I am covering a 4 tier wedding cake with sugar crystals. I plan on putting piping gel over the entire cake so the crystals will stick; however, my quesiton is how am I going to put the crystals on the side of the cake? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Also, I think that I am going to stack this cake and transport it to the reception site. It's a 30 mile drive. What do you guys think about that?

I also have another cake this weekend that I am doing fondont ribbon looking lines around the cake in 3 different places on each tier. How do I stick that on the side of the cake?

Thanks for any help out there!!
Tammi

I am confused - are you going to cover it with bc or fondant before you apply the piping gel?

Tammi


I did fondant ribbons on my last stacked cake (like a present) and i brushed the back with some water and then just pressed it against the cake (with gloved hands to avoid finger prints) cant wait to see how it turns out

I'm icing the cake with buttercream first. The piping gel - I am going to put it on so that I can get the sugar crystals to stick. My question is how will I apply them to the sides of the cake?

And thanks MissLady85 for your reply. I used water the last time that I used fondant but I didn't know if I should do that with these strips or not. Again, thanks for the advice. It is much appreciated. I hope both the cakes turn out well.

on another note maybe you shouldnt put the crystals on where the ribbons are going to be and just stick them to the BC. I could see it might be a problem if the crystals come loose and i would hate for your ribbon to 'slide off' your cake. ( that would make me cry, or atleast wear a frown all day)

To get the crystals on the side you hold the cake in one hand and slightly tip it, in the other hand you have a handful of crystal (pour them in a bowl for ease in this situation) and press a handful against the side. Keep turning and pressing until you have as much as you want on it! Good luck!

Ok - I was going to tip the cake and sprinkle the crystals on through a decorator bag but I thought maybe someone would have another fabulous way to do this without having to hold the cake and tip it. I'll see what happens with it. I'm getting ready to do it right now.
Thanks for the advice everyone!
Have a wonderful day!

I guess I'm just confused. Why do you need piping gel if you're using buttercream? Won't it just stick to the buttercream? I've never used crystals so I don't know anything about it.

Thanks,
Christine

Couldn't you use piping gel on the back side of the ribbons ?

Thanks everyone for the advice. No, I unfortunately don't have a tilting turntable. I never thought that I would need one - until now. However, I've done the two side cakes and are letting them rest to see what they look like after it all settles on the cake. The piping gel worked great! I did tilt the cake and sprinkled the crystals on then I went around the cake again with the crystals and just patted them on with my hand. It looks pretty good. I can't wait to see what the tiered cake looks like when I get it done.
I think I'll try using the piping gel to stick the fondont on that other cake. I have two going today for set up tomorrow. One is only covered in sugar crystals and the other is a round 4 tier as well with 3 different fondant strips on the sides of each tier.
Again, thanks for everything. I'll post these two cakes pictures when I can get to it after Sat.
Have a lovely day!

How do you put piping gel over the entire cake? Do you brush it on or just spread it on with a spatula?
Thanks,
Christine

To answer your question about the piping gel - I spread it on with a spatula. I put only enough on there to cover the cake - not thick I mean. I did have a problem when I got to the reception site one of the sides of one of the side cakes - the icing had slid down a bit on one side so I'm assuming that I had too much piping gel on that one. I think that was the first one that I did so it was a lesson learned. Also, the red velvet cake bled through the icing and I had to take off a portion of the icing and all and redo that part. That red velvet is a night mare for me!

You should try thinning the piping gel a little with water and spraying it through a small spray bottle. That might work better for you!

The spray bottle idea is interesting. I really didn't have any trouble with the piping gel on the cake other than the one side of one of them. I think I just had it on too thick in that spot. The bride wanted the cake entirely covered with sugar crystals so I needed to make sure I did have something that they would adhere to. My cakes are very moist so I think that the icing sliding may have something to do with the moistness as well. This bride called me this morning and told me how much she loved the cake and that there was only 6 pieces left out of the entire thing. Her cake was a 14", 12", 10" and 8" tier with 2 - 12" side cakes. It must have been good. That was very pleasing to hear since I was REALLY stressed out about it.
Also, the second cake that I had to deliver yesterday - when I got there - no flowers for the cake and the topper was a heavy glass heart that had no way of staying on the cake top very well. I improvised and used flowers out of the vases on the tables - AND that's not all - I baked and decorated her a grooms cake like a golf course and in the process of the transport it slid down the board that I had it on. That cake must have been really moist to do that too. It was almost off the cake board when we got there. But, we attended this Bride's wedding reception and she came over and hugged me and told me how much she loved the cakes! That was a huge lift off my shoulders as well. That was the most stressful day in cake decorating that I have had in 3 years of doing wedding cakes. YIKES! Thanks everyone for the advice with this. By the way, the fondant turned out ok but not shiney like I wanted. I brushed it with water but should have done something else.

Oh man, if they ate that much cake you KNOW it was good! (Not that we ever questioned that!!!) Great job, and I am glad it all worked out well! It always feels good when you are done and everyone is happy!!

Melvira - Thank you for the vote of confidence. I was sooooooo stressed out yesterday after all that happened with my cakes. I was very glad the day was over and very happy when the Bride took time to call me this morning to tell me about the cake.
Success is a good feeling!