I am making a cake that needs stand up letters. Before even thinking about it, I made them from RI. They look so great and I was so proud of myself (I'm a newbie at this), but then I got to thinking, I can't put RI letters on top of a buttercream cake. Is there any possible way I can get away with this or do I just need to go ahead and make alternatives? If so, is there anything I can use to make them other than fondant? I have no problem making them from fondant, I just don't think they'll look as nice. Thanks in advance!
You could use candy melts or chocolate (white are dark chocolate).
I've done it using candy melts. There is a chocolate example in my photo album.
You can put the Royal icing letters on a buttercream cake as long as they are dry before you place them. You could always attach them to toothpicks or candy sticks and then stick them in that way or you could make a little mound of buttercream to stand each letter in. They should be just fine if placed on just before delivery.
That might work and look a little better than if I were to make it from fondant. But, I need a dark blue, light blue and a yellow, is it easy to get the colors you want with the candy melts? I am making letters that loos like melting candles. Here is a pic of my RI ones and what I would like my replacements to also look like.
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=579763
Those colors would be easy to do in candy melts if you have the oil-based candy coloring. You can get light blue and yellow ready-made by wilton, and if you have a Hobby Lobby you go to, they carry a different brand of candy melts that also comes in a dark blue.
Leahmaria,
I was wondering why can't you put RI letters on top of a buttercream cake if they look great?
Well, I need them to stand up like candles would and it would be for a few hours, not just one or 2, more like 4-6 hours. I practiced with it the other day, (I made my RI letters months ago, so they were completely dry) and attached coffee straws to the backs of them. Within an hour they were crumbling and falling apart. You can see on the letters where they are soaking up the crisco and from there, if you even so much as touch then, they turn to mush. I am making this cake for a movie convention and there will be plenty of celebrities attending, and I just don't want them to walk into the room and see my cake with all the letters crumbled and mushy. I have some to put on the sides of the cakes that works ok, it's just the standing them up bit that isn't working out too well.
ONe more question about the candy melts. I live in a real small town and the only place I have to go to get my cake deco supplise here is Wal Mart. They don't have a very big selection here, so if I were to find a dark blue candy melt, sould I just melt a little while chocolate and mix it with the blue to make a light blue? Would that work ok? And would it work the same if I were to buy a white chocolate candy bar, like a hershey bar, or would i need to buy white candy melts? I only need a little of the white.
Ok, so I just got back from Wal MArt, and of course, they didn't have what I needed. All they had was white, lt. cocoa and dk cocoa. Will it not work right if I were just to use the white and mix in a little of the Wilton pate colors. That's also the only colorings they sell here.
You need powdered color.... any kind of liquid will ruin the melts....
If you use the wilton colors make sure they are not water or alcaohol based b/c they will ruin the candy melt, it clumps up like chocolate.
I would say that if they have to stand up for 4-6 hours, use fondant, b/c if it's hot the candy melts will soften or melt.
I use royal icing transfers all the time on my cakes...lying down and standing up (attached to toothpicks and/or lollipop sticks). I make them thick enough that the buttercream doesn't even phase them!
How thick do you make them? Mine were about 1/2 inch thick and within 15 minutes you could already see the crisco bleeding onto the RI. I'm trying to avoid using fondant if possible, so I was thinking I might just remake all my letters and attach coffee straws to the back and add them to the cake just a touch higher than the icing so maybe it won't affect it.
I've used the stand-up RI numbers without incident--creating the same triangular bottom that you did--but with something this important I'd definitely do a dry run with a spare piece. I'm wondering if you could coat the bottoms with plain, melted wax that's barely liquid--and thereby barely warm. It's food safe, just not tasty, and would create a barrier between your darling letters and the BC.
The reason that the melts clump up when you add some colors is that liquids tend to seize chocolate. If you use oil based colors you will have no problem. Fats won't cause seizing.
I'm pretty sure you can use the RI letters standing up! (They are very cute by the way!) If you make them, let them dry, and put a second layer of RI and let that dry, they will be pretty sturdy. You could also make them out of gum paste, let them dry and then either paint them, or cover them with RI on the outside. They should work really well.
Good luck! I can't wait to see what they look like!
-Michelle
I use royal icing transfers all the time on my cakes...lying down and standing up (attached to toothpicks and/or lollipop sticks). I make them thick enough that the buttercream doesn't even phase them!
How thick do you make them? Mine were about 1/2 inch thick and within 15 minutes you could already see the crisco bleeding onto the RI. I'm trying to avoid using fondant if possible, so I was thinking I might just remake all my letters and attach coffee straws to the back and add them to the cake just a touch higher than the icing so maybe it won't affect it.
I made mine for the quinceanera cake in my photos. They were just fine stuck in with toothpicks. The cake was all BC. I put the flowers on a couple of hours before. They were pretty thick flowers and did not break down quickly, on the daisies I do, the RI does start to break down next to BC, but they don't fall apart.
If it were me, I'd prefer the toothpicks or skewers cut down to size, not straws. They seem too thick to me. Just place them on a little while before you leave and they should be fine.
Good luck!
I did end up using toothpicks instead of the straws. But the good thing is, I am also going to be attending the party, so if there are any problems with it, I can just fix them real quick.
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