Can I Put Gumpaste Flowers In A Cake With Only Flower Tape
Decorating By bellosoc Updated 17 Jul 2012 , 3:21am by BlakesCakes
Hello I have to decorate a cake but read we can't just put the flowers on the cake because of the wires.... I can't even put the flowers on the cake when I have cover the wires with flower tape????? or I need to buy the tubes they sell from wilton??? I thought you needed the tubes when you use real flowers??? any help will be greatly appreciated is driving me nuts because the cake is for this Friday......
....... I can't even put the flowers on the cake when I have cover the wires with flower tape????? or I need to buy the tubes they sell from wilton???.......
Where ever did you hear that??? Of course that's not right! Someone (most likely Wilton) is trying to SELL product! 
Yes, you can put wired flowers on/in a cake IF..... the wires are wrapped in floral tape.... BUT.... I personally don't recomment that. Floral tape is nothing more than crepe paper coated w/wax. Sooooooo the answer is to use a small/thin drink straw - some use a plastic coffee stir stick. It has a very tiny hole in it.
Put the wire in the straw/stir stick then insert it into the cake. Be sure to let the customer know that there are straws in there 
Yep, what she said ^^^.
Sticking wired flowers, even taped ones, directly into a cake is a no-no. Exposed areas of the wire can rust and the adhesive on the floral tape isn't food safe.
Putting the wrapped stems into straws or coffee stirrers is easy & works well.
Rae
Gumpaste flowers mounted on non-food-safe wires, that then have to be isolated from the cake (and what's isolating them from the otherwise-edible gumpaste?).
What will they think of next?
<sarcasm>Maybe gumpaste flowers on food-safe stems (e.g., coffee stirrers or micro-straws?</sarcasm>
Gumpaste flowers mounted on non-food-safe wires, that then have to be isolated from the cake (and what's isolating them from the otherwise-edible gumpaste?).
What will they think of next?
<sarcasm>Maybe gumpaste flowers on food-safe stems (e.g., coffee stirrers or micro-straws?</sarcasm>
Gum paste flowers mounted on wires--or anything on wires--are no longer considered edible. They are merely safe for contact with food.
Mounted on toothpicks or spaghetti, they are considered edible (like hors d'eourvres).
Obviously, the wires allow for positioning of the flowers in a way that a static, fixed straight stem will not, and making certain flowers, especially when out of season or of unusual colors, can be important.
Unless real flowers are organic and pesticide free, they really shouldn't touch food--and some flowers and leaves (especially the sap) shouldn't even come into contact with food at all.
Not really an issue for sarcasm, just education.
Rae
It also seems to me that food-safe wire is at least theoretically possible. I may be wrong, but I believe there are surgical grades of wire, for example, that are approved for permanent implantation in the human body.
One can buy wire that dentists use for braces. I haven't looked into where to get it and how much it costs.
See this thread:
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-670898.html
I just thought of a type of stainless steel wire that's dirt cheap, and presumably food-safe, since it's sold specifically for trussing poultry:
The skewers out of a turkey Hueck "no sew" turkey lacing kit.
Although for cake use, you might want to cut off the sharp points, and possibly trim the L-shaped ends as well
It's fun to try to reinvent the wheel, but it's just so cheap and easy to put the wrapped wires into a coffee stirrer or straw. I can't be bothered with anymore "stuff".
Putting the wires into the slightly larger and more visible straws/stirrers also prevents the possibility that a disconnected wire might be inadvertently left behind.
Rae
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