Sugarcraft chat

[wem]

I started a thread for cake people a while back but it got a bit lost in Chat so thought I'd try to tempt people into our lovely new baking topic.

Hopefully I'll see some of the posters from the chat thread, but for any new people popping in, introductions: I'm wem, I'm a recent cake obsessive and have been bothering mumsnetters about it a fair bit as I'm starting up cake decorating business. I don't have anywhere near the experience or knowledge of some of the posters in here, but I do have an excessive willingness to chat about cake :)

Let's try this again, eh?

I can't imagine she has a leg to stand on, unless there are warnings all over her many books to say that you can't sell cakes based on her designs (and even then it would be impossible to enforce, surely?)

Anyway, knowing that has put me right off her largely overpriced online shop.

Hi Ladies :)

I have had a manic week, a local farmshop has asked me supply weekend cakes during their busy time,I said I needed 48 hours notice, this week she rang on Monday night with an order for 4 cakes for 9am Wednesday and then she rang at 1pm friday wanting 5 cakes for Saturday before they opened! I am finally back at work 4 mornings a week and had 3 wedding cakes for this weekend. I haven't seen my bed much!

I have posted my latest pics up. HAve also figured out that when you upload pictures you can change the size with the 'resize' box - I always figured it was fixed - so hopefully they will be nice big images.

Oh Midori your so right, had 3 days to move out with no where to go, not good, but get keys to my house on thurs, and yes its a fab kitchen, 22ft so loo
king forward to that!! Thats a fab cake of yours!!

My god blueberry, three wedding cakes in one weekend - cake overload! I feel like such a lightweight next to your dedication! I'll have to get myself out there - can I just catch up on the sleep deprivation from small people before I start on sleep deprivation from cakes? You have similar aged children though don't you? And going back to work? Blimey.

I've finally got a picture of my one and only wedding cake so far. I'm annoyed with myself as I couldn't put the daffodils in ahead of time because I was worried the heads wouldn't hold up long enough, so I left instructions with the venue for what to do. But I guess not well enough as they just popped them in the top instead of pushing them through the cake so they stood up properly. It looks ok, just not how it should. Harrumph.

blueberryboybait - love your new pic! Where the letter sugarpaste too? If so how do you make them so stiff and so sharp on the edges?

Bacon - Thank you, the letters were made of flowerpaste so were very fragile. If I had had more time I would have made them from pastillage so they would be stronger.

Wem - Don't feel a lightweight, I am NEVER doing that again and it is now very quiet in my cake world for a looong while.

I think I have found the dragon cake I want to copy emulate - here.

Does anyone have a good recipe for rice krispie treats for cake construction? I make a mean rice krispie crunch cake for normal consumption and an even better mars bar krispie cake, but I am not sure it is man enough for this job.

Stealth - I have to confess to buying these instead of making my own.

I can do that, blueberryboy (I occasionally buy them as on-the-go treats for the DC anyway). Thanks.

That looks like a great cake stealth, I love the pose with its arms on its tummy. Are you going to do all the individual scales? It looks great, but a hell of a job!

I think I will do scales, wem - time consuming, but easier (for me) than perfect smooth fondant.

Can't wait to see it :) I have to pin dd1 down on what she wants for her cake next month. She's been talking about it for ages but it changes weekly.

Just FYI, in Cake Decorating magazine there is a feature on copyright - if anyone is interested (and I remember) I could precis ?

I'm sure if your not doing it for profit then you can copy. Even so if you dont 'copy' but do some changes then it would be extremely difficult to take to court. Surely, I have never heard of any legal action over a cake design and it cant be financially worth the bother.

In the world we live in, I struggle with the copyright thing, unless its patented I wouldnt lose any sleep over it. The copyright is on the picture not on the design on Flicker etc to stop you reproducing it on another site.

Again, if you start 'uploading' then you are allowing access around the world and if someone produces a cake thats so so innovative in design and outstanding then dont upload it.

The chances are unlikely, yes but nobody thought stuff like this would happen did they ? or this ?

Hmmm, what about brands and characters? I've got a Hello Kitty and a Spiderman cake on my website, I would think that breaches some kind of copyright too. Would need someone to be trawling (fairly obscure!) websites to find the pictures though.

disney protect their copyright agressively. They have taken cake makers to court. (and won!)

I do agree that a cake maker taking a cake maker to court for copying a design is going to be difficult for them to prove etc, from what I understand it relates to intellectual property. Much easier for Disney, brand names etc to do so and there have been several cases of cake makers being taken to court after copying a brand. I know Jack Daniels have sued a fairly small cake maker and also Louis Vitton 'famously' took Paul Bradford to court for making a cake like one of their bags and they claimed it was too realistic. (I mean honestly though, it's not like someone is going to buy a cake instead of their bag, is it?! )

Obviously if you make a character cake in order to make profit, then strictly speaking you are breaking the law and Disney etc will and have go after cake makers because companies like Tesco etc pay for the rights to make/sell Disney cakes. I think it's something most people have done though and lots of fairly large bakerie/cake makers do have them on their website. I suppose you need to decide a) whether you want to make these cakes (I have made them, initially it was what I was asked to make the most, not so much now) and b) whether you want to picture them on your website in order to attract business, but in doing so, risk legal action.

blueberry I love the 'LOVE' cake, it's fab!

Interesting - I know its a big thing in the US however if you trawl most professional websites there are at least a handful of Disney/branded cakes.

Supermarkets are selling bulk and advertising the brand.

Perhaps dont show them on a website, make them and sell, you could always say you bartered for it so they did a job for you in exchange you made a cake.

Supermarkets have to pay for the licence.
I have in the past sold a very expensive cake board and box and given the cake as a gift.

Hello ladies, I find myself with time on my hands and am making two cakes. I am a reasonable amateur. I am looking for a sugarcraft supply shop, online doesn't give me a great idea of colours, sizes etc. is there anywhere that is hugely well stocked? I live in Devon,but travel to London regularly. So here there or anywhere in between. Any recommendations? Looking for wide variety of pre coloured sugar paste in range of sizes (Peppa sodding pig of course). TIA

Hello Rosemary! I'm not sure of any supply shops in your area, I live in Edinburgh and our only Sugarcraft shop isn't great, in a city too! However Hobbycraft do a fairly good range of ready coloured sugarpaste, it's expensive compared to online, but might give you a chance to look?

How is everyone else?

I am cross with myself as I made two cakes for the same person this weekend, one for Saturday collection and one for collection this morning. The first was a plain 8" with a hand painted football logo on it and I charged her £15 to cover the cost of the ingredients only and the second was a PS3 cake with modelled controller, (copyright again? which I ordered pre coloured black sugarpaste for and worked out my costs at just under £20, so was going to charge £20. However, when she turned up to collect she assumed it was the same as the first one and gave me £15, I am such an idiot I didn't say anything!!!! So, it has cost me £5, 5 hours of my time and a 2am finish. (baby teething!) So, in future I am definitely confirming a price before collection...

Oh dear Midori, you're like me, I can't say things to people in case I offend them!

I'm usually quite offensive actually... Iit's money. I hate talking about money. I think it's maybe due to having it drummed into me as a child that it was vulgar.

How very annoying, Midori. Can you agree costs by text/email in future to save you having the conversation and being tempted to back down?

It is cake-making quiet time for me, but I really need to review what I have and what I need for upcoming silly season of DC's, DGodDC's and other significant birthdays. If I could decide what colour(s) to make this blooming dragon, that would be a good start. I thought I had decided until DD announced that her favourite cuddly dragon, who is pink and yellow, was available for modelling "if you need something to copy"

I also badly need to start baking, if only to use up our current glut of eggs. Do fairy cakes freeze better in foil cases than in normal greaseproof ones? I can't decide whether to start with those or with large cakes.

Next idiot question on using rice krispie treats in cakes (dragon's head) - what do you do to get a smooth enough surface for fondant, and does it go hard or go soggy over time (once iced)?