Ruffle Cake Help

Decorating By reynoldsja Updated 25 Aug 2013 , 5:26am by Nadiaa

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reynoldsja Posted 19 Aug 2013 , 6:00pm
post #1 of 17

I have been looking at pictures of ruffle cakes, and let me specify which one...the ones where circles of fondant are cut out and folded to look like a ruffle then added onto the sides of a cake.  From what I have read, they are usually done in fondant.  Well, I want to make a cake for my daughter who will be leaving for Wofford College (colors are gold and black), and I want to ice the cake in buttercream.  Well, instead of making the "circle ruffles" out of fondant, I used chocolate clay.  Now my question is, how do I attach the ruffles to the sides of the cake?  Will they stay on if the cake is iced in buttercream??

 

I really need some help on this, so ANY and ALL help is appreciated!  Thanks in advance!

16 replies
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bct806 Posted 21 Aug 2013 , 4:47pm
post #2 of 17

Are you talking about the pom pom like ruffles? You can do a few things. 

 

1. Blobs of frosting

2. Blobs of royal icing

3. Or if it is really heavy, toothpicks inserted into the back

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melmar02 Posted 21 Aug 2013 , 5:43pm
post #3 of 17

AYou can make the ruffles in buttercream. Use a 104 tip put the fat/open end close to the cake. The more pressure you use, the more ruffled your ruffle will be. Just squeeze and spin the turn table.

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viannescakes Posted 21 Aug 2013 , 6:06pm
post #4 of 17

Piping gel can be used as a glue and it's quite sticky and strong. Try that.

 

Or you can make buttercream ruffles, as melmar02 suggested. It's a lot easier and faster to do. Jessica Harris has a tutorial on her blog.

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reynoldsja Posted 21 Aug 2013 , 6:38pm
post #5 of 17

I appreciate the help!  Melmar02 & viannescake-these are the little fondant circles folded in quarters and "glued" to the cake, which from what I have seen, is covered in fondant.  I wanted to do something different, so I made them out of candy clay instead.  I made around 100 of them, so I'd like to use them, lol!  I was just wondering if there was some magic to make them stick to buttercream...I have done flat fondant circles on buttercream before, but these little folds have some thickness to them and didn't want them to slide down my cake!  I guess I'll just try and hope for the best!

 

I am a little afraid of covering a cake in fondant...it just seems overwhelming to me.
 

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Nadiaa Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 12:52am
post #6 of 17

Here is how I would do it. I have no idea if it would work, but it sounds right and I'd probably fiddle with it until I got it right. I'd cover my cake in BC then put it in the fridge to set up a bit. After it wasn't all super soft anymore I'd take it out and use BC on the ends of my ruffles to attach it to my cake. I'd start building from the base upwards, so the weight of the bottom ruffles were resting on the cake board and each row of ruffles rested on the one underneath it. Then when I was done I'd put it in the fridge again! Mind you, it is a tropical climate where I live, so although I know lots of people wouldn't put fondant in the fridge, I would have to in this case. Where you live it may be fine for the cake to sit out while the BC that attached the ruffles sets. 

 

I hope that makes sense. 

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reynoldsja Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 1:15am
post #7 of 17

AThat was basically how I was going to do it! Except for the dots of bc on the ends of the ruffles. That is a great idea! I wasn't so sure about putting it in the fridge after adding the ruffles...Wasn't sure what it would do to the candy clay. I am going to bake my cake tomorrow and make the Wofford Terrior out of candy clay ( this is going on top), and put it together Saturday.

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Nadiaa Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 2:44am
post #8 of 17

Sorry, I didn't read your OP properly and had it in my head that you were using fondant. I've never used modelling chocolate, so don't know how it will go in the fridge. Maybe do a quick search on CC about it? I'm sure someone has asked that question before!

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NJsugarmama Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 2:48am
post #9 of 17

ACheck out my chevron baby shower cake, is the row around the middle tier what you are talking about?

If so, I used candy melts to hold them in place. It hardens quickly.

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reynoldsja Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 12:41pm
post #10 of 17

Yes NJsugarmama!  Your cakes are awesome!  It looks like it's covered in fondant, is it?  I wanted to use bc for the cake because I have never tried to cover a cake in fondant, just looks too overwhelming to me.  Those ruffles you have on your cake are exactly what I want on the sides of my cake.  I'm just a little nervous about the attachment to the bc.  Did you put yours in the fridge after you add the ruffles?  Will candy melts stick to my bc?

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ddaigle Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 1:06pm
post #11 of 17

I am a huge fan of applying fondant to butter cream, as most people here hate fondant.   For a completely covered design as the ruffle cakes, I insist on applying fondant to fondant and will not do it any other way.   I'm skeerd the weight of the fondant pieces would want to pull.    I would NOT suggest using piping gel, as it does not set up.    Good luck and please post pictures. 

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NJsugarmama Posted 22 Aug 2013 , 1:27pm
post #12 of 17

A

Original message sent by reynoldsja

Yes NJsugarmama!  Your cakes are awesome!  It looks like it's covered in fondant, is it?  I wanted to use bc for the cake because I have never tried to cover a cake in fondant, just looks too overwhelming to me.  Those ruffles you have on your cake are exactly what I want on the sides of my cake.  I'm just a little nervous about the attachment to the bc.  Did you put yours in the fridge after you add the ruffles?  Will candy melts stick to my bc?

I am soo sorry. I missed the point about using it on buttercream. Do the pointed ends have any length to them? Stick them in the cake and start at the bottom and work your way up, so the weight of the upper ones rest on the bottom ones. Use melted modeling chocolate to discreetly bind each ruffle to another, this may help create some structure so they don't all pop out. Do it while the cake is cold.

As far as refrigerating, I put my fondant cakes in the fridge.

If you ever want to be comfortable with fondant you HAVE to give it a try. Practice, practice, practice...my cakes from when I started make me cringe. Cake after cake has made me much more confident. You can do it, too!! Maybe this would be a good opportunity to give fondant a try if your cake is going to be covered in ruffles. It'll hide the mistakes:)

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reynoldsja Posted 23 Aug 2013 , 11:11pm
post #13 of 17

AOkay!! Y'all have talked me into trying fondant for the first time!! I figured since this will be my first time covering a cake, it would also be my first time making it, so I made MMF and added a little white chocolate to it! So far, so good! My layers are baked and in the fridge, and my ganache is cooling off so I can fill my cake. I have read and read and read, and then read more, and it seems like many people prefer ganache to cover the cake with instead of bc before the fondant. I think I have enough on my plate with trying new things, so I am going to stick with bc on my cake before I cover it in fondant. Thanks for the help everyone! And please, if y'all have any more tips as I am doing this, please post!

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NJsugarmama Posted 24 Aug 2013 , 1:42am
post #14 of 17

A^You got this! Keep us posted:)

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EmmaBruce Posted 25 Aug 2013 , 1:05am
post #15 of 17

I’m generally not a frilly type person, but when it comes to cakes-I want my frill! In this case I got my fix with a ruffle cake. And the most important in making ruffle cake is make sure you have a gripper of some sort between the cakestand and the turntable. You definitely don’t want the cake stand bobbling around while you spin it.

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reynoldsja Posted 25 Aug 2013 , 5:20am
post #16 of 17

AThank you all for your input! So I did it!! YAY!! I made a chocolates cake with ganache filling, iced in bc, and covered in fondant. I tried and tried and tried again to make the Wofford mascot, the Terrier out of candy clay, I just couldn't get it to look right!! I felt like there were too many layers! By the time I was done, it looked like the Tasmanian Devil, lol! So, I scrapped that idea and decided to do a bc transfer, my first time doing that too! I got the icing a little to thick on one end and not enough on the other. All in all, I think I did a pretty good job!

Oh, I posted pics! I'm not sure how to do it here though. Again, thank you so much!

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Nadiaa Posted 25 Aug 2013 , 5:26am
post #17 of 17

Well done! I just saw your cake in the gallery, and you did an awesome job with the ruffles. Congrats!

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