Stacking Tiers
Lesson 3:
Stacking Tiers
Ingredients
  • Melted white chocolate in a piping bag
  • Melted medium thick gray ganache in a piping bag
Equipment
  • 1-1.5cm Wooden or plastic dowel
  • 1cm hollow plastic dowels
  • 20-30cm round sturdy cake board
  • Hot glue (or glue gun?)
  • Turntable
  • Flexible scraper
Cake Tiering Instructions
To ensure that the top tier stacked will not sink into the tier underneath it, we need to dowel the bottom tier. It means that we need to insert some dowels into the bottom tier to take the weight of the top cake, just as in construction. So, it's not the bottom tier that's actually bearing the weight of the top cake. It is the dowels that are bearing the weight of the cake.

1. To dowel the cake first make a pin out of the plastic dowel by cutting the dowel at an angle with the secateurs.

2. Using the sharp pin make 5 holes on the cake: one in the center for the central dowel, and 4 other for supporting dowels.

3. Using a ruler, find the center of the cake. Mark the center and make the hole using the sharp end of the pin.

4. Similarly, make 4 more holes for supporting dowels. Insert the supporting dowels closer to the edge of the top tier. I usually estimate where the cake on top will go. But to be more precise, you can place the cake board as the top tier and trace the outline and then make holes inside the marking, closer to its edge.

5. Next insert the plastic dowel into the hole in the center of the cake and make a hole in the center of the cake along its height, so it is easier to put the cake through the central dowel. Insert the dowel, rotate and take it out.

6. Start doweling. Insert a dowel into one of the 4 holes. Take the pencil and mark the height of the cake on the dowel. Take the dowel out and cut along the marked line. And insert the dowel back into the hole. The dowel needs to be exactly equal to the height of the cake. If the dowel is shorter than the cake, the top tier will sink into the bottom tier. If the dowel is taller than the cake, the top tier will jiggle on an uneven surface. That is why you need to insert the dowel into each hole, mark and cut.

7. Take the cake board and pipe melted white chocolate around the dowel and where the bottom tier will seat. Next lift the cake up from the sides, do not push the cake, the texture on the cake might crack from the pressure. Before lifting, chill the cake in the fridge so it doesn't melt from the heat of your hands. Lift the cake up and rod it through the dowel.

8. And rotate the cake, so that the chocolate on the bottom spreads and the cake glues to the board.

9. Next stack the top tier: pipe the melted white chocolate on top of the bottom tier. Pipe the chocolate on the center and around the dowel. Make sure to use runny chocolate. Runny chocolate doesn't set as fast and we will have time to stack the top tier. Lift the top tier and rod it through the dowel. Rotate it so the chocolate spreads and the cakes glue to each other. And that is it! The cake is assembled and ready to be decorated.
To get a certificate of completion you need submit photos of your cake within the time you have access to the course material.
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