For Those Who Stick Wires In Cakes
Decorating By Cakepro Updated 25 Jan 2019 , 5:11pm by SandraSmiley
Yes, it is better to be safer than sorry. You would not want a wire to be left in accidently by the reception venue staff when cutting and serving the cake. Same goes for all that inedible cake bling that people like to use, beads, sequins, etc
I still put every wire in a coffee stirrer even SS or Copper. A lot of these products aren't manufactured here and other countries have different regulations on what materials can be used . Besides I think when the customer cuts the cake and starts taking out the wires it looks more professional, clean and safe. I wouldn't want to pay good money for a cake and see bare metal wires stuck in it. I also wipe the straws down with clear vanilla extract because the alcohol in it sterilizes the straw before inserting.
I agree better to err on the side of safety!
What are posey picks - tooth picks? I tried finding them on Global Sugar and was not successful.
What are flower spikes? Those green plastic tubes where you put fresh flowers in and add water?
Sorry don't mean to sound so stupid.
Damnit. I suppose that left over chicken wire from my coop project is outta the question then, eh?
What are posey picks - tooth picks? I tried finding them on Global Sugar and was not successful.
What are flower spikes? Those green plastic tubes where you put fresh flowers in and add water?
Sorry don't mean to sound so stupid.
"Posey picks" is another term for flower spikes, which are these:
They are NOT the green tubes designed for holding fresh floral stems in water, which are not food-safe.
You know when I think about wires in cake I think about the OKSAS rules and how you can't have any wires sticking in your cake.
I'm glad you started this thread because there are times we use items that are not intended to be used with food products with out really thinking about it.
So far when I have wired flowers for a cake topper, I put the wires in to a ball of fondant or gumpaste.
Is there a food safe wire you can buy? I've never used wire in cake, but eventually I might need to depending on the design. I'm curious though, I think very highly of Pink Cake Box Cakes and her designs seem to use a lot of fondant decorations on wire. In this one particular cake you can see that the wires are definately stuck right into the cake, no straws. So I am assuming she uses a food safe wire and I'd love to know where to get it. Any ideas?
http://www.pinkcakebox.com/images/cake1041.jpg
this is the photo of the cake, i was trying to post the image but i couldn't get it to work
I swear, there is no wonder why there is so much cancer and other illness in the world. It seems like they stick the most toxic chemicals in things they really shouldnt. I had just received an email from a friend warning not to use the swifter wetjet if you have animals or pets because it contains antifreeze! That means if your baby is crawling on what you think is your clean floor, or your dog walks across the floor, then cleans his paws or you know babys put everything in their mouth. And voila, they can get poisoned. Its just sad that simple things in life have to be be thought twice before using.
Ive always been a drinking straw advocate, but waiting to hear what kind of toxic plastic they use to make those next!
Sad!
This is false information...
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp
I have pets and checked it out when the emails started flying.
I bet this is a wake-up call for a lot of people. Thanks
Thanks Candy and Cakepro! It sure is for me!!! I really had no idea!
Thanks for posting this - it's exactly what I needed to know. When picking out wire, what wire do you use? Do you go to the jewelry section? Is ther a specific brand or something? I want to do something similar to what is shown in that Pink Box Cake photo........ but I wasn't sure where to begin with trying to find wire and then how do you keep it from "sagging" under the weight of the fondant?
I was just on Lindy Smith's website. You can pre-order her new Cake Jewelry DVD. She also sells an extensive line of wires that she uses for her designs. Some really neat colored wires too. Many of her cakes have the wire sticking out the top, BUT since I have not seen her DVD or any of her cakes close up I do not know if she sticks the wires right into the cake or uses some sort of straw method. And I'd be curious to know if her wires are 'food-safe'?
Here's the link to the wires in her online store:
http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/OnlineShop-Wires.htm
Is there a food safe wire you can buy? I've never used wire in cake, but eventually I might need to depending on the design. I'm curious though, I think very highly of Pink Cake Box Cakes and her designs seem to use a lot of fondant decorations on wire. In this one particular cake you can see that the wires are definately stuck right into the cake, no straws. So I am assuming she uses a food safe wire and I'd love to know where to get it. Any ideas?
I did my internship at Pink Cake Box and Anne uses standard floral wire (the type that comes bagged in 18" lengths, from the craft store), and yes they are stuck straight in the cake.
Thank you so much PinkZiab!!!! That's awsome to know, I have seen them in the store.
Thank you so much PinkZiab!!!! That's awsome to know, I have seen them in the store.
SHogg ~ please go back and read the very first post in this thread. Those are exactly the wires you DO NOT stick into cakes.
So after reading the thread I think it will be best just to err on the side of caution and use straws for wires. I have never used that design of decorations on wires anyway, probably won't unless someone specifically asks for it, and then i will tell them about the straws. Thanks again for everyone's input on this.
Here is my question! So I was thinking of using wire for the first time and I thought I would stick them into a coffee stirrer. when the customer removes the wire, does the coffee stirrer stay in the cake? I mean do they have to be digging around in there trying to remove all the stirrers? I am worried the cake will be a mess by the time everything is disassembled.
what if you were to encase the exposed wire/stem in hot glue, let cool, then insert into cake? Havn't done it, just an ides after reading this post.
what if you were to encase the exposed wire/stem in hot glue, let cool, then insert into cake? Havn't done it, just an ides after reading this post.
That doesn't sound food safe in the least... I wouldn't want the hot glue IN the cake. You could probably do the same idea but use melted chocolate... I've heard of some people doing that.
Here is my question! So I was thinking of using wire for the first time and I thought I would stick them into a coffee stirrer. when the customer removes the wire, does the coffee stirrer stay in the cake? I mean do they have to be digging around in there trying to remove all the stirrers? I am worried the cake will be a mess by the time everything is disassembled.
You could pipe melted chocolate into the straw to hold the wire in there. Then when they pull the wire out, the straw comes with it. I've put 2-3 wires into 1 straw, (see my gymnastics cake) so less 'holes' in the cake. HTH!
I was just on Lindy Smith's website. You can pre-order her new Cake Jewelry DVD. She also sells an extensive line of wires that she uses for her designs. Some really neat colored wires too. Many of her cakes have the wire sticking out the top, BUT since I have not seen her DVD or any of her cakes close up I do not know if she sticks the wires right into the cake or uses some sort of straw method. And I'd be curious to know if her wires are 'food-safe'?
Here's the link to the wires in her online store:
http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/OnlineShop-Wires.htm
Ooh, my first post - long time lurker.
I can confirm that Lindy uses posey/flower pics to insert all wires into the cake - in her books she repeatedly reminds us to follow this practice. With her new cake jewellery DVD (excellent by the way, highly recommended!), she also goes into details about safety of jewellery - ie remove before cutting, picks for fountains etc).
Here in the UK; we are forbidden to insert wires directly into the cake, as it would be classed as a forgien object - if the wire broke in the cake, someone could eat it, and be ill as a result - in the litigious society we all now live in, it's just not worth the risk.
For similar reasons, the attachement of non-edible decorations are discouraged (could the server guarentee to remove every last one?) and fresh flowers are also not encouraged (due to pesticides, and the risk of the plant itself being toxic). Sadly lots of our books seem to recommend unsafe practices - (Eric Lanlard in Glamour Cakes mentions sticking wires directly into a cake, another author uses a flame lily on top of a cake - which is toxic. They should be ashamed of themselves IMO - how many people look at their books for inspriation)
I take a styrofoam ball, cut it in half, cover with fondant and let dry. Then I still the wires into the fondant covered ball. I usually put the ball on a cake cardboard so that the fondat covered styrofoam ball wont touch the cake.
I take a styrofoam ball, cut it in half, cover with fondant and let dry. Then I still the wires into the fondant covered ball. I usually put the ball on a cake cardboard so that the fondat covered styrofoam ball wont touch the cake.
Wow, what a great idea! Hope you don't mind if I copy you on that one.
That swiffer wetjet email is not true, you can look it up on snopes, so don't worry about using it on your floor. Funny, the email used to say the chemical in it was one molecule off from antifreeze, which any chemist can tell you would be a completely different product. However, that being said, I only use white vinegar and hot water to clean my floors.
As for the wires, I use the straws, but i can tell you the wire is cut short and doesn't flex in my cake either. If the cake were moved enough to flex my wire once in, it would ruin the cake inself. Could be the chocolate I use is softer, but it doesn't crack either or since I don't use floral wires maybe that's the different. I'll do a few more experiments to see what i can come up with.
No, cloth covered wires are not any better. The wire will rust under the thread and the thread can come off.
ANY TYPE OF WIRE used to make decorations for insertion into a cake MUST be protected from coming in direct contact with the portions of the cake that will be consumed. This can mean inserting the wire into a food safe receptacle such as a straw, coffee stirer, or posey pick. It can also mean covering the wire with an edible or food safe product that will not be left behind in the cake when the wire is removed, for example chocolate coating.
For very fine wires, I use colored coffee stirers so that they're easily spotted when the cake is being dismantled. For larger groups of flowers, I use brightly colored straws.
Never had a complaint or a problem doing it right.
Rae
Thank you for sharing the information about filling the straw with RI. I always use straws to put my wires in and hated that they move so much. I couldn't come up with a technique to keep them in place. I asked so many times in the forum but noone had any ideas. Thank you, thank you.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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