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Original poster

Cake decorating tips

10 replies

melpomene · 01/04/2011 21:20

I'm hoping to make a cake a bit like this one for dd's penguin-themed party.

I've made fondant penguins before so I'm reasonably confident about those, but I'm not sure what sort of icing they are using for the 'body' of the cake (ie the main white round cake). Would royal icing with added glycerine work to get that snowy look without being too hard?

Also, what do you think they used for the entrance tunnel to the igloo? Do you think it is just a non-edible tunnel covered in fondant, or would there be any way to make a hollow tunnel like that out of something edible?

OP posts:
iwastooearlytobeayummymummy · 01/04/2011 23:33

i'd go for ready to roll icing, and make a fake tunnel, resting the icing on an kitchen roll inner cut in half/three quarters.
Is it a Pingu theme?

Original poster
melpomene · 01/04/2011 23:55

Not Pingu, just penguins generally. I'm also hoping to make some of these cupcakes :)

OP posts:
startail · 02/04/2011 00:10

You can bake cakes in pyrex bowls, so that would give you an igloo. For the entrance tunnel I'd cover a mini Swiss roll (that's what I use for side branches for more elaborate Yule Logs)

Thanks for the links, I've bookmarked them for my penguin mad daughter - I cheated for her cake I had some penguin patchwork cutters (not to be recommended they are very detailed and a pig to use) and just added party hats.

Olihan · 02/04/2011 00:18

You can make the tunnel out of sugarpaste (fondant) mixed with a bit of CMC or Tylo Powder or Gum tragacanth to make it firmer. You'd need to make it a few days in advance so it had time to harden properly and make a support from card until it's firm enough to stand on it's own but it would be fully edible that way.

Looking at the picture, the main cake is definitely royal iced. I don't ever cover cakes with RI so I'm not sure whether the added glycerine would still give you the same effect.....am racking my brains for a way of using sugarpaste to do it without much luck.

How many is it to feed? A 4 pint bowl cake would easily give you enough pieces for 25-30 kids so you could make the igloo out of cake, cover it in sugarpaste then put the RI snow effect on the board.

The cake in the pic would serve about 60-70 people by my guesstimate - it's a big cake!

Olihan · 02/04/2011 00:22

Startail, I've discovered the secret to using patchwork cutters is to roll the icing very thinly (roll out on a very light dusting of cornflour) then leave it for 10-15 mins to form a crust on the top. Then you can just press the cutter on and the piece will drop out. I could never get the dratted things to work when I followed her instructions using the white fat on the cutters/board but doing it this way makes them act like 'normal' cutters!

BirdyArms · 02/04/2011 01:33

Yes, I agree the main cake is royal icing. Adding a bit of glycerine will make it easier to cut as will not doing it too far in advance. Also agree with what Olihan says about using Gum tragacanth to make the tunnel but really I think I'd use a swiss roll covered in fondant icing, or even a cardboard tube. I find I have to repeat 'will the kids notice the difference' over and over to myself to keep my obsessive cake icing impulses under control.

Original poster
melpomene · 02/04/2011 14:03

Thanks for the tips. Lol at repeating 'will the kids notice the difference'.

The cake is not going to be very big, because we're only having 10 guests for the party. Probably a 10 inch cake, and I won't make the igloo as high as the one in the picture. I'll use a small bowl to make the main part of the igloo and I'll expermient with different options for the tunnel bit. I'm not going to include the trees as they're too christmassy.

I'm also on a learning curve with the piping gel for the water-hole, as I haven't used that before.

OP posts:
Olihan · 02/04/2011 15:30

Piping gel is dead easy! Scoop a spoonful into a bowl, add a dab of blue colouring, stir until the colour is even then spoon into the space and spread with the back of the spoon.

Job done Grin.

sarahtigh · 04/04/2011 21:42

glycerine makes royal icing softer so can cut only needs to be rock had if supporting weightr like in a wedding cake royal icing is easy to peak with a knife for snow effect much harder to get peak effect with rolling icing

Olihan · 04/04/2011 21:45

Ooh, I had a thought earlier - you could use meringue mix instead of RI for the snow effect, same idea but won;t go rock hard.

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