I am doing a wedding in October. The bride wants real grapes as decoration. No problem. She also wants them sugar coated. No problem.

This cake is going to be really big. It will be similar to Simone's roses in my photos, but with a 6 inch added to the top.

Instead of roses, she wants me to put the grapes there.

My questions is: How many grapes would you suggest? medium size bunches.

My next question would be: What would you suggest using to attach the grapes to for the grape layers. For the roses I just used floral foam and just made a layer to add to the cake as I stacked it. I want to do the same thing to the grapes, but I will be able to do them at least a day in advance.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Still looking for help

gma, I don't see why you can't use the floral foam. It seems to me that you just want to use enough grapes to cover the foam with some cascading over the sides a bit.

As for the top, a crystal like bowl on top with grapes spilling over would be pretty, don't you think?

Debbi

Thanks Debbi that makes sense. I just won't need to soak the foam for the grapes.

And I agree...the crystal bowl with the grapes spilling out over the edges would top this cake off..
Good luck..
Can't wait to see the outcome.
cakegal

Have you thought about champagne grapes? They are very small and delicate looking and look very elegant looking on cakes. The grapes themselves are about the size of peas and the bunches are long so they flow nicely on cakes. Call around to your grocers and see if they carry them. Just a thought.

I love the idea of champagne grapes. I also think it would look pretty with a mixture of grapes--champagne and "regular", white and purple and red.

As for how many? I couldn't hazzard a guesss. Looking at your "roses" cake, I would never have guessed that there were 12 dozen roses in there. I'm just bad at that kind of thing, I guess.

As for attaching--I would test the strength of the fresh floral foam before the wedding--it tends to not necessarily hold as much weight. You may have to go with a foam that would be used in silk arrangements (John Henry I believe it's called) as it holds more weight. For attaching them? Royal icing? Glue? haven't a clue there, either.

I think it's a great idea, though and can't wait to see a pic.

LIsa

If you like the champagne grapes idea, I saw them at my local Wal-Mart Supercenter. I noticed them because I have honestly never seen them before and I agree that they would look great on a cake.

Can't wait to see the pics from this cake!

I showed her a picture of the champagne grapes but she did not like them at all. She wants green and red mixed.

You don't want to use the green floral foam, the floral oasis for anything edible, use a styrofoam or a foam that is meant for silk flowers. Much more sanitary, you can wipe it off and it won't crumble.
I would suggest you try sugaring a few grapes now to see how long they hold up ahead of time. Grapes should be fine but sometimes when you sugar fruit, the moisture of the fruit comes out and you might end up with a bit of a mess after a certain length of time.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes