Is it possible?
I have ordered several sizes of Styrofoam cake dummies. I am going to be making some fake cakes for practice and to build my collection up.
Can I reuse the dummies after they have been iced in BC? Is there a certain way I should clean them off after being covered in BC? Or, is it a lost caused and just chuck them out when done? =)
Thanks!
I pull the paste off and then wipe over with a bit of water.
Also there is a product called PermaIce. You apply it to the dummies and allow to dry. You can then clean them off and use them over and over again. The bakeries use this for their display cakes.
If you use bc that will be your loss and depending on how many times over you decorate the dummies can get quite expensive. If you are completely covering the dummy with fondant you don't need the bc, just put a thin layer of veg. shortening on the dummy, apply the fondant and decorate.
HTH
Also there is a product called PermaIce. You apply it to the dummies and allow to dry. You can then clean them off and use them over and over again. The bakeries use this for their display cakes.
If you use bc that will be your loss and depending on how many times over you decorate the dummies can get quite expensive. If you are completely covering the dummy with fondant you don't need the bc, just put a thin layer of veg. shortening on the dummy, apply the fondant and decorate.
HTH
The bakery I worked for used Perma Ice for a couple of displays...and that stuff dried like cement! Plus it smelled like chemicals when they applied it. Might as well have used spackling from the hardware store. It might have been cheaper!
I am going to be making some fake cakes for practice and to build my collection up.
Can I reuse the dummies after they have been iced in BC?
You can also reuse your BC on the dummies. You can decorate the front and back differently, snap photos of each design side for your portfolio, scrape it all off, and start again with the same BC (if it doesn't have colors blended in).
I am going to be making some fake cakes for practice and to build my collection up.
Can I reuse the dummies after they have been iced in BC?
You can also reuse your BC on the dummies. You can decorate the front and back differently, snap photos of each design side for your portfolio, scrape it all off, and start again with the same BC (if it doesn't have colors blended in).
When you say I can reuse the BC icing....Are you saying just to reuse on cake dummies, or it's okay to reuse on REAL cakes to be consumed???
Thanks!
You can also reuse your BC on the dummies. You can decorate the front and back differently, snap photos of each design side for your portfolio, scrape it all off, and start again with the same BC (if it doesn't have colors blended in).
I would never recommend reusing BC on real cake because styrofoam pellets could be scraped off along with the icing.
O.K. Mike179. I teach cake decorating at Michaels. When i show them how to do basketweave with b/c, I wrap my cake dummy in press n seal(sp) I wrap it really smooth using 2 peices. I mark off on my dummy with black marker and proceed to do the basket weave method. I do not mess with the b/c anymore after i get home. I sit it in my cake room. It just dries. Then i just hold it over the trash can,and magically, all the b/c falls off. I will use this peice of press n seal(get the good kind, not the cheap kind) seveal times, then replace it. It works wonderful for me this way. Been doing this for 7 yrs, now. NO washing dummy, nothing. hth
O.K. Mike179. I teach cake decorating at Michaels. When i show them how to do basketweave with b/c, I wrap my cake dummy in press n seal(sp) I wrap it really smooth using 2 peices. I mark off on my dummy with black marker and proceed to do the basket weave method. I do not mess with the b/c anymore after i get home. I sit it in my cake room. It just dries. Then i just hold it over the trash can,and magically, all the b/c falls off. I will use this peice of press n seal(get the good kind, not the cheap kind) seveal times, then replace it. It works wonderful for me this way. Been doing this for 7 yrs, now. NO washing dummy, nothing. hth
For another option, I usually just cover mine with saran wrap. I stick a flat cookie sheet in the oven just to heat it up nice and hot, take it back out of the oven and kind of use it like an iron. I just press all sides of the styrofoam against the hot pan and it tightens the saran wrap so that it's perfectly flat and wrinkle free.
That way, when I'm done all I have to do is break off a chunk of the fondant and pull the wrap off.
For another option, I usually just cover mine with saran wrap. I stick a flat cookie sheet in the oven just to heat it up nice and hot, take it back out of the oven and kind of use it like an iron. I just press all sides of the styrofoam against the hot pan and it tightens the saran wrap so that it's perfectly flat and wrinkle free.
That way, when I'm done all I have to do is break off a chunk of the fondant and pull the wrap off.
I don't use buttercream - I cover all my cakes with sugarpaste (fondant).
But when I've finished with a dummy, I put it on the top shelf of the dishwasher!! They come out perfectly clean.
Really???
The heat from the dishwasher don't melt or shrink thye styrofoam?
Yes, honestly. No melting or misshaping. They come out perfectt!! (tip - they stay wet for quite a while, so I put them into my electric oven on a defrost setting - around 35c - for a little while)
Thanks! I am going to wash some dummies this weekend! Lol 
Relznik: My styrofoam melted in the center but all the chocopan fondant came off nicely. Thank you for that great tip! 
I don't have a defrost setting and placed my oven at 200 for 15 min for the fondant to get soft. Do you think thats the reason why it melted in the center????
I also have some dummies that I used pipping gel on under the fondant and it doesn't seem to come off. Any suggestions how to clean up the dummies without doing little scraps at a time. It's pretty much crumbling off little at a time and would take forever to clean it. Or is there just NO HOPE to clean up this cake dummy????
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Relznik: My styrofoam melted in the center but all the chocopan fondant came off nicely. Thank you for that great tip! I don't have a defrost setting and placed my oven at 200 for 15 min for the fondant to get soft. Do you think thats the reason why it melted in the center????
I also have some dummies that I used pipping gel on under the fondant and it doesn't seem to come off. Any suggestions how to clean up the dummies without doing little scraps at a time. It's pretty much crumbling off little at a time and would take forever to clean it. Or is there just NO HOPE to clean up this cake dummy????
Oh no!!! I'm so sorry.
I do think that perhaps the oven caused it to melt. I've never had one melt in the dishwasher before... I do think perhaps it was the oven that caused it. 200f is about 90c - and my defrost setting is just 35c, so your was a LOT warmer.
I've never put one in the oven to soften, before popping into the dishwasher. I might have soaked it in a sink of water first, but not put into the oven. I really do think that was the cause.
You've no reason to trust me after your first one melted, but if you do try again, don't put it in the oven! If you're worried about putting it straight in the dishwasher, then soak it for a while first.
Again - sorry.
Suzanne x
AShortening applied very thinly. Then, you can magically peel the fondant right off. And if it has dried rock hard, just put it in a plastic bag, and whack it from the outside of the bag with a mallet. It cracks right off, and you don't have to put it thru the dishwasher.
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Also there is a product called PermaIce. You apply it to the dummies and allow to dry. You can then clean them off and use them over and over again. The bakeries use this for their display cakes.
This gave me a laugh, as the local grocery store bakery has had the same wedding cake up for so long that it has cracks, has turned grey, and has dust all over it. I'm afraid to look close there may be spider webs.
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O.K. Mike179. I teach cake decorating at Michaels. When i show them how to do basketweave with b/c, I wrap my cake dummy in press n seal(sp) I wrap it really smooth using 2 peices. I mark off on my dummy with black marker and proceed to do the basket weave method. I do not mess with the b/c anymore after i get home. I sit it in my cake room. It just dries. Then i just hold it over the trash can,and magically, all the b/c falls off. I will use this peice of press n seal(get the good kind, not the cheap kind) seveal times, then replace it. It works wonderful for me this way. Been doing this for 7 yrs, now. NO washing dummy, nothing. hth
icer101, I want to cover my Styrofoam dummy with plastic wrap to keep it clean. I am using it as the bottom layer for a wedding cake (cheaper than baking and filling the cake), and will be icing it with cream cheese buttercream the same as the top layer (so that the icing colors are exactly the same instead of different shades of white). It is being transported to an out-of-town wedding over 24 hours in advance, and will be sitting uncovered in the cooler at the venue. I want to make sure that the icing will not harden to the point that it cracks or falls off the dummy. I will also be poking several flower picks through the plastic wrap and into the Styrofoam. Will the wrap shift a lot during this process, ruining the smooth finish? I would appreciate any tips!
p.s. The cake is for my friend's sister, and I am not going to the out-of-town wedding as I am at home with a family member who is recovering from surgery. Normally, I would arrange the flowers at the venue (or very nearby) several hours before the reception.
I don't have a shop, work from home. Recently, I made three 3-tiered dummy wedding cakes for a wedding expo. All were decorated with buttercream. I carefully scraped the BC off then used hot water, dawn dish liquid and stiff bristled bottle brush. It cleaned them up nicely and then I air dried them.
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