n 6in round cakes...Sediakan few dowels...and in my case..i love to use bubble tea straw which can be bought di kedai plastic..straw yg besar tu..don't worry..walaupun straw..tp kuat..memang kuat insyaAllah...So just ambil sekeping board 8in and positionkan diatas 1st tier..let say, I nak letakkan dibahagian tengah...so tandakan dgn toothpick the side...a very tiny mark..so for an 8 in cake as the second tier selalunya I will use 5 dowels...yg disusun dlm ukuran jarak yg sama...so cucuk the straw 1 inch kebahagian dalam dari tanda tepi tadi..and gunting excess yg terkeluar..by right surface of the cakes sama rata and tinggi...by the way, make sure the straw dicucuk sehingga bersentuhan dgn cakeboard pengalas tier pertama...Then cucuk the rest of the straws dalam jarak yg sama ..and since i'm using round cakes..it should be dalam susunan bulatan...Now u guys can guess why i love to use bubble tea straw..normally people use the wooden chopsticks or wooden dowel...but to me...straw bubble tea pun kuat and senang untuk digunting..so..now the first tier dah didowelkan..oops excuse me for my language..hopefully there's no follower yg kerja di DBP..he..he..he...Ok..back to our stacking process..ambil cake board yg 8 in tadi..and tenguk..sama level tak semua dowel..if tak sama level..pastikan straw tadi digunting lagi ikut paras...and if dah tersalah..jgn panik...ambil tweezer and tarik aje keluar ;)..so if u are satisfied ...ambil royal icng sikit and buatkan sapuan nipis diatas first tier yg sudah didowelkan but dalam lingkungan bulatan..jgn sampai terkeluar..this royal icing will secure the second tier..

So ambil the second tier letakkan diatas 1st tier..based ukuran position asal. As for the second tier..do the same process...and boleh gunakan 4 dowels aje..and stack the third tier...but normally my practice...I tenguk distance yg I nak hantar or jalan yg i hendak lalui....if jarak jauh, I will normally buat 2 stacks at home..siapkan dowel for 2nd tier..but pasang the 3rd tier dirumah pengantin...i do not want to take the risk...Begitu juga, if i got to know jalan yg i nak lalui bumpy..walaupun dekat...i will do the same thing too...ha..ha..ha..I tak nak kena sakit jantung if my cake jatuh...

Ok..that is the guide for real cakes..but since Shariffah kata dia akan gunakan dummy for the 2nd and 3rd tier..lagi senang...but still have to dowel the first tier walaupun atas dummy...sebab...bila dummies dah dibalut fondant..ia akan berat...and ada risiko untuk mendap kebawah if tiada dowel...After dah dowel the 1st tier..sapukan royal icing sikit and letak the 2nd tier dummy...Hmm do we hv to dowel the dummy? No need..just ambil royal icing and sapu atas second tier..maker sure tak terkeluar dari ukuran tier ke3...After dah siap sapuan RI...letak the 3rd tier..for dummies..it's ok to stack awal2 dari rumah...Tadaa..siap dah...so buat touch up..oops..lupa nak cakap..pastikan cake board for 2nd and 3rd tier sama besar dgn cake..coz lebihan cake board yg terkeluar mencacatkan cake kita..and pastikan cake board yg paling bawah..the first tier ditutup dgn fondant...our cake will look very damn ugly if tidak ditutup...penat buat cake cantik2 tapi tk cover cake board...ibarat pergi rumah org kahwin..tudung mengelip2..baju mengelip2...tangan pun mengelip2 sampai ke siku penuh gelang...ha..ha..ha..mentang2 Shariffah org Penang..anak mami ....semuanya mengelip2..maaf ya shariffah...but bila tenguk dikakinya...alamak pakai selipar jepun...kan nampak hodoh sgt tu...so beautiful cakes come with beautiful cake boards..and lagi satu..sometimes kita ingat dah cover cake board..cukuplah..tepinya tak apa..oops..a big NO for me...tutup dgn riben yg sepadan..jgn kasi nampak cake board langsung2....alah berapa sen sgt riben..tak sampai rm1 for 1 meter ribbon...by the way..for wedding cakes..gunakan board tebal untuk base...coz if guna board nipis...ia akan merosakkan kek bila diangkat...ia kan meleding sikit...so mybe ada tempat susah nak dapat board tebal..what i normally do is..cantumkan 3 board nipis...gunakan selefon tape..don't use glue gun coz tak even...just balutkan dgn selefon tape few times across the board...

Well I hope, I have answered shariffah's questions..and may my answer benefit ramai lagi new cake decorators...jgn takut...alah bisa tegal biasa...As i've said..ketakutan akan membunuh kita...be positive...always think we can do it...walaupun kita tk pernah buat...once upon a time..fondant was an alien thing to me too...to rakan2 yg ingin bertanya..just feel free to gie me a call..or email me..or can msg me via FB under the name norashikin basiron..if I can tolong..insyaAllah and semuga ilmu yg kita sama2 kongsi akan mendapat rahmat dari Allah...And to sis Shariffah all the best of luck..semuga semuanya dipermudahkan oleh Allah..and semuga this first wedding cake of yrs akan jadi pemangkin untuk kek kahwin yg akan datang..sorry if ada jokes yg mengecilkan hati...well until we meet again...take care and enjoy yr weekends.... ;)