Calling cake makers and florists...

Apologies in advance to any cake makers out there....I'm no expert!

We have found the best way to put flowers in a tiered cake is to use a cake seperator like the one below; this allows you to put a small bit of either dry or very well drained oasis or floral foam in the void, which you can then push the flowers into once the cake is assembled, without any of the foam coming into contact with the cake.

For the top, use cake picks if you can. Big, blousy roses work best for this kind of thing as they fill the space really well. Are you planning on using your gerberas here too? If so, I'd probably recommend using a big cream rose like avalanche to fill the space, then use gerberas to sit amongst them. The gerberas on their own won't give you enough bulk to get the effect, and won't support themselves very well.

HTH a bit!

Thanks George! That's very helpful.

Dumb question now - that pic you've posted - does that just sit on top of the cake? Wouldn't it squash the cake?

It will as you say combat the problem of the flowers touching the cake. I wondered about that.

I would indeed like gerberas on the cake (good memory!). Thanks for the tip!

I guess they're designed in a way that the weight is distributed properly and therefore they don't squash the cake, but I don't know to be honest. And, tragically, I have a sad memory for what flowers people are having ?

I think for both you could getaway with transporting both separatly and then setting them up at the actualy venue... I think the first would be easier but it depends on which you prefer, neither is particially harder then the other if that makes sense...

To make the design with the roses, you need to purchase HIDDEN PILLARS. They come as approx. 9" long tubes that you poke into the two lower cakes, then cut to the height of the cake plus the rose heads.

When all four tubes are in place on the base tier, you add the same into the middle tier, then assemble all three tiers. After all three tiers are in place, the flower heads can be inserted in from the sides into the void, and will give the appearence that the cakes are suspended on the flower heads.

Some people have the florist supplying these in a wet oasis, but this should be avoided at all costs, as any water on the icing can lead to a bit of a disaster !!!

The other cake (the stacked one) should be dowelled in the bottom two tiers to support the weight of the upper tiers. If transporting this version a long way, we always carry it on someone's lap, as flat and as careful as possible. It can be a worrying journey with bumps and potholes in the roads these days...

Agree with the other cake makers but would say if your mum (or MIL) have never dowelled and stacked a wedding cake before I would recommend going for a design where the cakes remain separate - like the one blocked with the roses.

Dowelling and stacking tiers directly on top of one another is, in my opinion, one of the hardest things to do in cake making. If the cakes aren't 100% level and the icing isn't of a correct thickness, applied and levelled absolutely evenly and the dowels cut accurately even though there 'should' be no weight issues there will be inevitable pressure on the lower tiers and transporting a stacked cake around the corner is hard enough but Northampton to Bristol is a long way. You are highly likely to get crazing on the icing or even cracks or worst case scenario a complete collapse.

I agree with the others - hidden pillars which go right through the cake and can be cut to size once the size of the roses are seen is the best way. WIth the acrylic separators that were mentioned you would need to have small boards between the tiers and dowel in the same way as you would for a stacked cake and if the flowers aren't exactly the same depth as the separator you'll have gaps between the cakes which isn't the look you're after. I also agree that, oasis of any kind is not a good idea near a cake so when I do the blocked cakes I just ensure that the stems of all the roses are taped and that the flowers are just placed between the tiers - if you've cut the hidden pillars to the correct height the flowers will be held in place by the fact that the cakes are exactly the right distance apart. With roses, the stems are woody enough to not require water to keep them fresh long enough for the time that you're cake is on display. The only time I've even used oasis between cakes is when the cake was blocked with Peonies which wilt mega fast - in this case I covered the tops of the cakes to ensure the oasis/water didn't come anywhere near the cake itself.

HTH
Catherine