Hey CC Family. I recently met with the owners of a new bridal boutique that opened in my hometown which is about 1 1/5 hours away. Anyway, they loved my cakes and were thrilled at the fact that I am a "Legal" homebased baker and had all my ducks in a row. The grand opening was this past Saturday and it was great. I baked 180 cupcakes as samples for the grand opening. I only had 3 left after about 2 hours. I was able to booked a couple of consultations for this upcoming weekend.

Anyway, to make a long story short, they want me to bring in some display cakes for the shop. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I know for sure I want to do maybe 3 or 4 displays. I know fondant on the styrofoam displays is acceptable, what about buttercream and where can I get styrofoam displays?

Let me know your thoughts.

thanks

You can purchase dummies online from www.countrykitchensa.com and from www.d a l l a s - f o a m .com (remove spaces).

You can use the regular Wilton shortening & PS type icing for dummies, although I prefer to do them out of RI.

I would try to do all different styles of cakes too.

1 very traditional, 1 more contemporary (maybe varying heights of tiers), 1 that's super funky with stripes, dots, or something like that...and so on.

That way you're sure to appeal to a LOT of people as well as show how versatile your talent can be!

Have you thought about mini cakes? I have seen some cupcake dummies at a few cake supply stores and am sure they are online, also. You could then do 3-4 cakes and have a photo album for them to look thru. ID also does something brilliant...one book with cakes she has done, and one that she has downloaded (her idea book, be sure to credit the artists in that one). Good luck! HUGE opportunity! Also ask if you could provide some "refreshments" for the clients SECOND appointment. The contract has been signed and the B&G will be talking turkey...good time to eat a cupcake or two.

Hi there! I found a great website called Taylor Foam for my cake dummies! $19.95 for a whole set of dummies was the absolute best price I've seen ANYWHERE!

Highly recommend you order your dummies from them! Fast shipping, easy payment, the best, best best!!

For decorating, I suggest using royal icing to adhere the fondant to the styrofoam because it will dry rock hard and last forever. Also, if you ever want to, you can just peel it all off and redecorate!

Good luck!

Congrats!!

I made a "buttercream" cake dummy (its the one in my photos with striped ribbon foam dividers) by using royal icing. I had to work fast, and it wasn't perfect, but it hardened really nice for the display.

I just purchased 2 sets of dummies (square and round) 4,6,8,10,12 inch.
from dallas-foam,
$16 for dummies and $12 for shipping, very happy with the service and product.

I did all of my dummy cakes with buttercream. I had plenty of time to work on the dummy; it dries rock hard and lasts forever (like years!); it pops off easily when I wanted to change the design. Kids loved it when I'd tell them, "Sure! You can touch it!"

What a great opportunity!! Yay!!

How about a mini display of cupcakes too, since that's such a hit with a lot of brides nowadays?

ok so I have the dummies, some people cover them with glad wrap some don't, what do you suggest? I want the dummies for practice and then as displays. I was thinking of spraying them with a clear coat of varnish, good/bad idea, worth doing? TIA

PTBUGZY1,
Where did you buy your dummies? Is there a website? Was $16 for each dummy, per set, or entire order of dummies? I don't know what a spray varnish would do to styrofoam. I know if you try to spray paint styrofoam it melts the styrofoam.

~Kim

Kim, I bought the dummies from www.**********.com, $16.00 was the total cost for both sets. (round and square in 4,6,8,10,12 inch) 10 dummies total, the shipping was $12.00. thanks for info about spray varnish.

I use my 40% & 50% coupons and buy Wilton fondant and cover my dummies. I still have some dummies that are 5 years old. I tend to do a lot of shows and have displays and it is easier for me to cover in fondant.

why would you spray them with varnish? The icing will harden and will last for years. Yes, I had dummies sitting around that were over 2 years old. No bugs, no cracking, just slight discoloration. Interesting observation: the white cakes would yellow but when I put them in the window and let the sun hit them, they turned back to white again.

Seriously, folks, you're making this way harder than it is. Slap some BC on a bare dummy and set it in your window or on display. No special treatment, so special tricks, just do it and go.

I put a big garbage bag over my seasonal dummies when I store them, to keep the dust off. While they're on display, just an occasional feather dusting should keep the funk off!

As far as the buttercream/royal debate, it's good to know that Debi's BC recipe works and hardens like that over a bit of time!
I have used royal to simulate BC on dummies in the past and you really have to work at high speed when icing them! I may try Debi's recipe next time; (my standard BC has butter in it, so it may get a little gross and yellowed for a display.)

when making dummy-icing, I leave out the vanilla and the dream whip (no one's eating it, ya know!)

Thanks so much for the links to buy the dummies. Definitely cheaper than my previous source!

Hey Indy,

Do you wrap your dummies in plastic or anything before you put on the buttercream?

Another question since this is my first time doing the dummies.. Do you need to put each dummy on a cake board and do you still need dowels as supports?

I don't wrap my dummies with anything. I don't use cake boards or dowels. They just stack on top of each other.