How To Assemble a Stacked Wedding Cake

I've receive many requests for direction on how to stack a buttercream cake without "ruining" the icing on the lower tiers. Here are some step-by-step photos on how I stack a cake.










Start with a base cake, already doweled and ready to receive the upper tier......










I pick up the upper tier, supporting it with my hand and the icing spatula .....














I bring the upper tier over to the bottom tier.....











I lower the front of the upper tier into place on the lower tier. The reason I lower the front of the cake is so I can keep the spatula at the back of the cake, so if there are any errors, those will be in the back where the photographer won't see them!!! (and they are more easily fixable.)








I remove my hand from under the cake while there is still room. The cake is now being supported by the spatula. This works well for larger tiers, too.






Using the spatula, I lower the upper tier in place. I leave the spatula in place until I check the position of the tier, making sure it is centered properly. If it needs moved, LIFT the tier with the spatula. Do not scoot or push the tier without lifting it as this can cause the dowels to shift and become unstable.

I use a slight, almost imperceptible lift as I pull the spatula out from under the upper tier.

I'm not concerned with this slight marring of the icing that happened at the last second when pulling the spatula out. It will be covered with the border.

The final cake has a nice border to hide any mistakes made during stacking, then adorned with Buckeye candies.

This was a cost saving idea we came up with for the bride, who had wanted a groom's cake with Buckeye candies but she had a tight budget. We just combined the idea onto her wedding cake!