Tall Cakes Not Staying Tall? How to Use Internal Supports That Actually Work
- ECBY
- May 4, 2025
- 6 min read
If you’ve ever looked at a tall cake and thought, “How does that even stay upright?” you’re not alone.
Tall cakes can feel intimidating. Bulging buttercream. Shifting tiers. That nervous feeling when the cake has to be moved.
For many cake decorators, tall cakes feel more stressful than satisfying.
But here’s the good news.
Tall cakes don’t have to be scary or unpredictable. When internal support is done properly, tall cakes can feel calm, solid, and repeatable.
In this post, we’re talking about what actually holds tall cakes together. No guesswork. No myths. Just practical guidance that works in real kitchens.
You’ll learn:
What internal supports really do inside a cake
Which dowels are worth using and which ones cause problems
The most common dowel mistake I see cake makers make
A Quick Word on Experience (Why This Matters)
If we haven’t met yet, I’m Yvette Farrugia.
I’ve been making cakes for over 30 years and ran a custom cake business for over a decade. These days, I teach cake decorators how to build tall, professional cakes that hold up through stacking, decorating, and delivery.
What I see most often is this: Cake makers blame themselves when a tall cake struggles, when the real issue is internal support that hasn’t been set up properly.
Tall cakes don’t fail because you’re not skilled enough. They fail when the inside of the cake isn’t doing its job.
What Are Internal Supports in a Cake?
Think of internal supports as the skeleton of your cake.
You don’t see them once the cake is finished, but they’re doing all the heavy lifting.
Internal supports help to:
Stop cake layers from sinking into each other
Keep tiers level while stacking
Distribute weight evenly
Prevent leaning, shifting, or collapsing
Without proper internal support, even the best decorating skills can’t save a tall cake.
And this is important: Not all supports are created equal.
Dowels I Recommend and Actually Use
Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of different support systems. These are the ones that consistently give strong, reliable results.
Wooden Dowels (Food-Safe Timber)
Wooden dowels are strong, simple, and effective.
What works well:
Very sturdy
Usually around 25 cm long and 6 mm thick
Slim enough not to ruin slice portions
Things to know:
You’ll need garden shears or proper cutters
They must be cut flat and evenly
Best for:
Cakes with multiple tiers
Heavier top tiers
Situations where strength really matters
Plastic Dowels (My Personal Favourite)
Plastic dowels are what I reach for most often.
Why I like them:
Hollow but strong
Easy to cut
Consistent sizing
Less effort to insert cleanly
Most plastic dowels come in longer lengths, which means one dowel can often be cut into multiple supports.
When cut correctly, they give excellent stability without extra bulk.
Dowels I Do Not Recommend
These are the supports I see mentioned online all the time. And every time I do, I wish someone had explained this earlier.
Wide Straws
Fine for lightweight toppers. Not designed to hold cake weight.
Drinking Straws
They bend. They collapse. They are not structural support.
Skewers
Too thin. Not designed for load bearing. I only ever use these for small decorative elements.
Chopsticks
The tapered ends cause uneven height. Uneven height means instability.
If you’re short on supplies, a better option is to use leftover pieces of proper dowels rather than reaching for items that were never designed for support.
The Most Common Dowel Mistake (And How to Avoid It)
Even when cake makers use the right dowels, I often see problems because of how they’re cut or inserted.
Here’s what matters.
Cut Dowels Flat
Dowels must sit evenly on the cake board underneath. Slanted cuts create uneven pressure and lead to leaning.
Insert Dowels Straight Down
Never angle your dowels. Angled supports shift under pressure, especially during transport.
Measure Every Single One
Eyeballing dowel height almost always leads to problems. Even a few millimetres difference can cause a tier to wobble.
Internal support is not the place to rush.
Why Internal Support Is the Foundation of Tall Cakes
Tall cakes don’t fail because they’re tall.
They fail because height magnifies small issues.
If internal support isn’t level, balanced, and secure, every extra layer adds pressure. That pressure has to go somewhere.
When internal supports are done well:
Decorating feels easier
Cakes feel more stable
Transport becomes far less stressful
Free Resource: Tall Cake Stability Cheat Sheet
If you want a clear checklist you can use every time you build a tall cake, I’ve created a free Tall Cake Stability Cheat Sheet.
It covers:
Dowels and support options
Cake board choices
Stacking considerations
Delivery planning tips
You can download it here: 👉 Tall Cake Stability Cheat Sheet
Want to Go Deeper?
This post is just one piece of the puzzle.
If you want to confidently create tall cakes that:
feel stable from the inside
hold up during transport
and look professional every time
you’ll love my course Tall Cakes Made Simple, where I walk through the full process step by step.
Over to You
What do you currently use for internal support?
Have you ever had a tall cake wobble or lean when you thought everything was fine?
Share your experience in the comments. I read and reply personally.
And if you’re following along, Part 2 of the Tall Cake Stability Series will cover cake boards and base support, which is just as important as internal structure.
Until then, happy caking and stay stable.
Yvette Farrugia
Cake Artist and Educator
Frequently Asked Questions About Tall Cake Internal Supports
What internal supports actually work for tall cakes?
The supports that work best for tall cakes are proper wooden dowels or food-safe plastic dowels. They’re made to carry weight evenly, which is exactly what tall cakes need.
They help stop layers from sinking, leaning, or slowly shifting as the cake sits or gets moved. When supports are cut flat and placed properly, tall cakes feel calm instead of stressful.
Why do tall cakes lean or collapse?
Most tall cakes don’t lean because of decorating mistakes. They lean because of small structure issues that started earlier.
Things like uneven layers, fillings that aren’t balanced, or dowels cut slightly off can all create pressure. Height doesn’t cause the problem, it just shows it more clearly.
That’s why tall cake issues often feel like they come out of nowhere, even though the cake looked fine at first.
How many dowels should I use in a tall cake?
There isn’t one magic number, because it depends on the size, height, and weight of the cake.
What matters more than the number is how they’re placed. Dowels should be:
evenly spaced
cut to the same height
sitting flat on the cake board
Guessing or eyeballing is usually what leads to wobble later.
Can I use straws instead of dowels?
This is a big one. Drinking straws and wide straws are not designed to support cake weight.
They might work for light toppers or small decorations, but for tall cakes, they can bend or collapse under pressure. That’s when cakes start leaning or sinking.
Proper cake dowels are much more predictable, especially once cakes get taller.
Do buttercream cakes still need internal supports?
Yes. Buttercream cakes still need internal support once they reach a certain height.
Buttercream is a finish, not a structure. Without support underneath, buttercream cakes can bulge, lean, or soften, especially in warmer weather.
Good structure actually makes buttercream decorating easier and less stressful.
When should internal supports be added?
Internal supports should be added while stacking, before decorating begins.
Trying to fix structure after decorating usually makes things harder, not easier. Most tall cake stress comes from leaving those decisions too late.
When supports are handled early, decorating feels much calmer.
Why do tall cakes look fine at first but shift later?
This is really common.
Pressure inside a cake takes time to settle. Uneven layers, soft fillings, or unbalanced supports might not show up straight away. As the cake sits, gravity slowly does its thing.
That’s why cakes can look perfect at first, then start leaning hours later or even overnight.
Is internal support more important if the cake is being delivered?
Absolutely.
Transport adds movement, vibration, and handling. All of that puts extra stress on the cake.
Strong internal support gives your cake a much better chance of arriving safely and staying stable during setup.
This is why structure and delivery planning really go hand in hand.
Where can I learn more about tall cake stability?
If you want a simple starting point, I’ve created a free Tall Cake Stability Cheat Sheet that walks through supports, boards, stacking, and delivery basics.
And if you want the full step-by-step system, Tall Cakes Made Simple goes much deeper and shows how everything fits together calmly and repeatably.
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