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.

They are fab Plum

and Moosey, Santa Claus is great too

Santa looks great, Moosy (as do elephants)

PBM I won't tell you what happened to R2D2 on his way to his party - that was a bad day and I take transportation into account a lot more in cake design now.

FC and Rudolph cake is finished (phew, I can have this baby now!), photos are here

How do you get your sugarpaste (cake and figures) so smooth ?

Um, I don't know! I only use Asda cheapy stuff, I use a smoother on the cake and I really knead the modelling paste to get it extra warm and stretchy. And of course I have lovely smooth hands

Beautiful Moosy

Oh crap girls, my first cake has sunk abit in the middle while cooking,
first time it has happened to me,
Will I need to make another one or will it be fine, have trimmed down to sunken bit, think I rushed it a bit
or I used a 5 egg mix for 10" round
will it be too heavy, seems ok, but need someonelse opinion
I have second cake in, used 6 egg mix this time

And I had to fix Mr Elephant because his head had slid too much, dh told me I was imagining it yesterday

I'm certainly not the one to ask about sinky cakes PBM, I've only just started being able to make edible cakes!

Hope your elephants work out ok, can't wait to see the finished thing, when's it for?

Moosy, your cakes are lovely.

Plum, umm not sure about sinky cakes tbh - my problem is I usually get a lopsided dome

Sinky cakes - yes trim it and then ice it upside-down would be my approach.

for Mr Elephant, but actually glad I am not the only one to have this issue - fondant figures are like babies - their heads always seem to be too heavy. I have had to rescue decapitated angels and a princess when their heads have fallen off .

Right then, for those of you with the bauble mould..... mine has arrived! YAY! Actually, I don't know what size I thought it was going to be but it is I think smaller than I imagined. Anyhooo, I dust the inside with cornflour? then what do I do? Take small bits of fondant in balls and push it into the mould? or do I do it all in one section across the whole of the mould and then cut round?

[thick emoticon]

I think if my cake sunk (I also usually have the lopsided dome problem) I'd turn it upside down and hope that noone noticed when they cut into it that there was a bit missing at the bottom

bella: it was smaller than I imagined too. I used 50:50 fondant and sugerpaste (is that what it's called?)
Yes dust it with cornflour each time.
Do 1 bauble at a time as the others get mangled as you push 1 out if you do it together.
It didn't take too many attempts before I got some that look fine. I haven't painted them yet though.
Also I couldn't get the little hook detail to come out of most of them but I don't think that matters.

don't think I'd ever have thought I'd write a post that says "I usually have the lopsided dome problem" and "it was smaller than I imagined"

Baubles - if you are feeling patient then stick the whole thing (filled, 50/50 mix, etc) in the freezer for 15 mins before turning out.

I haven't played with the bauble one yet but I managed to get a pirates hoop earring to come out that way.

Thanks Debi

and thanks stealth too.

I want the Tesco man to come and deliver my shopping then I can get on with trying it out. I know the minute I get all my stuff out, he will arrive.

Right girls my 3rd cake has sunk

so possibilities

too much baking powder??

I was using 6 eggs 12oz etc
just weighed my eggs and 5 eggs weigh 11 3/4oz so I think as my wee neighbour says my mix was too wet???

Anyone??? come and reassure me

What temp did you cook it at? And was it thoroughly cooked? They were the 2 things I was doing wrong.

Eggs too big sounds likely. When I get up to that many eggs, I go by weight of eggs and match it with flour, etc. Also larger cakes can be harder to judge and even though they look cooked can turn out not to be - so I prod them a bit harder.

..but I think it was probably too much egg.

4th cake is on fingers crossed but only thing is popped in oven and then remembered I had moved my shelf up and have the temp at 180, I'd rather a big dome[grim]

[dumb emoticon] I had not realised that there were instructions with the mould - they were attached in a plastic thingy on the outside of the jiffy bag. I thought it was just the delivery receipt. Anyhoo, before DS found these, I have done some baubles. Am tres tres pleased with them..... but I have not received my delivery of dusts yet or lustre spray (I have put my work address) so I really hope they are delivered tomorrow otherwise I am scuppered. How long do you think the baubles will last?

I did mine a few days ago. Hope they're ok. They're just in a tupperware waiting for me to get round to doing them. Too many books to mark tonight to do them.

Oh FFS This cake sunk a little, I haven't a clue where I am going wrong!!!!!

I'm dreading doing my 12" cake now and I've done 4 times before perfect, I think I could quite happily cry!!!