I have to put a picture of Mickey Mouse, Donal,d Woody, Buzz, and Pluto on the front of a bass drum cake that will be standing vertical. What would be the best icing technique to use?

I was going to do color flow but I hear it bleeds and is very fragil. Is royal icing better? I have never done either of these techniques. It's a pretty large piece, about 8x10. THe bass drum will be covered in fondant.

I am a nervous wreck about this cake!!

They are the same, just a little bit difference in the icing.

When using darker colors for outlining I find the bleed less when you let the outline dry out before flooding in the colors.

For a stand up piece another option would be a chocolate transfer.

Colorflow is slightly stronger than royal, but both are fragile, as you know.

If you decide to make the royal plaque, here are a couple of tips -

Use plastic wrap (Saran) to create your plaque on. Wax paper works, but is difficult to remove. Parchment paper is ideal, but it's hard to see the pattern underneath.

Use nothing smaller than tip 2 for outlining, otherwise it will be thin and prone to breakage.

When thinning your royal with water for flooding, make it JUST thin enough for a ribbon of icing to disappear in the bowl in 10 seconds. If you thin it too much, it will be too fragile.

Use only FRESHLY MADE royal. Royal that has been rebeaten is a recipe for disaster.

Make at least TWO plaques to allow for breakage. Yes, it will be time consuming, but better to curse the extra plaque than cry over the one that breaks. Also, by the time you get to the second one, you'll know what to do differently and it will probably look better than the first.

Very small details can be added after the plaque dries. (For this, you can use rebeaten royal and a smaller tip.)

Let the plaque dry for a minimum of 24 hours. Pipe a few sample 'blobs' of royal on a separate work surface to use as your testers. When the samples are dry, so is your plaque.

To remove your plaque from plastic wrap, use a small knife to cut a circle around your plaque. Very gently lift the plaque by the plastic wrap that surrounds it. Turn the plaque over onto a foam sponge or fluffy towel and peel off the plastic wrap. It comes off VERY easily. Turn your plaque back over to the front.

To remove your plaque from wax paper, lay your project on the edge of a table. Push the project slowly over the edge and pull the wax paper downward, off the plaque. Don't push the plaque more than halfway off the edge. Continue turning the plaque and pulling the wax paper until it is removed.

Attach the plaque to the cake with royal icing.

Good luck!

Great tips...thanks for sharing!

How long will it take a color flow piece to breakdown? I want to put the piece on my cake tonight and it will be sitting on it for about 24 hours. Will this be fine or will it breakdown?