April 10, 1997 - Topic: "It's Show Time! - how to make a fake cake - learn some new tricks and share your tips and techniques with cake decorators from all around the nation!" 

Cake dummies are fake cakes. There are three kinds of styrofoam dummies. If you are going to stick things into the dummy cake the regular porous styrofoam is much better.

Pricing: if asked to include a fake cake instead of a real one in a wedding cake (or as a joke), remember that it costs considerably more than a real cake. So if I need to make a cake bigger than the customer needs for the servings, i charge the same per serving and include the Dummy 'servings' as if it was cakes. The decorating takes the time and it will take you every bit as long. If you ice it with buttercream, be sire to cover first with plastic wrap. Otherwise, you can't use it again. (remains of icing will become rancid). We carry dummies in many Sizes/shapes -round, rectangle, heart-shaped etc.

Covering: when making fake cakes for display purposes, first cover the styrofoam cake dummy with plastic wrap. Or, "shrink-wrap" it with a hair dryer (or a professional shrink-wrap machine). When the display cake gets old, just hold over the trash can and -un-wrap- it; loosen The plastic wrap and peel the icing off into the trash. I cover my cake dummies with plastic wrap. (i have a shrink-wrap machine, so i can smooth out the wrinkles in the plastic wrap by heating). Either way, stretch the plastic wrap tight and use masking tape to secure the plastic wrap. Even if you just stretch the plastic wrap tightly around the dummy, it is easy to remove when you need to.

For display: ice with royal icing. For using along with real cake - as with wedding cakes - use the same buttercream icing for all fake and real cakes.

Real cakes instead of dummies: real cake <can> be used for display. Bake the cake and coat with royal icing. After a while the cake underneath will be dry and shriveled, but the icing remains in-tact just fine.

Icing a cake dummy: ice the same way as usual. But have the royal icing pretty thin. Do the best you can with the spatula, let crust for several minutes and pat gently wherever icing is not smooth. Also try using either a smooth paper towel or a facial tissue for further Smoothing. If further smoothing is necessary:

Notes:
I found a great place to buy cake decorating books on internet. Sunday, i ordered "bride's little book of cakes and toasts" by the editors of bride's magazine. I got it today (thursday). It is full of rolled fondant cakes. Some look like rosemary watson's style. They had loads of cake decorating books. Their url is http://www.amazon.com i used search words typed like this "cake decorating" (with the quotes). I also ordered scott wooley's book not yet out. Will let you know how i like it.

Pwd Sugar: I have a video that Scott sent me of some of his work - fabulous stuff

Ohio is having a 6-state ices day of sharing (dos) on april 26-27th. Some of the demonstrators are: darlene horner, pa, dolores mccann (me), rosemary watson, nj, millie green, in, gloria grffin, can, geraldine kidweel, ky, susan larson, oh, geraldine randlesome, can, linda shonk, in. Lidia snow, ky - all are listed in your buckeye bulletin newsletter - if from ohio. I don't know what other states do to publicize.

Pwd Sugar: Louisiana is also having there BIG DOS the same weekend - I will be going there Pwd Sugar: Texas will have one in the Dallas area the next weekend Lin5326: Tx has one in Crowley on the 27th of April LBead93524: Dee We have ices day this sunday here in Birmingham, AL. 4-12-97 folks, sorry...too late now.

TAbor5352: WONDERFUL! i have downloaded some old chats today. Dolores, did

Next week: tips and hints that make it easier - getting a head start on mother's day cakes

Earlene's Part:

April 10, 1997 it's show time "How to make a fake cake - what can you put in the inside of a fake cake? Cardboard circles, rice krispies mixed with royal icing, styrafoam dummies. What can you put on the outside of fake cakes? Anything

First I like to cover the fake cake with a tight wrapping of saran wrap or some other kind of plastic wrap. This makes cleaning up the dummies much easier. They are expensive so take care of them. When you put the icing directly on the dummy - it can never really be clean again - it will always have some icing residue on it. Once the dummy is wrapped tightly with plastic wrap - i usually put a thin coat of icing to fill in dents and smooth the surface as necessary. Hint - if you are using a styrafoam dummy - stick a fork into the bottom of the dummy and then ice. They are so lightweight if you ice them like regular cakes you may be chasing them around the table. Now you are ready to ice with buttercream, royal, fondant or the fake icings. One fake icing is called permaice. When it dries the cake can be washed off under the faucet and dried and put back out on display. I have also been told that spackling compound works great on dummy cakes. I still haven't personally tried that yet. Bit, i have seen show cakes that were done with the spackling compound and they looked great. One was a large 5 tier wedding cake with a multitude of pink roses. That decorator just tossed that cake around like it was a toe sack. I thought she was going to ruin it. She just laughed at me and said that particular cake was decorated a couple of years before and she had handled it roughly at first just to see how much abuse it would take. Amazingly it was still beautiful

Borntobbq: can't eat styrofoam Pwd Sugar: If we used real cakes for a cake show it would be very wasteful besides heavy Pwd Sugar: You would not want to eat a cake that people had coughed and sneezed on for several days

I thought you might like to know some of the things that judges at cake shows look for.

From a judges viewpoint..........

Cake shows are a place to learn from other decorators. If feel very strongly that a cake decorators goal should not be to win the best ribbons. A better goal should be to educate the public about what can be done in sugar. -wow them. <<if we don't educate the public to know what can be done - they will never be willing to pay for the fun wonderful creative work. You are sharing a design that you have done with other cake decorators and also learning from all of the other designs that other cake decorators have brought to the show. Learn from one another. Don't be just a taker and go the the show to learn. If possible take an entry to share your creativity with the other cake decorators and the public. when i begin working on a new design for a cake show, I like to try new things, play and just have fun. This is my place to stretch my skills. Get creative and see what happens. Its fun at the show when you hear the comments. Some shows require that novelty / shaped cakes are made from real cake. A friend of mine in austin does wonderful novelty cakes. Its fun when you hear people walking by say - that can't be real cake! It looks like a real prickly pear cactus (or eagle or fish or etc.) I wonder how they did that. Or aren't those silk flowers on that cake or that ivy can't be sugar. - sometimes i wish i was a mouse with a tape recorder.

Do enter the cake shows in your area if you have opportunity.

============== THE NEXT PART IS ALL ABOUT THE UPCOMMING ICES SHOW AND CONVENTION AT ORALANDO IN AUGUST. This may seem early to some folks, but it really isn't. I understand the main hotel or two are already booked. As you will see below, there is a very early deadline for registration also. This is so the officials can organize eveything and be ready for you. This takes a lot of time.

Back to our Chat List
Back to my Home Page