where and what to buy for cake decorating.

[Twit]

I have just started to decorate my own cakes, I was given a cake decorating book for my birthday after constantly complaining about the quality of birthday cakes in the supermarket.
My question is this; where [online] would you recommend I buy my bits and pieces, and what should I buy?
I have had a look around and am feeling overwhelmed by the choice. What colour paste should I go for? I am also a bit confused about edible sparkle/glitter powder. Some websites say it it inedible, some say it is non toxic and you could eat it.

Oli, have ordered the stecils from Lindy... thanks again.
am doing a ruby wedding cake for my parents and figure that will be a good cake to practice on.

Debi, equipment wise I would really recommend a GOOD big rolling pin for sugar paste, also some smoothers to help you get the sugarpaste looking great on your cake, then whatever you add afterthat will be on a great foundation, if your sugarpaste is dodgy and you have gorgeous decoration it can detract from the beauty of the cake.

Plum, it sounds like we ought to get some of the bake even strips that Olihan raves about!

Just dropping in to show you my latest cake (top photo on my profile - the dog).

However, I had a bit of a nightmare with the lettering. I bought some "tappits" which are supposed to be really easy to use. All the letters got stuck in the cutters. Has anyone used anything better?

gorgeous cake littlefish, and I have adored your mermaid since I first saw it, whenever people show me mermaid cakes I seem to have yours in my mind

with the tappits, I find that it works well if the paste is more flowerpaste and a bit drier so I roll it out and leave it a few minutes before cutting into it. oh also put some (tiny bit) white fat onto the cutter first.

Ah, the white fat is a good tip! The sugar paste was quite dry (because I was so slow!), but I'll definitely try it with the white fat next time.

I love the mermaid cake too, but it took sooooooo long to do! I'm short of time this year, and the dog was a perfect cake - 1 hour to make the cake, and about 2 hours to decorate. Perfect!

FWIW Littlefish, I have never been able to make the tappits work with straight sugarpaste. have had to have 50/50 sugar and flowerpaste or straight flower paste.

it reminds me that I should be practicing my writing with icing skills, each time I have to use the tappits because otherwise it looks like a spider has crawled all over the cake

what exactly is flowerpaste and sugar paste? And how do you make them?

I really need a good book I think don't I?

I only use flower paste with tappits and veg fat since using it the letters mostly always come out

Debi sugar paste is fondant/ready ice and flower paste is more of a modeling paste can be rolled paper thin
look back the thread there are some good books linked

little fish I thought my dd was going to want the kitten on the whool cake but she picked the piggybank cake instead, your mermaid is lovely

BIG FAVOUR

Have any of you ladies got a copy of the Lindy Smith book Hobby Cakes, its not in the library here, and there is a copy on Amazon for £65!!!!!

Have been asked to make a dart board cake and there is one in it

There's one on ebay, but it's also a buy it now price of £65 (so possibly it's the same one. If you wait for 5 days, you might get it for £40!!!

I hope someone can lend it to you.

PBM - The kitten on the wool cake looks really impressive. It nearly gave me a nervous breakdown though! I used straight fondant icing for all those strands, and by the morning when they had dried, some of the back ones had stuck up and snapped off!

I've just checked the stuff I used with the tappits, and it was flowerpaste. It obviously needs the white fat as well.

Do you just melt the fat and brush it on?

I just rub the veg fat oh the board I'm working on and press the tappits well into flowerpaste and a good rub from side to side before taping them on the side of table, I watched a clip on Youtube, a scottish girl called Lisa shes very good her videos are good,
I watched her one for making sugarpaste, using CMC, into modelling so did that for my shoe cake

I've killed our lovely cake making thread, or is everyone up to their necks in cake mix and icing

No, no, not killed .

I spent £20 on MORE decorating stuff this week and all I seem to have to show for it is a new ball tool and some gold edible paint. There was other dullard stuff too like cake boards but, sheesh, this is SO not a cheap hobby.

COV you 'The Kiss' cake is just utterly amazing. Have you ever thought to enter any competitions? Olihan has the low-down on competition standards as she got to the NEC last weekend.

I'm going to make another Christmas cake today, Nigella's easy one with prunes and chocolate in. As if I don't have enough sodding christmas cakes in this house (4 large plus nine baked bean tin size). I need a round one for next week's swag lesson.

I've been trying to make a horse out of sugarpaste - so far it has a head and a body, I'll attempt to paint the eyes on tomorrow although I'm not sure how to do it as the horse is plain white so black might look a bit harsh somehow. My clever idea (which DH 'd at) is to take a photo of it and draw different eyes on it on the computer!

Just bought a few more cutters too - I just can't stop!

My Stencils came I am so excited, going to make a cake and decorate it this weekend.

How were your stencils, BTPOG? Please will you tell me how they work because I've never attempted them. Can you add the picture of the cake to your profile too? Ta!

I've put my 3 cakes from the last fortnight on my profile. Tomorrow I start my 9 mini Christmas cakes and my dad's homecoming cake as he comes back to the UK next weekend after 5 years in Singapore. I've decided to make a 3d cake of his UK house but it may prove to be more of a challenge than I'm ready for .

I know I'm a bit late to the Tappits discussion but I use sugarpaste with CMC or Gum Trag (I'm too tight to pay for flowerpaste!) and dust the cutter with a bit of cornflour. I seem to remember it took a bit of trial and error to get the technique right - they need a really good thwack on the edge of the worktop - but they're worth perservering with.

Slubber, I've been working out my costings a bit more accurately after BTPOG's advice and an 8 inch sponge with board, box, ribbon, sugarpaste, buttercream, cooking time and tin lining costs about £15 . NEVER get into wired suagr flowers, the bits and bobs for that are even more eyewateringly expensive.

Moosy, what did you do for the eyes in the end?

I did indeed draw them on the computer and it was ok so I painted them on with a tiny tiny brush. I used colour paste mixed with a drop of vodka but the black wasn't really black enough so once I'd mixed other colours in to make a really dark brown it didn't flow too well and ended up not very sharp looking. I really need to get black pen.

I'm supposed to have made the legs for the horse already but haven't had the energy (I am 37 weeks today!) so I hope to get them done tomorrow.......

Just looked at your 3 latest cakes, they're brilliant!

Try getting hold of some rejuvinating fluid (it's known by another name too but can't think of it atm). It's pretty much 100% alcohol so it evaporates off much more quickly than drinking alcohol and the colour is denser.

When are you due? I'm a December birthday and I have 2 December babies, it's a good month to be born .

I LOVE your Miffy cake, btw.

Thanks, Miffy was my first 'proper' cake, and it was HUGE!

I'm due on the 6th but hoping she'll come a little earlier (not a lot of chance of that though really given my track record!)

Olihan your new cakes are fabulous.

Moosy, blimey, I don't know where you get any energy from at 37 weeks!

I made DS2's birthday cake. DH thought it was fab, I thought it was rather scruffy and I wouldn't let him take a picture. I think I really need to practice more or stop rushing!

I have been feeding my chistmas cake and I must say it looks ok since I cut the burnt bits off. I have got enough fruit left to do another one, so I will put the fruit to soak early this week.

Oh and yesterday, I made 12 cupcakes for the freezer to save time, so all I have to do is ice and use my new holly leaf cutter for our school christmas fayre.

Hi,

Bellavita told me about this thread.

I need some help with making a skyscraper cake for my brother's 21st in December. I am not sure on how to do tiers so just need a bit of advice with that please?

Also I am making a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to stand infront of the cake. I was going to just make him out of icing but when I practiced the other day the body kept falling off the legs. Is there any type of wire or something that I can use to help him stay upright?

Thank You!

Kayzr, tiers are pretty simple. You need to put each cake on a cake card (thin board, usually 3mm) and stick them on with buttercream. I'm assuming the cakes aren't iced if it's going to be a skyscraper. Are they all the same size cakes?

The technique is the same even if they are iced and each tier is smaller than the last, I'd just use royal icing to stick each tier together.

You'll need 3 or 4 dowels per cake that you want to stack, depending on the size of the cake. Poke a dowel into the cake about an inch in from the edge, mark where the top of the cake is, take it out and cut the dowel to size. Cut as many as you need for the cake. Push each one in, about an inch from the edge so they are evenly spaced around the centre of the cake.

Put buttercream on top of the cake and position the next cake on top. Repeat with the dowels on each tier until it's the height you want. Obviously the top tier doesn't need dowels!

Hopefully that's as clear as mud!

For upright figures, I use sugarpaste mixed with CMC powder or Gum Tragacanth as it stiffens the paste and stops it sinking or flopping. My method is to make the body, let it harden, make the legs separately and poke a piece of raw spagetti into the top of each one. Let them dry too for at least a day then push the spagetti into the bottom of the body and secure with a dab of sugarglue.

HTH, Good luck .