I need to do a sheet cake for a fundraiser for a humane society. I was thinking of putting paw prints on the cake around the border on the inside...what would be the best way to do it? In fondant? Buttercream?

Hi, I would use fondant. It is much easier to do.

Do you think it would look ok if I just did round cutters? I don't have anything like a paw shaped cutter (unless others have suggestions), like the inner pad of the foot...

I know its a small thing, but its for a fundraiser where there will be a ton of people and even for a sheet cake, I'd like it to look really cute

I know fondant would look neater, but a ton of cutting to do!

What about stamping the print on fondant with a rubber stamper?

The cake will be in buttercream, so the only fondant would be the accents if I use them for the paw print....great idea though!

You can use just normal round cutters. A medium and a small should be fine. Why don't you try out one and if it is ok, do the rest.

Here is a link to a photo that shows many different ways that you can do the paw print.

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/359706/2/istockphoto_359706-nine-vector-stylized-paw-prints.jpg

If you decide to cut the paw prints from fondant, you can use your icing tips as cutters to get different size circles. I use them to get the size I need for the toes!

Great idea! Thanks!

My daughter works in a vet clinic and I did one for her a month ago (sorry no picture) and did it in bc. It was quick and easy. Let it crust and then smoothed it out. They loved it.

I really like the paw prints she provided you with... I think it would look great if you did the paw prints like brush embroidery... Just an idea...

if you look im my photos I have 2 paw print cakes. I did them in buttercream. good luck

I really like those pawprints that bashini provided. You could do them in chocolate, just do a quick chocolate transfer and then when everyone asks what they are, they'll get a kick out of the fact that they're actually chocolate. Most of the people I make cakes for don't care for fondant so I get more oohs and aahs when I use chocolate.

Thank-you for posting those paw prints.

You are very welcome.

If you wanted to use chocolate but dont have the candies, you could use almond bark. It works great, you dont have to add anything and it hardens.

I did a cake for a "puppy shower" instead of a baby shower...I used my #12 (the big end) for the "toes" and 2D for the "pads" here is my pic...wasn't to thrilled with the overall cake but loved the paws!!! HTH Mandie

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1250108

I've done several school cakes with different styles of paw prints. Because I wanted them to be exactly the same as the school's logo, I did them in almond bark or the Wilton candy melts. Simply tape your pattern down (I tape mine inside of a small cookie sheet), cover it with waxed paper and tape that down, and then pipe around the edges of the paw, then flood the inside. Gently tap the cookie sheet on the counter to get out any air bubbles, pop it into the fridge for 10 or 15 minutes, and poof! It's done! I like to turn the candy over and place it on the cake, because that's the smooth side. Remember if you need to color the candy to only use the Wilton candy color. The regular stuff won't work. Hope this helps!!

You can melt chocolate chips or hershey bars. You may need to add a drop or two of vegetable oil when you melt it.

good luck

Ditto what Price said. Icing tips. This is what I used for one of my daughters birthday cakes. Have fun!!

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1034683

Thanks everyone!! I truly appreciate it!

I did a cake that had pawprints for a friend's daughter's birthday party. It was held at the local SPCA. I just piped them with a different colored buttercream and they came out pretty cute! It's the "Lots o' Pets" cake in my photos if you want to check it out. The piping goes quickly too. Good luck!

I would make a stencil of the prints I wanted to use, lay it on the cake, and cover stencil with brown or black frosting or chocolate. Then lift stencil carefully off cake, and you have your prints. You could also place stencil on wax paper, make the the prints, stick them in the freezer, when they are hard, lift them off wax paper and place on your cake.

I've piped paw prints out of candy melts (flip them over after dry so they are smooth on the side showing) and I've done them out of buttercream and fondant as well.

If you do them out of fondant, you can always use the round cutter and the get your exacto knife to make that larger center part more of a triangular shape; if you want to really make them more realistically shaped. Just use a paw print off the net as a guide.

Here's the breakdown:

Buttercream can be sliced easily
Chocolate (or candy melt ones) taste good
Fondant is easy to do but is choice #3 in taste

When I made a Thank you cake for our veterinarian, I made silly, stylized paw prints.

-Debbie B.

This is a cake I did! The paw prints are easy I just
used fondant. Good luck an post your cake pic!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/claricakes/2046843645/

Wow, you guys are so talented! thanks for the ideas!