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Foam core versus cake boards

post #1 of 77
11/4/09 at 1:00am
Thread Starter 
Hi everyone..
Just wondering what everyone prefers to use... I have only ever used cakeboards between layers and MDF for the base board.
I'm not quite sure how foamcore supports the cake.. and do you cover it to make it food safe?
Do you use it just like you use a cake board between layers and then MDF for the base board?
Sorry for all the questions but i just have no idea about foamcore... icon_confused.gif
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post #2 of 77
11/4/09 at 2:26am
I have wondered the same thing. I always think that foamcore between tiers would be too thick and you would really need to put a large border between tiers to cover it. I would love to know the answer to this.
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post #3 of 77
11/4/09 at 2:54am
I use cardboards ALL the time and they are fine. I have never understood why people have a problem with them.
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Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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post #4 of 77
11/4/09 at 4:54am
I use 1/4" foamcore for all tiers but the base. The base is 1/2". The reason I use the foamcore vs. cardboard is because when I use cardboard, it flexes on me and then I have cracks in the icing. The foamcore does not flex. Use whatever you are comfortable with. thumbs_up.gif
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Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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post #5 of 77
11/4/09 at 5:06am
I use cardboard for all sheetcakes, and for tiered cakes I use cardboard in between the layers, and 1/2 foamcore for the base. When I dowel a tiered cake, I like being able to sink that center dowel all the way through the base board. That makes it so much sturdier. I cover all base boards with freezer paper, shiny side up.
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post #6 of 77
11/4/09 at 5:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Loucinda

I use 1/4" foamcore for all tiers but the base. The base is 1/2". The reason I use the foamcore vs. cardboard is because when I use cardboard, it flexes on me and then I have cracks in the icing. The foamcore does not flex. Use whatever you are comfortable with. thumbs_up.gif



Ditto! I dont use cardboard between the layers anymore. A few years ago I had a fondanted 3 tier topsy turvey that started to sink a little bit too much from the second tier. I was a wreck even though the Wedding group didnt seem to notice. Save yourself the drama. If you use the 1/4" foamcore (its not thick at all - just cut to same diameter as your crumb coated cake) for 2nd tiers and up it is thin enough to run your mid dowel though and I have had no structural drama since.
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Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor! From Outkast's song "Hey Ya"
http://cwcakes.blogspot.com/
www.goingTODAY.com
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post #7 of 77
11/4/09 at 5:45am
You could use 1" thick for all it matters, and it shouldn't show through. It's how you ice your cake that determines if you have a border.
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post #8 of 77
11/4/09 at 6:27am
So if you have the foamcore the same size as the cake, you just ice the foamcore as if it is cake?
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post #9 of 77
11/4/09 at 6:34am
Yep.
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post #10 of 77
11/4/09 at 10:11am
If you look at my cake pics, virtually each cake in there is done with the foamcore. Works perfectly every time.
Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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post #11 of 77
11/4/09 at 10:17am
I always use foamcore too. I use the 3/16" for the regular boards and I'll use a double thickness of it for the bottom board, or if I'm feeling rich icon_razz.gif I'll use the 1/2". I cover it with press and seal wrap, except for the bottom board which gets fondant.
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post #12 of 77
11/4/09 at 10:28am
Thread Starter 
ok sounds good.. thanks for the tips everyone.. Just one more question.. When u are putting a centre dowl into the cake with a base foamcore doesn't it go through the bottom board too? I just see the foam core as being very flexable and brittle... icon_confused.gif But i'm keen to try as i have had cardboard flex on me too icon_smile.gif
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post #13 of 77
11/4/09 at 10:31am
The only problem I have with cake boards is that it's not often that I can find the waxed ones anymore.

I'm switching to MDF for all my boards. I don't sell cakes, and I don't do enough cakes to need a huge inventory of them, so it won't be much of an inconvenience. I really wished I had them last weekend, when I stacked 4 tiers of pound cakes on each other. I was so worried that it was going to crush down on itself, because the separators were made of dummies that were backed on the bottom with cake board. The cake would have been much more secure if I had backed the dummies with MDF, and used the same under the cakes.

Theresa icon_smile.gif
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post #14 of 77
11/4/09 at 10:31am
Sharpen your dowel with a clean new pencil sharpener.
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post #15 of 77
11/4/09 at 10:33am
MDF under each tier?? Wow. That would be unbelievable overkill, unless I am missing something....
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