I stock any size that you can imagine. If it is not on my site ask me if I have it. I proboly do. You just can't list everything

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Dummies are so expensive and I want to get as much use as possible out of each dummy. I cover it with plastic wrap and then smear it with karo syrup. It acts like glue then put the fondant on it. When the wedding is over, I remove the fondant and plastic to find a clean styrofoam to reuse another time.

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I reuse my cake forms that are styrofoam that I bought at the cake store and cover them with plastic wrap making sure that the plastic is somewhat smooth. I roll the fondant out and then roll it onto the rolling pin. I then cover the form with karo syrup to act as glue to help in the sticking process, then I cover with fondant. P.S. Don't put karo on ahead of time or it will be dry before you fondant it.

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Katie:
Not sure if this is the best site for this sort of info...but I would say, use royal icing (confectioners sugar and egg white). It dries hard and really lasts. If it has to be a non food item, I think I'd use plaster. I'm a dentist...we use a lot of plaster...add the water to the powder gradually until you get the consistency that will work for you...and there is no reason why you couldn't pipe it through a pastry bag.

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Hi, please can someone help me?????? I am just starting out making faux cupcakes and can anyone please give me tips on how to do the icing???? Is putty the best to use or spackle??? Can i use an icing bag for each of these methods???? Which one lasts longer???? Please Help....

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Thank you so much for your reply Wanghwa!

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aamara, yes, you can just dampen the styrofoam and it will be ok. Some people brush piping gel on dummies. I just use water.

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Hello, I am making a dummy cake for my parents Wedding anniversary. This is my first time using the Styrofoam dummy.

My question is, do I still have to put icing on the dummy before the fondant? Or can I just dampen the styrofoam then place the fondant on it? Will it be secure? Thank you!

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I have made fake cupcakes with Great Stuff foam insulation. Be careful though, use in small quantities as it expands!

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Fake Fondant..Use Crayola Magic Air drying clay.

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Try making your own fondant using marshmallow. All you need is a bag of marshmallows 2lbs. bag of powdered sugar and 2 tbls boiled water.

Grease bowl with crisco add marshmallow and water to bowl. Heat in microwave for 30seconds and stir. Repeat steps until fully melted.
Next, add sugar to desired consistancy and knead. Use latex gloves if marshmallow is too warm.
Wrap in plastic wrap to be stored up to two weaks or use right away.
You can also find a video tutorial on how to make marshmallow fondant on Youtube.com
This fondant is a dream to work with and is whiter then wilton fondant.

Hope that helps!

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I am attempting to make a very large fake tiered cake for an exhibit hall. I would like it to last for years if possible. I am starting with chicken wire to make molds. Then I plan to cover it with cheese cloth and then use plaster of paris. Any thoughts on this? Any ideas for decorating? It is for the 25th anniversary of our conference.

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First mist the styro very lightly - you want it damp but not dripping. Use a spritz bottle if you have one. If you don't have one, run the dummy under the faucet, but shake it (think of playing a tambourine) to get rid of excess water.

Have the fondant rolled out and ready to go, but work quickly. You want a wide space to work with so you aren't constricted. Roll out the fondant, then mist the dummy; then apply the fondant.

You don't need dowels for styro cakes.

A year in advance is pretty far ahead. I'd say two months would be better. But there's no harm in making a practice cake now - it will give you confidence and make it less stressful when you go to do the actual cake.

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Hi,
I just discovered this forum and read through all the posts. I am planning to make my own fake cake for my wedding. It's going to be covered with white fondant so it should be easy I hope. I do have a few questions:

1. I have the cake dummies, pre-made fondant from Wilton. Do I need anything else, such a dowels if I am making 4 tiers?

2. There have been a few suggestions on how to make the fondant stick to the foam dummies. What should I do? (can someone list it step by step)

3. My wedding is in 1 year. Is it too early to make my fake cake? I just don't wan the white fondant to "yellow" or change color.

Thanks

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Hi rose,
I was trying to make fake cakes and i started out with fondant on top of the styrofoam. I ran into some problems, first off i didnt expect the wilton fondant to be as "off white" i wanted it to be more of a pure white. Then, as i was trying to roll out the fondant i think i didnt have enough fondant because it tore at the top. I used 1 pound fondant for a 3 inch wide and 4 inch high styrofoam.I guess im wondering if i should try the spackle. What is the recommendation for decoration or piping on the spackle?help! I wanted to have a stencil on th white so far ihave had no luck!
mj

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Check out Dallas Foam - they can custom cut styro for you. Online they are at www.dallasfoamonline.com

You can also use Lenny at The Dummy Place in Connecticut. His styro is the best there is and when he ever so slightly rounds the top edge, it's smooth and perfect! I don't have his phone number handy, but it's in Colette Peter's latest book Cakes to Dream on.

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Check out Dallas Foam - they can custom cut styro for you. Online they are at www.dallasfoamonline.com

You can also use Lenny at The Dummy Place in Connecticut. His styro is the best there is and when he ever so slightly rounds the top edge, it's smooth and perfect! I don't have his phone number handy, but it's in Colette Peter's latest book Cakes to Dream on.

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I have a question I am hoping you can help me with! Where can I find styrofoam that is taller than 4"? I need a rectangular base that is 10x10 square and at least 12 to 14 inches tall and another dummy that is a 6x6 and 6 inches tall. I have looked online everywhere and no luck! Thanks for any help!

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Hi I found some good info on you tube. I am the same...good with the hands small on money. On you tube look up in the kitchen fondant cake and then covering a cake with fondant. Of course they are using real cakes, but the same rules apply sans the buttercream.

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Hi everyone, thanks so much for everyones advice. I was wondering if i use spackle if smeone touches it it wont feel like fondant. so im just debating how it will work. what do u guys recommend for a fake one tier cake, for size? also, when you all mention royal icing, where do i get that? is it white? I want to put a brocade cut out pattern in black, on white fondant. I wonder what material will work best?
thanks everyone!
mj

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Hi again,

I didn't read far enough below - looks like others have already suggested the spackle idea. One of the things I love about this site is seeing how other people have come up with the same half-crazed ideas I have over the years - makes me feel like less of a lunatic! Anyhoo, apologies for the multiple posts.

Jen N

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Hi Bren,

I just responded to another one of these notes, so check my credentials there :-) When i've had to make a frosted-looking cake for a photo shoot, i've either used royal icing (which you can tint to any color & make in any thickness) or spackle from the hardware store. No, I'm not kidding - it works like a charm. You can let it dry completely & sand it down if you need a smooth surface, or you can leave it textured, like a casual frosting job.

HTH, Jen N

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Hi MJ,

I own a wedding cake business & I do a lot of fake cakes for magazine photo shoots. If the entire cake is going to be fake (no real piece inserted for cutting), just brush the styrofoam with a SMALL amount of water - and I mean small! - & apply the fondant right on top of it. No need for frosting, piping gel, shortening or any of the other suggestions I've seen on other blogs & chat boards. Please trust me, i've done this at least 50 times. Fondant does take practice, and styrofoam can be a PAIN to work with, but you'll get the hang of it. I recommend duct-taping the styro dummy to your work surface so it doesn't move around while you're trying to drape/smooth the fondant. Good luck!

Jen N

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oh dear, mj this is a great idea and will look stunning and suitable to make weeks or months ahead!

I suggest you buy, borrow, or bid for a copy of the book Cake Bible. Fondant and suitable decorations are consiselly explained.

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HI,
I am a bride and wanting to make fake fondant centerpiece cakes for my reception. I want to know what is the best way to do this. I would like to order one tier Styrofoam dummy cakes and then coat with fondant. I want to know how the fondant sticks to the Styrofoam? Also, how do i get the fondant to lay nicely on the edges and along the bottom of the cake. How do I apply design on top of the fondant?

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I am getting married this June. I am super crafty and SUPER THRIFTY..especially when all the wedding dollars are adding up. I was thinking of making a fake cake and then buying sheets. I have NEVER even used fondant before. I was wondering if someone would be willing to walk me step by step through the process of making a styrofoam cake with fondant. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH

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I am getting married this June. I am super crafty and SUPER THRIFTY..especially when all the wedding dollars are adding up. I was thinking of making a fake cake and then buying sheets. I have NEVER even used fondant before. I was wondering if someone would be willing to walk me step by step through the process of making a styrofoam cake with fondant. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH

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I have made several fake cakes before , but need some ideas for making fake Chocolate icing! Needs to look like chocolate buttercream and to make piped designs. Any ideas? Thanks

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Hi, I just wondered how to make a cake out of plaster of paris? I also use the light weight spackle for fake icing.
Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Sharon

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Great Stuff Triple Expanding Insulation Foam from the Hardware store makes perfect whipped cream, etc. Carve it, paint it, etc etc. Plastic cake containers from Publix are already cake shaped and just need to be spray painted inside for a shiney frosted cake or outside for a fondant look. The many sizes stack for layered cakes. Pie pans, you get the picture. Insulation foam makes great meringe. "Green" containers from Home Depot also make nice MOLD and bundt cakes. SPRAY SAND make nice cheese cake texture. ALL THINGS ARE LIGHT WEIGHT.

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Great Stuff Triple expanding insulation foam makes the best whipped cream, frosting etc. because it comes out of the can like that. Also plastic cake containers from the bakery at Publix are already cake shaped, just spray paint the inside with brown or whatever cake flavor you like and the shiney outside will be the sheen of the beautiful frosting you are pretending to make then top it with whipped cream (great stuff)
Also, some of those "green" planters from the Home Depot garden shop make for excellent cake shapes. Oh, i used to make set props. Insulation foam is my best friend. It's light, it's carvable and it's paintable. Just don't get it on yourself while in foam form. There is no solvent.

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When I worked in the theater (in a previous life, so it seems) I was once asked to make a "fake cake" for a production of Peter Pan. (There is a scene where Captain Hook hatches a plan to get Peter Pan. His plan is "To cook a cake quite large and fill each layer inbetween, with icing mixed with poisin 'til it turns a tempting green") Having no experience at this point in my life with cake...but wanting to do a really good job (it was a summer theater, and I had been cast in some other shows that season)...I drew on what I knew. I had just finished my first year of dental school...so dental plaster seemed the obvious choice. I made a form out of plywood and heavy cardboard...and "frosted" it with dental plaster mixed with a little green paint. It weighed a ton...but looked like a real cake!

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Hi there. I just came across this website. I made a fake cake using plaster of paris. For the icing I went to Lowes and found a very light weigh spackle. Water it down, added some craft paint and put it in an icing bag. It worked great and so was the cake.

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I have thought about using felt or fabric, but I want it to look real.
I have used rolled fondent for wedding cakes, so I think that is what I will use. Thanks for the replies!

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Thank you Jeanne. I appreciate your reply.

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I'd use fondant; the playdough could crack over time.

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I'd use fondant; the playdough could crack over time.

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Have you thought about using colored felt or other fabrics? Or paint? Those might hold up better for long term storage. Just a thought.....

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I am doing an Alice In Wonderland Tea Party Table setting at a luncheon at my church. Since women will be bringing in the 'real' desserts, I want to decorate a "fake" crazy cake to use as a decoration for the dinning table. I am going to use styrofom for the 'cake'. Should I use fondent or homemade play dough? If play dough, which is best, The one made with flour or the one made with cornstarch? I would like to keep this prop for future use since I cater Tea Parties.

Thank You. Sincerely, JoAnn

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What's the reason you are doing styro? This might help direct some answers or lead you to a different option. Is it for a larger presentation cake? To help contain costs? To have something that will stand up in your climate?

If you are the bride, you will be very busy the last few days and will have little time to spare decorating a cake, so you might want to consider doing the entire thing in styro, covered with fondant so you can finish it the week before the wedding. A good function manager can help you maintain the illusion of a cake cutting with a well placed slice of cake beneath a napkin. You hold the knife, take the picture, put the knife down and pick up the plate to serve each other.

If you go with the cut section in the styro, you would want to do that tier at the last minute (day before). If you have a simple, elegant design, using fresh flowers, you are all set :) Since no one is eating the fondant, you can go with an inexpensive brand because taste won't matter.

If you like the look of buttercream, go with the least expensive type to make since no one is going to be eating it off the dummy cakes anyway. I feel the same way as Hector about not wasting good ingredients so I would not use a meringue buttercream for this.

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if it is like cake, treat it like cake, so you may want to add straws, dowel rods, or staking.

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the foam is actually a little soft, it's dense, but a little soft like cake, do you think it will still work? hmmm...i don't know what kind of buttercream.

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foam works as long a dense enough that won't collapse. A bit harder to poke thru if you need to attach flowers.

Rose's buttercreams have a shelf life stated on each recipe. Most hold well for a week refrigerated or 1-2 days at room temp, longer frozen.

What type of buttercream you are using? If shortening and confectioners sugar, that can sit for weeks at room temp. But I don't have experience with this type of buttercreams.

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hello! I am making a fake cake with a real cake section for my wedding. I have some perfectly square foam that I was going to reuse, but it isn't "styrofoam", it will still work right? I was ging to put a real layer for the top to freeze for that tradition and have a real section in the bottom layer. I like the look of buttercream, how early could I ice the entire thing (i was going to discard the fake parts after the wedding), does it have to be the day-of if I use buttercream?

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Thank you SO-O-O very much for your help! I have "quilted" before, that is a GREAT idea! I am glad to hear the fondant will stand up to the heat. And thanks for the tape tips too! Many thanks, again!

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I always feel guilty to put all that food on top of the dummy cake, that will then not be eaten.

I do recognize the need of dummies, and generally people leave the fondant on their plates anyways, uneaten. But covering a dummy with silk meringue or with fruit mousseline buttercream will break my heart to see it wasted. I have been known to save buttercream scraps when I do the cake cutting myself!

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I would use fondant and then quilt it; quilting is what lattice would look like when it is embossed into the fondant. The other alternative is to cut strips of fondant and apply them in the criss-cross design you want. But, this is harder and more time consuming than quilting. Colette Peters' books has excellent descriptions of how to do quilting on round and square cakes.

Fondant when dry will stand up to Texas heat.

You need to do the quilting just after you apply the fondant. You use a round wheel tool that has teeth on it to get the quilting lines. It reminds me a little of the tool we used to mark the lines on fabric where the seam was supposed to go when we were first learning to sew.

You could use toothpicks to secure the fondant covered dummy to another piece of styro, use Patrincia's suggestion of doublesided tape to secure it, do the quilting and then move the fondant and plain dummy off to the side to dry for a few days. Then stack them all and away you go. You can apply the royal icing dots after the fondant is dry or whenever it works for you. I'd rather wait until the cake is stacked, less chance of losing one while stacking it!

Good luck!

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How about double stick tape???

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Love "The Cake Bible" but have moved haven't unearthed it yet. I have an OUTSIDE wedding in middle of June in south Texas. HEAT+HUMIDITY to the MAX!! I persuded the bride to do a fake cake for decoration and serve sheet cakes from the cool kitchen. But the design that she wants me to do has indented criss cross treliss type of pattern on the entire side with icing dots at the intersections. I had planned to use royal icing but I am concerned that I will not be able to make it indent like buttercream would (which I have done for many weddings). Would it be better to do fondant or something else? will Fondant once dried be able to stand up to Texas Heat? It has been YEARS since I have done royal icing. All I remember is that it is difficult to press against the foam because it is so light. Any ideas on how to secure the foam to a turn table during icing and then remove it without distroying the work? Many thanks! Patti

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Thanks for the link -- very interesting & informative!

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If anyone is looking to purchase an artificial fake cake, here is one place to start. www.zimmermanmarketplace.com

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im really new at the computer. HTML TAGS is greek to me. Another thing to learn. Cakes are not greek to me as I have been doing them for 48yrs in the wilds of Alaska. right now I am the only decorator (minus two grocery stores) in my area that has many fillings and flavors and designs and delivers to other parts of the Alaska wild. I am discontinuing making cakes at the age of 63 and taking two years off to build sell our home and help build the next handicapped-friendly home just in case. I will probably get back into cakes a little and thought the artificial cake with a real topper and slice for the couple, and a few sheets cakes in the kitchen might be better on my wrists and knees. Thank you for the ideas on making the artificial cakes. I could use a recipe for "artificial"fondant, tho. Thanks, Karen Otter, cake creator

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If you want the cake to look like it will feed 250 people...I would use a 6", 9", 12" and 15"

Good Luck!

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Hi!
I'm in love with the fake cake idea. I'd like to make my own, but I don't know the sizes and what looks like it will actually feed my 250 guests. I think 3 tiers would be cute, but I don't know how many inch difference between them and how thick they should be. Any ideas?

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I would recommend covering the styro and the real cake in fondant; you can cover the styro as far in advance as you like - store it somewhere that is not exposed to light (it would fade) and a moderate temp (no wide temp swings so probably not an attic or basement!). But I would do it a month or two weeks before the wedding; it will firm up nicely and you can use royal icing to attach the flowers. The fondant will provide a uniform look to the entire cake so no one can tell which is styro and which is cake.

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Darlene:

OOPS I GOOFED...THE SHORTENING IS CALLED SPECTRUM! NOT HORIZON...I HOPE I HAVEN'T SENT YOU ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE!

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Whoever you are that has decided I have e-mailed too many times -how is twice in a year too many -reconsider your concept of too much. Please ask Roe to forward her private e-mail, since I don't bake. Rifka Deaux

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Happy New Year -we are very nearly a year older -spent New Year's Eve at a wedding in NYC! Send me a non-public e-mail. Hello to hubby -wish you the best for the year to come.....rifka deaux

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Darlene:
I don't know how long you can keep the fondant...so if you are wanting to save the "fake" layers for years and years...royal icing would be better...but it won't look exactly the same as the fake cake.

Another idea is to ice the cakes to be eaten with royal icing as well. In the book "The Well Decorated Cake" by Toba Garret, there is a recipe for royal icing that doesn't dry quite so hard so you can ice the cake with it...I don't think it tastes too good but that is another option.

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Fondant is used all the time as a cake icing...be sure you are using fondant and not gumpaste...which is similar, but dries hard and used for decorations that are not to be eaten. Fondant has the consistency of a soft candy when it is set and used to cover wedding cakes all the time. It is very pretty. I don't much care for the taste-it is more about sweet than anything else....but it looks great! Do you have a copy of Rose's "The Cake Bible". If you do, and if you are planning on making the fondant yourself, be aware that the "new" crisco doesn't work in the recipe. You need the crisco that is NOT without transfat. They don't make it anymore. If you can't find the old crisco, you can use Horizon Shortening (available in health food stores and gourmet supermarkets such as Whole Foods). it seems to be performing well. You can also Buy fondant already made and roll it out to cover the cake.

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Bill,so i should use fondant on both real & fake layers.Won't the fondant be hard to cut when they slice the wedding cake at reception?

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Darlene:
If you are going to use fondant and royal icing flowers on the "real" cake, I would cover the cake with Fondant as well. The royal icing flowers will probably break down if you put them on buttercream.

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hi,making a wedding cake for my daughter in july.the two bottom layers are real & the two top are styrofoam.my question is can i use royal icing on the styro to ice as she wants to save the fake top also what icing would i use on the real cake.i made the roses of rolled fondant and the lillies out of royal icing.thanks for any help.dar

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You can buy from The Dummy Place - he will custom make a styro dummy for you in any dimension. He's in Connecticut, at 860-875-1736; you can also buy from the usual places like Pfeil and Holing (www.cakedeco.com) or Country Kitchens, Sweet Celebrations, etc.

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Do you mean Styrofoam cake dummies? You can do a google search for them. They are sold by many vendors.

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I need to buy styrofoam to decorate a cake, but I want to buy the sizes seperate. Do you know where I can find them?
Jinny

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The only thing I have about Perma Ice or spackle is that you have to buy different bags, tips, spatula etc. since they will pretty much render your equipment unsafe for food. Since they are waterproof too they are quite difficult to clean off. For a one-time- use fake cake, go with royal icing, and put a piece of wax paper in between so that the buttercream does not seep into the royal.

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If you use a spackling type of compound you might find that it goes on smooth and looks great for a few days, but will crack eventually, Plus you'd have the issue of edible material with non-edible material (the compound stuff is toxic I would guess). You can buy Perma Ice which is a coating that performs like buttercream (looks like spackle!)and is specific to using on styro. You use specialized coloring gels made for PermaIce but again you can't use it in conjunction with edible stuff.

You're probably better off using royal icing.

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Debi - styrofoam won't absorb anything, but you might get buttercream stuck into the little bubbles.

Deanna - Yes, you can do that. Styrofoam is very strong.

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Can I have a fake cake, say with 2 round styrofoams, and then a real cake to go on top of those? Also would this be strong enough to hold a cake topper?

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I have read all of the posts and am wondering this....does buttercream icing soak into the styrofoam at all? I had used a fluffy form of plaster to texturize my son's bedroom walls. I was thinking of using that, as it was the same consistency as frosting. Has anyone used it and how did it work? I will be making 2 fake bottom layers of a 4 layer cake. The top 2 smaller layers will be real. I will be make 4 sheet cakes to serve to the guests. I think it will work well but I would like to make the fake layers 2 weeks in advance. The cake is a simple design, luckily, but I don't want to have to replace the fake layers with real one at the last minute if the frosting soaks in. Thanks for any advice.

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Oh yes, smaller styrofoam between the tiers in an even better idea. I definitely wouldn't try to push pillars into styrofoam - it might make the styrofoam break (I meant the pillar-plat-pillar configuration would sit on top of each tier).

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To make it easier on yourself, just use a smaller size round of styrofoam between the fondant covered tiers. It's cheaper to use more styro, you can get it in different heights or even from a craft store. It can be hard to push the pillars through a thick layer of styrofoam.

For example, you are using a 14/11/8/5 configuration. Put a 10" round piece of styro between the 14" and 11" tiers. Then put a 7" piece between the 11 and 8; put a 4" piece under the 5" tier and you're all set. If you cut your own, do it outside as Patrincia says. It makes a HUGE mess!!!

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Hi Brooke - how much room would you like between each tier? Have you picked out a pillar system yet? Sounds like you might want to get the "plate-pillars-plate" kind of system (the pillars attach to a bottom and top plate for stability). The styrofoam should be sturdy enough that you won't need any dowels (the bottom plate will distribute the weight of the upper tiers). So from the bottom up your cake would be: tier, plate, pillars, plate, tier, plate, pillars, plate, etc.

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thanks patrincia- yes i am planning on using styrofoam dummies. i would like to make four tiers with spaces in between each tier for flowers. do i need to put dowels in the fake cake- or just use the stackers/collums and keep each teir seperate until i get to the wedding site and then set it up there? I'm nervous about using the spackle- will regular royal icing work ok? thanks so much for your help

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Hi Brooke - are you planning on usine "styrofoam dummies"? You can get them in them in 4" and 5" heights.

Yes you can cover styrofoam with fondant and royal icing. Fondant will stick to the styrofoam fine if you lightly mist the foam with water first.

You can glue the tiers together with hot glue. If you need to cut the styrofoam for any reason, use an electric knife, and "sand" smooth with a scrap of styrofoam (do this outside!!!).

You will definitely be able to store the fake cake for at least 2 weeks prior to the wedding (up to several years). Just be careful with the humidity in the air.

PWS - there are "fake" fondant recipes available for display cakes - do a goole search for them. Also, some decorators use spackle in place of buttercream.

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I need to make a fake cake out of styrofoam. It needs to be made and ready two weeks before the wedding. Can I use the fondant and styrofaom along with royal icing for the pipiing and decorations? Will all the colors be ok- if I store it in a cool dark closet for the 2 weeks prior? Will any of the icing or fondant crack? Also do i need to put an icing layer between the styrofoam and fondant? (buttercream or royal or non at all?) thanks!!

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I was just at that store last week - the web address from their catalog is:

www.sweetc.com

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does anyone know where i can get ready-made chocolate brown buttercream? but that does not taste like chocolate.. or how about brown icing color that i can tint my buttercream? i need to do a dbl layer 3 tier sq cake 18" 14" and 10" layers... i know that when i made a sample for my sister to taste and it was a 10" dbl layer it took almost 1.5 small containers of wilton brown gel..?so for this big wedding cake i am not sure what i need anyones help would be greatly appreciated the wedding is in oct.. and the theme for the cake is choc brown and tiffany blue.. thanks in advance..:)

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Una,
If you are using the chocolate fondant from the cake bible, Rose developed a different set of instructions for using it (see special effects and decorative techniques). I'm not sure you will be able to make a bow with it as it sounds like it doesn't bend easily.

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Hi all,
I am trying to make a bow with chocolate fondant as a cake topper, however, I find that the loops keep cracking on me every time i try to put another loop on top. Any advice?
Thank you so much
Una

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I am a 20 year veteran of cake deco.
I am making an elaborate wedding cake for my future daughter-in-law and will have so much to do on wedding day morning that I am trying to pre-deco as much as I can on the cake. It will have four large styrofoam cake dummies and four baked cakes. All the cake will be buttercream decorated. Can I pre-deco the dummies with buttercream and freeze to keep the icing white? If I can freeze, when should I take it out of the freezer? I use Crisco and clear butter and clear vanilla in my icing recipe.
Thanks, Mindy

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Hi Neikya - why don't you try making your own? Rose has a fabulous recipe in The Cake Bible, and it's not very difficult to make at all.

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Hello all,

I've made two cake dummies in school and we rubbed each styrofoam with a little Crisco and rolled the fondant over it.

I'm making a 3 ft tall dummy cake for a competition and I'm having 18", 16", 14", 12" and 10" layers. This is going to VERY expensive with fondant. Any suggestions on a "fake" fondant that will be less expensive? The chef I work for says he used wallpaper paste, but I"m a little worried that I won't get that smooth fondant finish.

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Patrincia & all, I store my dummy cakes in plain old clean cardboard boxes in the spare bedroom closet downstairs. I live in Seattle, so it's nice & cool down there year round, and we have minimal bug issues. If I were someplace warmer or more humid, I'd worry more. To reuse the dummies, you can soak the whole thing in water & peel the fondant off. For a buttercream effect, I also do what Theresa suggested & use spackle & sand it down. It's a breeze as long as you allow it to dry sufficiently first. I've heard of people using royal icing, but I think it's really difficult to apply & sand in this application.

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Over here, Wilton sells a lot of ready-made stencils for this purpose. They are fixed designs though.

Another way is to trace/print the design on wax paper, place paper over the fondant surface, and use a pin to prick the outline. Then remove paper, and pipe in the design. This is also a pretty tedious technique and the outcome will be a bit different (stenciling produces flat designs and you can also graduate the colour).

In any case, this wld definitely be a labour of love for you!

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Diane - I know exactly what you are talking about, and you did it exactly the way I would. I have seen cake stencils for sale for this exact application (for the top AND sides of the cake), but if the bride wants a particular pattern, or you don't think you'll ever do it again, you're probably best sticking with the way you already did it. I can't remember where I saw those stencils, but I'll think about it for a couple of days... maybe I can find them on the internet. If I do, I'll report back.

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I saw on a television cake show a technique where they covered a cake with fondant and on the outside of the fondant tier they lined up a stencil on the side of the cake and used an offset spatula to apply royal icing on top of the stencil. They pulled the stencil from the side of the cake leaving only the impression of the royal icing with the design of the stencil. Has anyone used this technique. I have been given a photo by a bride where this technique had to be used to gain the affect on the photo; however, where would you ever optain that exact stencil. I have blown up the photo, copied the pattern onto clear plastic sheets, used an exacto knife to cut out the pattern and plan to use this. Is there an easier way. I have 3 more tiers all with different patterns.

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Jen N - that's great info, thanks for passing it on. May I ask how you store your fondant covered dummies?

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Hi Diane,

I construct a lot of fake cakes for photo shoots, so thought i'd share what I've learned. You don't need any frosting under your fondant (on the fake tier)! Just moisten the styrofoam with a LITTLE bit of water - I brush a bit on with a pastry brush - and the fondant will stick very well. I've saved these dummies for years, and they hold up great. Definitely pipe with royal icing on fondant, and most definitely use dowels! Those upper tiers are going to be heavy, and dowels are an inexpensive & easy insurance policy for you.

You should be able to make this now for a wedding in 5 weeks. Just be aware that fondant colors do fade in sunlight.

Best, Jen N

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i made my fake cake out of styrofoam and spackling paste. what i did was put the spackle on let dry for a couple days , then sand it smooth. then i took some of the spackle and put in a bowl and added some paint to get the color i need for the trim my daughters color was pearl pink, so i had to mix till i got the color right. then i put that into a cake decorating tube which you can buy cheap any where and did my trim on the cake . then i add my flowers and the staircase with the attendents. the top peice will be real for the cake cutting. if you have a publix near you the will make the top peice you just need to take a picture of the fake cake so they can try to match it for you it was easy and cheap to make and my daughter has a big beautiful wedding cake that she wanted.

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Yes, use royal icing for the piping on the fondant... in addition to the moisture affecting the fondant, the fat in the buttercream can make colors bleed - Yikes! Hope you'll send photos of the finished cake!

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Diane,
Yes you can go ahead and make the fake cake now. Here is what Rose wrote:

"i have kept fondant cakes on styrofoam for years. i even kept one on top of a cake and when i threw it away the inside was green and looked like a new form of penicillin!
the only problem is humidity which would make it sticky. keep it in a dark place so the color doesn't change at least not in direct sunlight.

Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | May 4, 2007 1:50 PM"

Use royal icing for piping on the fondant of the fake cake as the moisture in the buttercream will affect the fondant.

As for the dowels, maybe someone with more experience in wedding cakes can answer that question.

Rozanne

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I am making a 4 ier fondant covered cake, an 18, 14, 10, and 6". The bottom tier (18") will be fake. Should I apply a coating of buttercream or royal icing before the fondant? Should I dowell rod the 18" or is the styrofoam enough to hold the other 3 tiers? The wedding is in 5 weeks. The fake cake has piping over the fondant. Could I use buttercream for this or should I go with royal icing and can I go ahead and finish the fake cake this early. Thanks so much for your time.

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I am making a 4 tier fondant cake and transporting it 10 hours and stacking it on arrival. The bottom 18" round will be a fake cake and the others will be mounted on it. Can I coat the dummy cake with buttercream and cover with fondant or will it be better to cover in royal icing? Do I need to insert dowells in the fake cake or will the styrofoam be sturdy enough to hold a 14", 10" and 6" fondant cakes each with a fruit filling and decorated with gumpaste roses. Thanks for any help...also, it is 5 weeks before the wedding. Can I go ahead and prepare the fake cake? The design has piping on top of the fondant. Can I pipe the designs with buttercream or must it be royal icing.

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I am making a wedding cake with 2 fake layers. Can you cover the styrofoam with a Buttercream frosting? It will only be used for this wedding.
Thanks!

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Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I appreciate it.
Rozanne

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Rose,

It's nice to have you back. This might sound weird but I missed reading your comments and answers to questions while you were away.

I know you are behind with your postings and sick, so you don't have to answer my question right away. My brother is getting married in Sept and he wants me to make his cake. Here is my dilemma.....he is having around 200 guests but the cake they want is from the Martha Stewart Wedding book and it is made up of ten 10" cakes covered in fondant and decorated with royal icing. Needless to say some of them will have to be styrofoam cake bases. I am trying to get a head start with it and was wondering how long the fondant covered dummies will last. I am thinking of doing them sometime during this month. Any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Rozanne

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IF I MAKE A FAKE WEDDING CAKE IS IT OK TO USE ROYAL ICING. BUT ALSO WILL THE ANTS GET TO IT IF ITS MADE A COUPLE OF MONTHS AHEAD,

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what purveyor offers the best prices on fake cakes for purchase?

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I am looking for a fake bell shaped
around 8 inches in hieght for the bottom of the gown for a dress barbie doll cake.

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