I have a cake due tomorrow. I have been really sick all week, but am working through it, so my mind is not exactly 100% right now. The client wanted a 4 tier topsy turvy "purple" fondant cake. Well after 3 days of hoping the purple would darken, it just won't. In the beginning and middle of waiting for this order to become due, the client had expressed concerns about the cake looking "barney" color ( I told her from the start that trying to match fondant to a fabric color swatch, may not be an exact match). We had talked about doing the tiers black and just the top one purple,so it would pop, rather than it being the whole cake. The accents color is silver. I have tried to contact the client since yesterday, with no reply.Weird cause she has been in very constant contact since the beginning, even bashing the other baker in front of me before she hired me. Hince the reason I need advice on what to do. I have text her for the last time, stating in my best jugement I will make the cake black with silver and have the top purple since I feel the color would not be what she is looking for.
What would you do with no contact from the client? I did have her sign a disclaimer stating, that in a cake disaster, I would refund all but a % and supply a bakery cake, but I am not sure this really counts as a disaster. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make it right for her, but with no contact, I am at a loss.
Thanks ladies!
Has this cake been paid for (even a deposit)? If so, you need to make the cake and make it as originally ordered since she hasn't contacted you back about potential changes. Her phone could be lost and she hasn't received any of your messages - you just never know. I'm assuming you have also tried to contact her through any other means you have? Email, phone call, look up her home number in phone book, look her up on Facebook?
I love almond I always add it to my buttercream and yeah you just add almond extract. If you like a lighter flavor add half almond and half vanilla. I am not sure if you tried this or not, but..... I had a wedding cake last weekend and had a hard time getting the purple the right color. It was more of a dark eggplant color. I added black to the purple. I was surprised how much black I had to add to make it right. It turned out perfect.
Good luck!
If you're using only Wilton colors, go out and buy Americolor instead. Then try using their purple, if it's not the right shade, add a bit of burgundy. If still not right, try a bit of black. Just do this on a bit of fondant or buttercream, not all, until you get the right shade. Don't be afraid to try adding little bits of other colours too, like blue or red, or green until you get the right shade. Good luck!
I agree, try adding some black to the purple. I've gotten a dark purple fondant before, so i know it's possible. It does take a LOT of coloring though, so don't give up too easily!
The pH is off in the fondant - add some baking soda then add more color. You will be AMAZED at how well this works.
If you can get Sugarflair colours (from the UK) their purple is beyond compare. It has no bad taste and the colour depth is better than Americolour or Witlon.
The other I could suggest is using a spray can of edible colour or airbrush the tiers to get the right depth of colour.
I think sugarflair has to be bought from the UK, I've never seen anyone carry it (online or otherwise) that is based in the US - I could be wrong so links to someone would be rad. I WISH we could more easily get it, I took a class where the teacher has some (she bought when teaching abroad) and it is indeed fantastic.
FromScratchSF - if you know you're going to be working with purple or any other deep red tones, should one just add 1 tsp of baking soda per pound ahead of time?
Jeanne
Unfortunately there is no formula as each batch of commercial fondant (and each brand) ends up with a different pH. The brand I use I start with a baseball size and add a pinch of baking soda, kneed it in then add some color. You can generally tell right away of the color is going to fade because it will be "off" from what it should be. Like, instead of red you have a weird orange, instead of royal purple you have a weird barney color etc. I then add another pinch, then more color. I keep going until the color seems saturated and true to what it's supposed to be - if you get to that point it will not fade. That then gives me an idea of how much baking soda I'll need to add to however many pounds of fondant I am going to use. I've had batches where a pinch is all I need, I've had others that need quote a bit.
I also always color my fondant at least one day in advance to make sure the color really develops.
I think sugarflair has to be bought from the UK, I've never seen anyone carry it (online or otherwise) that is based in the US - I could be wrong so links to someone would be rad. I WISH we could more easily get it, I took a class where the teacher has some (she bought when teaching abroad) and it is indeed fantastic.
Yhat's right...I forgot about that. I think its because the type of red used in red/pink/purple/orange/brown etc Sugarflair is not permitted by the FDA in your country.
I'm not sure if this will help this late in the game but if you made your fondant from scratch try added some unsweetened cocoa powder, that helps darken it before adding an entire bottle of black/purple to the fondant. I just tried this with my MM fondant to get a nice deep black instead of that purple/gray color and it came out better than I expected.
I would agree with others though, add some black or even a deep blue. Play around with it, you'll get there! Hope it all works out for you!
Evoir, I agree with you. Actually I saw this done on Amazing Wedding Cakes, Christopher Garren was having a problem with the purple fading, so what they did was cover the cake with the color they had already made and then airbrushed it to get the exact purple they were trying for. And, VOILLA!! problem solved.
@ FromScratchSF does adding baking soda change the flavour at all?
That's a great tip, I will have to remember that, thanks for the info!
Thanks everyone for helping. I did try the black before I posted the message, but it did not help. I was finally able to get a hold of the client and we went with the original order of black on the bottom 3 tiers and purple on the top. I do have to say that was the least of my issues with this cake. She wanted feather boas on each layer and they just about covered up any design I had done on each tier. I tried to cut them down and boy was it a MESS! So NO more feather boas, ever, LOL
Cake turned out great and the dad was like, hey did you know the cake is crooked? and why are there feathers on the cake, I have never seen a cake with feathers. Well guess what dad, talk to your wife and daughter cause that's what they spent your money on, LOL
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