I don't know if this belongs here but I have to say it somewhere...and I'm sure it's been said a thousand times. I have seen some really cute cakes lately on an uncovered cake board with grease stains all around and it makes me want to scream!!!! People, please cover your boards to make your cake look as awesome as it can look (and not with tin foil)! Thank you!

Yup...spend the tiny bit to get pro boards that are already covered or use fondant to cover it...makes it look SO much better. Really really brings the quality and professional look up.


Cat

I have to agree. I may not be able to afford the best, but I at least try to cover my boards in such a way that it will look nice and not take away from the cake that I've just spent hours creating!

I am a hobby baker, wanting to start a business soon. I do, now, think about the board, it's a whole process in my cakes...making and decorating my board.
BUT, there was a time, not long ago btw, I wasn't too concerned about the board, I was overwhelmed with the cake! As I learned, and grew, I moved outward. Cake, board, boarders.... I'm amazed how many ppl don't even remember my decorated board, but blessed when the one person notices...does. Makes me feel good. I do think however, whether they notice or not, it does complete the cake in whole. As a professional, I think it would be well, professional.
To each his own, enjoy the journey!

im a hobby baker too, and cake boars here are by no means cheap. prices start at around $8 for a mdf board, or if you want foam, your paying $33 for 2. ridiculous. i usually just cut up stiff cardboard and cover with pretty paper then contact. also, when i was just starting out, i was stilll learning about all this, and how greasy cake actually are *see my "lady cake". which was what opened my eyes.. lol. cakes are greasy! which is why i now cover with contact over the paper.

I buy fancy foil from my local florist. They just buy it off the truck for me and I get it by the roll. I also ask my grocery store to save me the cardboard inserts from their boxes. They come in all sizes, which is nice for sheet cakes or cut out cakes. When you stack them make sure the lines of the cardboard are perpendicular to each other for added support. For anything super heavy, like carved or tiered cakes, I buy a piece of cheap plywood from the hardware store. I agree that boards add a professional touch, but I try not to spend too much money on them.

I have been guilty of this a time or two but oh well. Asi es la vida which basically means "that's life". I have cake boards but if I'm doing one just to maybe practice my fondant I don't worry about it, it's going into the trash anyway. It is true that covered boards add to the complete look of your cake but...I'll live.

I am curious as to how the fondant on the board doesnt get torn or start to split when its put on differnt counters, (short on room, I move stuff around alot), then in the truck on the seat, then transfered to the table etc.

Do you cover the board and then put it on another slightly larger cake board to carry and transport? then remove the bottom one and take it with you?

Do you cover the board and then set the cake on it? or cover the board UP to the cake?

I hadnt thought about contact paper- I have used saran wrap before- its a PITA.

Usually, I make the cakes on their own board, that is the size of the cake, and then set it on a larger peice of foamboard for transport. If I am setting UP the cake, and its not a 'dirt cake' (graham crackers to the edges) I'll tell them that I am removing the 'support' and it cant be moved again- and take out the foamcore board. Leaving only the board its sitting on. so there is no board showing..

Is that also a faux pas?

If you put the fondant on a couple of days in advance, it will harden. Different people have different methods. I roll the fondant directly onto the foamcore board, and it sticks on its own. I roll the rolling pin off the edges of the board to smooth the fondant at the edges, then glue a ribbon around the edge of the board. If you want to make it look fancier, you can emboss designs into it with a fancy rolling pin, impression mat, placemat, cookie cutters, rubber stamps, buttons, etc...and then brush luster dust over the board or just into the impressions that you've made.

I've had people try to return my cake plate before, and it's just a piece of foamcore with fondant over it.

I would always put the cake on a larger board, so that they don't icing on the table when they cut the cake. Putting the cakes on a board that's the same size as the cake and then transporting them on foamcore is a great method when you've got a tiered cake that you're assembling on site, though.

I made two purse cakes recently. One 9" round cut, and I made the mini from the scraps. Didn't even think about the board for the mini until the night before, and I realized I didn't have a small cake drum.

It was just a mini cake. I was looking in my pantry and found....a small stack of 4" cream colored stone tiles from when our backsplash was done. Perfecto!! Washed it off, wrapped a ribbon on it, did a little fondant on top...presto, my new cake board!!! You can get what 4", 6", 12", 18" squares cheaper than cake drums from the hardware store. They stay nice and cold way longer. The only thing I will do next time is put those little stick um foot pads on the bottom. If only they made them in rounds.

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1707315

Tinygoose, what a great idea!

I used to use the fancy foil but that got to be so expensive (only use it now if I think the white freezer paper won't look decent enough). But somewhere I read about using freezer paper shiney side up and that's what I use now most of the time. If I were doing it professionaly I'm sure I'd use the good stuff but what I'm saying is that even if it's just a cake for a friend or such then it's a nicer touch to cover the board so the grease doesn't make it unattractive.

I'm guilty of sometimes using plain foil to cover my boards. A lot of the pictures posted here are by hobby bakers and I find that decorating the boards adds expense and time to a cake that I don't always have. Any cake that is leaving my house, though, is on a nicely decorated board. I've used fabric, wrapping paper, ribbon, fondant. If I am going to stay with the cake I will bring one of my nice cake stands and put the cake on that instead of a board.

i enjoy decorating the board almost as much as making the cake!

I found foam core at Dollar Tree for $1, the same big sheets that Michael's sells for $3. I did one cake using that and fondant. Where do you get the food safe contact paper?

You all really need to watch what is food safe, some of these postings are pretty scary. Regular foil is not strong enough to cover a board and neither is saran wrap - they both will rip when cutting the cake. Contact paper is not always a food safe option, especially if you are buying it at the dollar store. Fabric?? Wrapping Paper?? Really check into what you are using before you think it just looks pretty.

I think it's extremely important to make the board nice. It is part of the presentation of my cake. I normally cover my board with fondant and put ribbon around the edge of the board. I like to use embossing cutters or cutters that match the theme of the cake to decorate the fondant on my board. I have used fondant to make my board look like hardwood, and I have also decorated a board to look like a frozen pond with snow around the edges. I just feel like the cake doesn't look completed if I don't do something with the board. I usually buy the 1/2" foamcore boards at Michaels with my coupons and cut the boards to whatever size and shape I need.

Putting a gorgeous cake on a plain, uncovered cake board is like serving it on a trash can lid. It makes an otherwise beautiful cake look awful and it's like saying your cake isn't good enough to be served on something worthy of it.

Great topic!

Sometimes I will use PressNseal wrap over my pretty background paper.

I love freezer paper (shiny side up) for wrapping cake boards. That stuff is so durable and it looks pretty.

I'm new to this and I've only decorated boards (up until recently) if it was for a family's wedding. I've made 3 wedding cakes for family members. Besides that, I've covered my boards in foil. It certainly does not look as nice, but it has it's place (for me, a beginner who has to concentrate on the cake itself!). So I don't think it's fair to say that foil covered boards are never acceptable. As many have noted, not everyone on this site is a professional. Myself included.
Having said that, I would like to start decorating my boards so that they are more attractive. I've come to a place where I feel like it wouldn't be overwhelming to work on decorating both the cake and the board. I've seen pictures of boards covered with fabric and I love that idea, but didn't understand how to keep the cake off of the fabric. I'm glad I came across this thread....I didn't realize it was covered with contact paper I knew there must be something on top of the fabric, just didn't realize what it was. I'm really interested in everyone talking about foamcore. What exactly is this? Like I said, I'm very new and I'm not sure that I know what is meant by this. I've shopped at craft stores many times, so I've probably seen it and just not known what it was named. It is similar to the styrofoam circles that can be found near the floral section? Or am I way off?

This girly isn't ready to stop using her tin foil yet. At this point each cake I do, I'm usually just focused on tackling one challenging technique or practice a technique before my kids become chaotic. Maybe one day when my kids become old enough to entertain themselves I might go that extra step, but right now it isn't happening.

phoxphire1....freezer paper can be bought in the grocery store where the tin foil and such is...the box I have is made by Reynolds..there's like 150 feet on the roll and it's lasting me forever...pretty cheap too.

I have used the plastic table cloths found at Walmart and the Dollar Store. I glue 3 cake boards together with the lines running in different directions, then cover, pulling snug and taping on the bottom. The cake is of course on its on cardboard.

Thanks to someone, somewhere for this idea!!

What a difference a little fondant makes.

In my area, the ready made boards are way to expensive for everyday cakes. So I use couple pieces of cardboard glued or taped together. Then use a non-toxic stick glue to attach foil. I cover the entire top of the board with glue, then flip it over and place it down onto the foil. Then trim the foil and leave about an inch of extra around the board then glue this to the bottom of the board. Smooth it all down and I like to let them dry for just a few. I think it gives a smoother, neater look than just taping some foil to a board, and it keeps you from cutting into the foil and serving it up with the cake.