Here is the cake I had posted about earlier. I wanted to make the vegetables shiny. I tried the water, but it did not stay shiny. They could not be sticky (we were eating outside, and I needed to remove them to serve). Any ideas on how I could have improved this cake? It kinda got lost when I posted it, I was hoping for some suggestions. Thank you to anyone with ideas.

www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1239397

i think this looks really good! the veggies look very realistic in shape and size. the color being variegated a little more might look more realistic than one solid color. for shinyness, maybe luster dust in perl? i'm not sure what else would keep it dry plus shiny.

great job overall!

Well I am no pro so I can't offer any advice...I personally think your cake is adorable and truthfully...amazing. I think you did a great job!

What a great job!!!!!! I feel your frustration regarding cakes 'getting lost' when you post them!

I think the fruit looks very realistic without being shiny. Maybe pearl dust would have made them shiny?

For all of my veggies and flowers in the below picture, I airbrushed them with a light mixture of pearl airbrush color. It gives them a great sheen. Also, to make them not sticky, you should use all gumpaste and make them a week or so ahead of time so they have time to dry completely. Those are big veggies and would need quite a while to dry.

Cute cake!!! I bet the farm owner loved it!! I really love what you did with the cake board, how personal!!! AWESOME

Piping gel or light corn syrup both dry shiny(If you mean SHINY and not SPARKLY)...just mix with a LITTLE water and brush on! Now if you mean SPARKLY, then Luster Dust in the color of the items would ad Sparkle to it. For Shine (like a bowl of Fruit) Piping Gel would do you just fine....Just brush it on and let it dry. I don't want to confuse the two (shiny and sparkly). But, I think it is adorable just the way it is....HTH

I think it looks great! I don't know what you could have done to make the veggies shiny, unless you rub them with Crisco? I don't know if that would have worked, but your cake looks fabulous!

The cake looks great! Nice details on the veggies. Maybe just a little lustre dust, but they look fine the way they are!

I agree... Luster dust would have given you the shine you wanted.
Good job on the cake.

I believe you could even use a paint brush and brush them with a bit of shortening.

Thank you all for your nice comments! This was a last minute cake, so I did not have a lot of time to work on it. I do appreciate all the suggestions and plan to try them all in the future! Except the airbursh one - I am not that lucky YET! Milissasmom, shiny is right - not sparky, just more realistic.

I can get my fondant to shine by steaming it. It's just like steaming gum paste. You have to be careful though, because fondant will wilt much more quickly than gum paste. I do love your cake...great job!

For items on a cake that aren't for eating, I've used an egg white wash applied a few times. It gave one of my car cakes a nice shine without looking pearly.

Great cake, btw!

Well you should be careful storing onions next to your strawberries,
but other than that...

That's a stunner cake--I love it.

k8memphis, yeah, those onions would ruin the strawberries, and I do love me some SWEET berries!! Sure do miss them, all plowed under for another year. This is an organic farm, everything gives back somehow. karensjustdessert, eggwash sounds interesting, did it stay sticky?[/quote]

love the green beans, so well done.

I agree, luster dust probably would have given them that natural shine (not the potato tho)

great job

confectioners glaze?

In Margaret Braun's excellent book which is long on artistry and short on technique, she does however state ,

"Add a few drops of brown food coloring to 1 cup of water in a bowl, until the color is watery brown. Too much brown will make the fruit appear overipe or rottten.

Immerse your hands into the bowl, covering them with the burnishing water.

Burnish the marzipan fruits by gently rolling them around in your hands."

Will work for other mediums like fondant and gum paste fruit.

Fruity thoughts pour vous.

This might sound dumb but what about a little spray of Pam? It would make all the vegetables shine and I don't think there would be too much of a taste. Just a thought.

The cake looks absolutely beautiful!!

brown food coloring? What a novel idea. It would add depth I bet. ladyellam, no idea is dumb - that is how we learn new things. I think the Pam is interesting.

Thanks to all for the wonderful comments. There are certainly a LOT of good suggestions. I will experiment and let you all know the results.

To give them a shine like I have on my cherries on this cake.. Use confectioners glaze

I LOVE the stuff

Ohh and I really love your cake!! Beautiful basketweave!!! And the veggies are too cute!

Where do I get confectioners glaze? Any other thing I should know about it?

You can get it here... make sure if you try it to get the thinner also...

http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/mini.aspx?T=2&SubCatId=778

Now I will warn you.. it does smell strong when you use it.. but the smell goes away..

it is completely edible IF you get the food grade confectioners glaze... if you don't get it from that site make sure the description says FOOD grade