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Hi,
I have a 3 tiered wedding cake to finish off. The bottom tier is 14″ vanilla filled with jam and buttercream and covered in a white chocolate ganache. The 2nd tier is the same but 12″ and the 3rd tier 8″.

If I put 9 thin dowels each of the tiers as Paul recommends would they hold the weight of the tier above or should I use the large round hollow plastic dowels?

Thanks for any advice

Hi clan

I use Paul’s method as is with the type of dowels he uses. I’ve never used bubble straws so can’t comment on how good they are. However many professionals do use them for their strength. The cake which is displaced inside the cavities of the straw makes them very sturdy and less likely to slip sideways. Whereas a straight dowel could potentially slip and de-stabalize the structure. Having said that I’ve never had a problem with straight hard plastic dowels.
Did you seen this when it was first published: http://www.cakeflix.com/how-do-cakes-work-1

Use either, as you can see from the interactive diagram the way dowells are spaced and inserted determines weight distribution and stability. A 14″ base holding a 12″ tier is no different to a 12″ base holding a 10″ tier and so on. If you like you could add an extra straws in between Hope this helps reassure some of your concerns. x