Cake Design Help Needed, Please.

Decorating By rooch Updated 13 Aug 2014 , 7:36am by Pastrybaglady

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rooch Posted 4 Oct 2013 , 10:46pm
post #1 of 35

A

I am making a bar mitzvah cake for my son.  I posted earlier in the week regarding how to accomplish having the words "2 The MAX" coming vertically out of the top of a 4 tiered cake.  My son liked a certain cake which i will show an image of but wanted it to be more gravity defying.  Problem is, not only am i still stuck on how to accomplish the phrase coming out of the top (what medium to use, etc.) I think the design that I came up with is weird.  I place the cakes in a very cantilevered manner in order to give him the "gravity defying" look, but it all feels wrong to me.  Is it because it is so cantilevered?  

 

I would love some feedback and any suggestions people might have.  It's really important that his cake knock his socks off and be attractive, obviously.  thanks so much!!!

 

 

 

 

 

AppleMark

34 replies
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rooch Posted 4 Oct 2013 , 11:03pm
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ASorry that is how my cakes would be!

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BatterUpCake Posted 4 Oct 2013 , 11:05pm
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Cant see the purple cake. It comes up too small. The other one is really off balanced. Unless you are VERY experienced I think I would scale that back. I remember you asking for help before. Sorry you haven't got the answers you are looking for. I just wanted to tell you best of luck. Sorry I couldn't help but I'm pretty new to this. I do look forward to seeing the end result.

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-K8memphis Posted 4 Oct 2013 , 11:27pm
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you can use pate choux for very light weight and forgiving lettering--just mix it up--pipe the lettering and bake it--and you can make tons of extras--use real butter and snacking on the leftovers is no problem--

 

if you use square cakes--you can use smaller cakes for one thing and if you use supremely inflexible cake boards you can do that setup-- but i do recommend that you draw it in a bit--i agreee with batter up on that--it will still look over the top because the square corners will look like they exceed the limit even farther--but as you stack them up--and clearly you must be very skilled and experienced to pull this off--as you stack them up you can get the feel for what will be successful--

 

but i can't help but say--exceeding your own skill level will not make the occasion better--i understand wanting to make his dream come true too--

 

so long as all the doweling is all centered one doweled area right above the next you should be ok--but you really need  'the feel' for this type of specialized construction--

 

the celebration is when?

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-K8memphis Posted 4 Oct 2013 , 11:38pm
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you seem to have a lot of small items in your photos--you have some really lovely creative clean work--really advanced but nothing big--initially i was encouraged by your photo array but i'm unconvinced now--i think your son is really pushing you on this but that's not exactly my business

 

do you think you should trim this back into your comfort zone a bit? as the hostess of this you have to have some of you left to set out the glasses and clean the house--i mean forget the dust bunnies i mean just from the cake mess

 

i'm slightly freaking out for you

 

tell me you have this all under control

 

(might not believe you though ;)

 

but i'm willing to help if i can

 

(don't have square pans? just round ones?)

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BatterUpCake Posted 4 Oct 2013 , 11:45pm
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Ooooh I can't wait to see it! I hope the experts give you what you need. There is nothing better than the feeling of hearing "Whoa Mom...that is way cool!"

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rooch Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 12:13am
post #8 of 35

AThanks for the help! How does pate choux get dowelled? Also, I'm not sure I understand why the square cakes would be better; do you mean aesthetically?

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JWinslow Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 12:35am
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This thread on how to create a canter levered cake might be some help.  I believe there is discussion on support.

http://cakecentral.com/t/663747/how-to-cantilever-a-cake

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-K8memphis Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 12:50am
post #10 of 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by rooch 

Thanks for the help! How does pate choux get dowelled? Also, I'm not sure I understand why the square cakes would be better; do you mean aesthetically?

 

yes square cakes would look better and they would be smaller, a bit easier to handle but round cakes would do great--

 

i use toothpicks to apply choux paste lettering but for something that tall you might want to glue it together with something stronger--

 

if we are last minute on this the learning curve might bite if you've never made cream puffs or anything

 

know what i mean

 

are you a good at piping-- i can't remember if you have much piping in your photos

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rooch Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 2:36am
post #11 of 35

AI have plenty of time. Also, using cake stackers system to employ the cantilevered cake style so no real hard construction there at all. Metal dowel, metal plates, solid support. It was really just the concern of doweling gumpaste letters or utilizing styrofoam for the letters and covering those with fondant and doweling them. Question as to whether the letters should all come up vertically or be staggered like the cakes or even maybe grouping the 2 above the word "the" and placing that in top tier And then perhaps the word "max" put together vertically and sticking that in the second to top tier. As far as pushing me too far, that doesn't exist! I love the challenge of it!

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Smckinney07 Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 2:57am
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AIf you have 'Cake Stackers' then you are good to go. I look at their site from time to time and think it might be nice to have for crazier designs, the added stability I mean, but I have a habit of buying too many cake toys :)

I think the simplest way to create the letters would be with styrafoam, they sell them in 1/8' 'sheets' that would be very simple to cut your letters from (I have a tool that's made to burn through styrafoam but you could always use a bent wire hanger, heating occasionally) or Dallas Foam you can order custom pieces from their website (very reasonable prices)!

That's what I would do, you can use copper wire (or maybe even a thicker floral wire-trying to imagine how heavy this would be) to guide through each piece as well as gum glue for added support. I like the letter design. The great thing about styrafoam is you can mess around with placement without worrying much about pieces breaking.

Post final pics!

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rooch Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 3:07am
post #13 of 35

AI will check out that site for the styrofoam. Covering the letters in fondant might be tough and it would be ideal if the letters were connected for dowelling purposes but to Cover might be agony if connected. Looking into the pate a choux which might be a really light nice way to get the lettering dowelled. Going to draw the cakes in square to see if it looks much better; I tend to prefer round for some reason. Thanks for your help!

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howsweet Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 3:10am
post #14 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by rooch 

I have plenty of time. Also, using cake stackers system to employ the cantilevered cake style so no real hard construction there at all. Metal dowel, metal plates, solid support. It was really just the concern of doweling gumpaste letters or utilizing styrofoam for the letters and covering those with fondant and doweling them. Question as to whether the letters should all come up vertically or be staggered like the cakes or even maybe grouping the 2 above the word "the" and placing that in top tier
And then perhaps the word "max" put together vertically and sticking that in the second to top tier. As far as pushing me too far, that doesn't exist! I love the challenge of it!

Then why the I AM DESPERATE PLEASE HELP ME: Cake design Help....Please... I really need help!!!

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JWinslow Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 4:05am
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Quote:

Originally Posted by BatterUpCake 
 

Ooooh I can't wait to see it! I hope the experts give you what you need. There is nothing better than the feeling of hearing "Whoa Mom...that is way cool!"

Like Button Needed :D

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smittyditty Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 4:27am
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Well you could build it like my icecream cake. I used a steal plumbing pipe from the hardware store with a flange attached to a piece of plywood. Then cut pieces of PVC pipe the same as each layer.

Stick the pvc into the cake. Clean out the cake from the PVC so you can slide it over the pipe. Then place the next cake. Use the acrylic wilton boards without the flanges on the bottom. So its just a plate. Drill a hole in the center of all those the same size as the pipe. Then just slide each cake over the pipe. I'm not sure how you are doing the letters but I would do as stated above and make them out of styrofoam. Also the bottom tiers are moved in enough but the ones above would need to be moved in more for my plan to work. Also the bottom of the plates will show since they are white so you have to find a way to cover them.

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vgcea Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 4:39am
post #17 of 35

A

Original message sent by howsweet

Then why the I AM DESPERATE PLEASE HELP ME: Cake design Help....Please... I really need help!!!

Thank you!

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kikiandkyle Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 4:43am
post #18 of 35

AI did a similar lettering on the Uno cake in my gallery, I wanted it to be one single piece of gumpaste so I drew it on paper then used that as a template, using a veining tool to define the edges where the letters met. I put toothpicks in while it was still soft so that I'd be able to stand it up on top of the cake.

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scrumdiddlycakes Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 5:45am
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I prefer the round look to square, but I would just pull them in a little, I think they are too far out, and I would lose a tier.

You will need to build a structure using a heavy solid base, PVC pipe and I would suggest acrylic for the cake boards. No foam core, cake rounds, etc.

 

I would just use Styrofoam for the letters, do them ahead of time, they will be hard to make look just right. There is a green floral foam, not the kind you put water in, but the kind used for silks, it is way easier to carve.

 

Will all those tiers be cake? If not, that also opens up a lot of design possibilities.

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-K8memphis Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 11:21am
post #20 of 35

well i mean if you have plenty of time and said 'desperate' just to get some attention--please try the pate choux paste--it is an incredible tool--i don't know why everybody doesn't use it--it's so lightweight--all the boo boo pieces are crunchy and edible buttery good--you can make tons of back up pieces--you can pipe a few, bake them see how it goes, tweak here and there pipe some more--they last for weeks --can be made way in advance--you can keep a bag of paste in the fridge and make some more--someone should do a tutorial--it's the bombshabomb

 

i'm really relieved that it's not crunch time on this project--whew~~~

 

i have some other cake photos on another computer--brb..

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rooch Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 12:42pm
post #21 of 35

AI didn't write DESPERATE to get attention bc of time crunch I wrote it bc I need to buy all products and have a plan bc his bar mitzvah has a million other components that I need to worry about. I am definitely going to try that pate choux bc it sounds pretty neat. I can color it, right? Can I put disco dust on it too? It seems like it would be too soft to be able to stick out of a cake? Also, I'm definitely going to use the cake stackers system for support as it seems really durable. I guess I can take away a tier, but I really wanted to get the height. Still just want to bang out the design and determine whether letters should be grouped and stuck in like 2 and the word the together and then MAX each letter individually tooth picked and stuck in....have to check the UNO cake too.

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-K8memphis Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 1:03pm
post #22 of 35

if you make it soft it will be too soft

 

if  you make it like this name or the fireworks it will be awesome

 

i got this line of thought from none other than jacques torres who had a short lived tv show and he made a multi tiered stand out of pate choux--so it's way possible to get your lettering

 

maybe i should break out the video camera and do a tutorial...

 

 

 

400

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-K8memphis Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 1:11pm
post #23 of 35

i'd avoid the disco so they could eat it--boys especially love to eat special decor

 

just my opinion

 

but disco use is an individual decision--are you sure none of your guests have crohn's or anything?

 

not trying to get anything started--just an honest answer--it's your decision

 

but yes you could apply disco if you wanted to

 

the fireworks just has sugar on it for sparkle-- it was for a 90 year old lady if memory serves

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kikiandkyle Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 1:13pm
post #24 of 35

I understand wanting to make your son's cake but are you going to have any use for all this equipment afterwards? 

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rooch Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 2:42pm
post #25 of 35

AExcellent. So does the pate choux get hard by baking it longer or leaving it out to harden?

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rooch Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 2:45pm
post #26 of 35

AI wouldn't have the kids eat the letters bc they are going to have so many other dessert options. I just want it to sparkle!

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rooch Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 2:46pm
post #27 of 35

AYeah, I will actually use this stacking system for all of my cakes afterwards. It makes them so sturdy and easier to deliver!

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-K8memphis Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 3:06pm
post #28 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by rooch

Excellent. So does the pate choux get hard by baking it longer or leaving it out to harden?

 

 

baking at the right temperature--it does brown too so it's a balancing act a bit but if you're gonna color it from sea to shining sea like the "Rachel" --you're good

 

here's a good example of how not to do it ;) there's always plenty of that huh

 

i think someone paid toward ingredients and i did the cake or something but i felt no compunction to be all detailed -- i never feel like being perfect--and it didn't look this bad in person--let's see is that enough disclaimers--and i shoulda baked off more pate choux but it was a freebie--there i've groveled enough ;)

 

 

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v62), default quality

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-K8memphis Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 3:10pm
post #29 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by rooch 

I wouldn't have the kids eat the letters bc they are going to have so many other dessert options. I just want it to sparkle!

 

 

using plastic lettering is an option then ;)

 

boys will eat it unless you make a fuss about it--or discard it--they love to eat stuff like that--

 

sugar sparkles too--

 

it's food --

 

and it's entirely your decision just wanted to put this out there --

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rooch Posted 5 Oct 2013 , 4:01pm
post #30 of 35

I totally realize that it is food and is edible.  The children unfortunately won't even have access to eat the letters on the cake.  It will be displayed for a candle lighting ceremony during which my son will be the only one near the cake and then, the cake gets wheeled out by the caterer and is sliced for adults to eat.  The children will have a candy/dessert table during which they will fill bags with an absurd amount of candy; they sadly probably won't even realize the cake is gone!!!!!!  But, my son will be thrilled and I love that he has such a strong opinion of what he wants.  We cakemakers LOVE a good challenge!!!!!  Your help has been priceless!  Thank you so much!!!!

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