Im doing this gorgeous fondant ruffle cake!! I have searched how to do this and it seems like everyone covers their cakes with fondant first and then adds their ruffle pieces with gum glue! I was wondering if you could just attach the ruffle pieces to buttercream? Or do you think eventually the pieces would start slipping down the buttercream? Any advice would be appreciated! thank you!!!

I would cover it in a thin layer of fondant and then glue on the ruffles.

I think that the ruffles would soften greatly when in constant contact with buttercream. Fondant will absorb the grease in the BC.
I also think that they'd be prone to shifting and falling as the buttercream experienced temperature changes.

JMHO
Rae

thank you!

If the cake will be inside in air conditioning and not out in the heat you can do it with buttercream under. Here's a blog entry on how I did one like that. http://acaketorememberva.blogspot.com/2011/11/ruffle-wedding-cake-tutorial.html

There is a tutorial for this kind of effect on My Cake School . com Melissa Diamond uses buttercream to decorate her cake. This tutorial has the ruffle pointing up, http://www.mycakeschool.com/video-tutorials/buttercream-ruffles-in-shades-of-teal/

This one the ruffle is pointing down, http://www.mycakeschool.com/video-tutorials/tip-050/

If you want to get the tutorials, there is a yearly subscription fee of $30.00. Well worth it. There are sooooo many tutorials and she explains everything very well.