Putting Ribbon On Cakes

Decorating By potatocakes Updated 1 Mar 2006 , 5:26am by jdogga

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potatocakes Posted 28 Feb 2006 , 3:43pm
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I'm making a "practice" wedding cake to prepare for the big day on 3/19 and so far, things are going great! Yay! This is my first wedding cake, by the way, as well as my first stacked cake and first time using pillars, so I've been so nervous! Anyway, the only real problem I've run into is putting the ribbon around the bottom of each layer. I cut wax paper strips to put behind the ribbon so the grease won't show through. The only way I could think of to get the wax paper to stay on the ribbon is to tape it, so I did that and you can't tell. It looks fine. But if you know of another, easier way, please tell me. My other question is, how do you attach the ribbon so that it stays on the cake, and how do you handle the seam where the ribbon meets in the back? The bride doesn't want a bow or anything, so do you tape those ends together, and just put it in the back where it likely won't be seen by anybody? Please give me any suggestions. I really want this to look great and not tacky. Thanks! icon_smile.gif

8 replies
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Euphoriabakery Posted 28 Feb 2006 , 3:50pm
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I don't have an answer for you, since I ahve never attached a ribbon, but would really like to know the answer for the future. So I am bumping this question. Anyone???

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cakebybek Posted 28 Feb 2006 , 3:55pm
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I used the wax paper also on my snowman and then I attached it int he back with a little bit of BC icing, not sure if that is the right way or not but it worked fine for me. Hope this helps you.

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tiptop57 Posted 28 Feb 2006 , 3:57pm
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I saw on another post to use that clear contact paper that people use for shelves. I found it at Walmart. I think that would work for the seam also, by cutting it a little longer than the ribbon. Hope that helps! Good luck......

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KHalstead Posted 28 Feb 2006 , 4:06pm
post #5 of 9

i've also read about the wax paper.......but I have read that people put a piece of paper down then the ribbon then wax paper over the top of the ribbon and iron the whole thing.....and the wax melts onto the ribbon.....allow it to cool......pull the ribbon off and it should have a thin waxy film on the back....then put it on the cake as usual wax side toward the cake!!!

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gilson6 Posted 28 Feb 2006 , 4:12pm
post #6 of 9

On the fifties style cake I just did I put a black ribbon on each tier. I put the wax paper on the cake itself. The buttercream on the icing helped it to stay. I then placed the ribbon on top of the wax paper. I dotted little bits of buttercream every few inches to keep the ribbon the cake. Not a whole lot of icing just enough to keep the ribbon on. There were no grease spots. I think the important thing is to make sure that the ribbon doesn't touch the cake. Also, the ribbon I used was not a satin ribbon - it was just a regular ribbon. This might have helped, along with it being black, it not have grease stains. As far as the ends of the ribbon, I made sure these were toward the back of the cake. No one ever saw them. Just make sure they overlap a little bit.

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Crimsicle Posted 28 Feb 2006 , 8:47pm
post #7 of 9

I haven't tried this yet, but I'm going to try using freezer paper. It's got a side that has a thin plastic coating. I've ironed that onto other things in the past, and it adheres pretty well.

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lemoncurd Posted 28 Feb 2006 , 9:06pm
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For the end, I iron one end to make a hem. This is the side that will show to the outside world (you wouldn't want a freshly cut edge exposed.) Tape that down to itself.

Then I put double face tape on the unfinished end, and tape it to the finished end.

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jdogga Posted 1 Mar 2006 , 5:26am
post #9 of 9

I Have used ribbon a few times and i just put a tiny dot of buttercream at the back of the cake where the ribbon meets. I haven't had a problem with it coming apart as of yet!!

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