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It's important that you prepare both cakes for stacked construction before stacking them. The proper supports such as dowel rods, cake circles/boards and separator plates must be used in order to prevent the whole structure from toppling over. Dowel rods perform a simple, absolutely necessary function – they bear the weight of the tiers above. If the top tier is 10 inches or less, use six 1/4 inch wooden dowel rods. Use 8 dowel rods for 16 in. and 18 in. cakes; on these larger tiers, using 3/4 inch plastic dowel rods will give added support. Place the top tiers either on a cake board or separator plate, then position the cake over the dowel rods you inserted into the lower tiers.