I did my first 3 tier cake last week and this week I am doing my first 3 tiered wedding cake. The 3 tier last week was for my sisters birthday, so although I wanted it to be perfect for her...there was also less pressure! This wedding cake however = PRESSURE!
Now the question is... do I use straws of dowels?
I hate the idea of dowels! They are more expensive and a pain to cut! And surely when you cut them they will splinter and make a mess? And that can't be massively hygienic? And how do you ensure that you get a straight top?
I LOVE the idea of straws! I used straws for my sisters cake and they were fine! They cost me 18p from Asda and were easy to cut and hygienic! They are also so quick, cheap and easy to cut that if you mess up then you can easily cut a new one!
I wont be using cheapo Asda ones for the wedding cake, but I am tempted to use thicker and nicer looking straws for it. I have done a lot of research online to see what other people use and some bakers swear by straws and some admit they are too chicken to try and stick to dowels, even tho they are a pain to cut. Some dowel-users have discovered great tools to cut the dowels that saves time and energy! Is there such a thing as a dowel-cutter? I can't seem to find anything like that in B&Q! I also found some talk about a PVC Cutter, but these look quite expensive.
I believe that precisely from an engineering standpoint the straws are quite reliable. Many columns are hollow and hold up the weight, because of their shape - same principle as the I-beam. The support doesn't have to be thick to be strong - that's why corrugated cardboard holds up. If the straws are put straight in they should hold even a heavy weight cake. From my understanding of engineering, the straws should certainly hold. (Remember that they are hollow until they enter the cake, and then they fill with cake ,which stabilizes them as well.
I want to find a place where I can buy those bubble tea straws, you know the really thick ones? I found some on Ebay and Amazon but by the time they add postage they become really expensive! They will, however, look more professional than the stripey coloured ones form Asda and they will be stronger too. I was thinking that I should buy iced moches from Starbucks and save the straws but by the time I have spent all that money on Mochas I may as well have payed for the packaging!... although I do like Frappaccinos! :)
The only way to find out which works best is to see if the cake collapses or not...and that is a big risk to take!
So my conclusion at the moment is... that cutting a straw is a whole lot easier than cutting a dowel! As long as you make sure that they are straight in the cake then I can't see the problem... but is it worth the risk when it is someones wedding cake? And should you just be putting that little bit more effort in to ensure that the wedding cake does not collapse! I have witnessed a wedding cake collapsing, during the speeches... and it was not a pretty site! (Just for the record this was not one of my cakes!)
Argh... I don't have a conclusion! To be continued...
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