I am doing a wedding cake next weekend in which one tier will be a styrofoam dummy. I want to do it up ahead of time and maybe save a little bit of money and was thinking I could just use shortening under the fondant instead of buttercream icing. Has anyone tried this? Any opinions or suggestions? Thanks
JoAnnB Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jun 09, 2005
Posts: 7302
Location: Salem, Oregon
Posted:
Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:07 pm
Just a mist of water or a thin scrape of piping gel or even corn syrup. You want the fondant to stick to the dummy.
Also, watch the top edge of the dummy. It has a tendency to cut the fondant.
BlakesCakes Forum Fanatic
Joined: Aug 01, 2005
Posts: 1862
Location: Cleveland, OH
Posted:
Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:49 pm
You need to smooth the top edge of the dummy because if you don't, it will cause the fondant to tear. I use a cheap disposable nail file/emery board--very gently. Also, smooth out any other lumps, bumps, or lines the same way or they'll be magnified in the fondant finish.
You can certainly use crisco to adhere the fondant. It's a nice smooth undercoat and can help stop bubbles. The only drawback I find is that the dummy is then pretty hard to clean up to use again (the grease is hard to get off and gets an odor over time). If re-use isn't an issue, I'd say go for it. If you want to re-use it, then water is the cheapest & easiest. You only need a fine mist and then some spot touch-ups around the bottom edge for a good stick.
If you want to re-use a dummy, no matter what you put under the fondant, you can put it in the microwave for 20 seconds--NO MORE-- and the fondant will peel off easily and with no mess. If the dummy is too big for your microwave, set your oven on warm (150-180 degrees), sit the dummy on a piece of aluminum foil, and leave in there for no more than 3 minutes. Again, the fondant will peel off easily. You can wash the dummy with hot soapy water and it will be ready for another round.
HTH
Rae
Last edited by BlakesCakes on Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:13 pm; edited 1 time in total
JenniferMI Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 12, 2006
Posts: 696
Location: Manistee, Michigan
Birthday: Dec 22
Posted:
Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:52 pm
I use Glad Press N Seal to cover my dummies. Works like a CHARM! Then, you can uncover and resuse those pricy dummies. I just put a VERY thin layer of clear piping gel on the Glad P S..... then add fondant.
Wow! thanks these are great tips!! I don't think I will be reusing the dummy so that is no problem. Thanks so much!
pinkbiz Regular Member
Joined: Sep 11, 2007
Posts: 119
Location: Puerto Rico
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:57 am
cakes80 i was a little curious of why the dummy cake? i mean i think that its a great idea if the bride wants a 5 tier cake and can't afford it ,... lol just woundering
icer101 Frequent Member
Joined: Mar 23, 2006
Posts: 469
Posted:
Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:01 am
i also use glad press n seal.... like jenniferMI.... i also use glad press n seal when i use buttercream on dummies.... works great....then you have a clean dummies to reuse if that is what you want to do.... the buttercream sticks to it wonderfully...
HI Pinkbiz, the reason for the dummy is that she wanted a pretty cake for display purposes and to feed the wedding party but she is having individual cakes on each table for the guests so she doesn't need that much cake. I didn't do the individual cakes as space and manpower (little old me) couldn't realistically do that but I was all about the big pretty cake.
I know blakescakes said to use a file to smooth away rough edges on the dummy, but doing crafts all my life, the smoothest way to do it is to use another piece of styrofoam to smooth the edges.
staceyboots Frequent Member
Joined: Jul 05, 2007
Posts: 466
Location: Barbados, WI
Birthday: Dec 02
Posted:
Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:27 am
great tips!!
BlakesCakes Forum Fanatic
Joined: Aug 01, 2005
Posts: 1862
Location: Cleveland, OH
Posted:
Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:43 pm
vickymacd wrote:
I know blakescakes said to use a file to smooth away rough edges on the dummy, but doing crafts all my life, the smoothest way to do it is to use another piece of styrofoam to smooth the edges.
If I'm lucky enough to have a floral foam dummy (my favorite type, but hard to come by in the right shapes & sizes), I always smooth & even carve it with another piece of the same floral foam.
I don't use that method with pebble foam because I have had (unfortunately) large chunks come loose when there's been a hard spot in the dummy. I like the fine control I get with the emery board and the ability to ge a nice, soft contour without much elbow muscle.
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