I'm going to have to be doing a large amount of brick detail on a building cake here shortly, and was wondering if anybody had any insights as to which brick impression mats worked best. I'd hate to have to do every brick by hand, but I very well could if I don't have an easy time with them ... turns out, I've never used an impression mat (just haven't!), and I'm wondering how easy it would be to detect fondant stretching on a cake with such a regular pattern as bricks. Any suggestions?

for a building, I'd probably put the sides on as separate panels to reduce the stretching.....

I've got the brick mat from Earlene's website, and it works wonderfully. I find that if I leave my fondant a little bit thicker than normal, I get a great impression.

Also, you could cover the cake first, then use the impression mat. I've had success with that method too.

I didn't realize you could use the impression mat after the cake was covered! It just seems a bit tenuous, like I would ruin my perfect corners (HA! Like my corners are ever perfect! ). I did my Indiana Jones temple cake by hand, and would love to avoid that again .

But I LOVE the idea of the panels ... as a matter of fact, if I make panels like for the gift box cake and let them dry in that fashion, I could conceivably do the elements of the cake way ahead of time and put them together right before! It's going to be right during New Year's week, and I'm working the three nights prior to this birthday party, so I'm swamped as it is. You've given me some great ideas, thanks so much!

ive used impression mats with good success.
ive done it both ways on the cake and as a side panel.
both have worked out fine.
make sure you press hard enough to get a full impression.
to me i notice after the fondant dries you loose some of the impression. if i cant go back over it. i take a sharp knife and outline what i lost.
HTH

I'm in the process of doing the sides of a large building cake for this Saturday, and I've been making sections of red brick using candy clay and a brick impression mat. The candy clay is easier to move around than fondant, and it sticks to the sides of the cake just fine. It also takes the impression of the mat without springing back and losing the design like fondant can. I'm doing more to them than just that, but that's essentially it, and I'll be adding the panels to the walls at the last part of the assembly process.

I have had pretty good luck with making the impression and then applying the fondant and applying the fondant then doing the impressions. Both methods have there own challenges, but nothing to bad.. I like the idea of doing it in panels, I may try that next. Let us know if you do that, and how it worked for you!

costumeczar : what is candy clay? Are you talking about modeling chocolate?

I've never worked with modelling chocolate or candy clay, but I love the idea of doing little sections of solid wall at a time and then piecing it together. Please post a pic when you're done, costumeczar! I won't be working on my cake for another couple of weeks, and would love as much input as I can get before then. I know there's tons of info here for it, but do you have a favorite candy clay recipe?

TIA!!

I make panels and use an impression mat. There's little to no distortion of the design. It's easier to paint, dust, and add details to the panel while it lies flat and then attach it to the cake.

Good luck with your cake and please post pics.

I used a brick impression mat for a while, but it was never defined enough. I bought a brick rolling pin, the acrylic kind that is laser cut, and it is amazing!

I always thought the pins were super expensive, but now that I see the difference it was worth every penny.

Cal Java sold it in their booth at the OSAS. One of the best things I bought that weekend!

Hi again! On facebook ITA CAKE sells the laser cut rolling pins at great prices & they have some different designs. I have not looked for brick, but it would be worth checking out