I’m over the moon with excitement for today’s featured wedding question. “What is the difference between tiers and layers?” To put it simply a cake is made of layers. Tiers are the individual cakes stacked!
I relish ANY opportunity to make a tiered cake. I have even made them for myself for my birthday JUST BECAUSE I CAN! 😹
Stay tuned on my IG. Eventually, I will find and show some photos of my first ever tiered cakes. Let’s just say, I’ve come a long, LONG way.
The MOST important aspect of stacking a tiered cake is the structure in the cake. Without a structure, the decadent and often heavy cake will sink and tilt and RUIN the visual experience of your cake. Looking at the bright side, the cake will still taste great!
Julia’s Baking Journey Detour
This was the foundation of my baking story. All I wanted was a cake that tasted GOOD. In my experience, prior to starting my cake decorating journey, all those fussy cakes with buttercream flowers, carved shapes, or fondant coverings were not filled with delicious cake. I felt like they were a waste of calories. 🙀 I would have rather eaten boxed cakes. (Another controversial opinion. I like the taste of MANY box cakes). I still feel this way about a lot of cakes (I’m looking at you, generic grocery store cake).
Back to the Structure of Tiered Cakes
Structure is usually made out of wooden dowels, smoothie straws or even metal rods and cake boards (made of cardboard, acrylic, plastic, or metal). I use smoothie straws and cardboard most often. The smoothie straws are cost effective, but I’m actively seeking other alternatives before I resupply. The straws (rods or dowels) create a base for the cake boards to rest without squishing the cake below.
I always use at least 3 straws in each tier. Think of it like a table. A table with two legs cannot stand on its own. If you tilt or bump it may shift or fall. I often use 4 for the size cakes I bake. (The largest base I make is 12″). I can bake up to 14″ cakes, but I haven’t had any requests thus far.
Final Thoughts
The fun of tiered cakes is they have limitless options. You can mix and match the number of layers and shapes. I am waiting on pins and needles to make a cake with varied cake layers. Hoping I’ll find an excuse to do one this year! (I’d do it for my birthday this year, but I am going to work on perfecting Macaron making!!!!)
Do you have any additional Cake Tier Questions? Please share them with me.
