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How to Build a 3D Tux Cake
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Step 4: Add a little structure
When you're finished icing the top of the cake, go ahead and turn another cake upside-down onto it, and carefully peel off the cake round. Now it's time to add a little extra structural integrity. This is where the dowels come in. Make sure the dowels are clean (rinse them off with water and wipe them with a towel) and stick one into the cake, as close to straight up and down as possible. The less crooked they are, the less of a chance of them shifting under the weight of the cake later, causing it to collapse. Now, once you have the dowel pushed in as far as possible, mark a line on it where it meets the top of the cake and pull it out and cut it. Make sure you get any pieces of wood off of it (sawdust, splinters, etc) and then put it back into the hole. Don't use this piece as a guide for the other dowels, measure each one seperately. You'll want at least four supports in each cake, a little closer to the edge than to the center.
When you have all the dowels in place on one set of layers, go ahead and superwrap it (you may need to use three sheets of plastic wrap instead of two) and put it back in the freezer. You'll need three sets that are 12 inches across, and two sets that are 7 inches across. Don't bother with dowels on the smaller cakes; they won't have nearly as much to support, so they don't really need them.
