Couple Of Wedding Cake Questions

Decorating By kblickster Updated 12 Nov 2013 , 3:41am by ilovetolearn

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kblickster Posted 25 Oct 2013 , 12:57pm
post #1 of 16

I have a bride that wants a cake similar to this one and since I do not have a lot of experience with piping I am very nervous.  I have practiced on dummies for weeks and it's getting close to crunch time.   Layers will be 14, 12, 9, 6.  I work full time and will need to work on it throughout the week.  My plan is to fill/crumb coat on Wed.  Ice on Thur.  Pipe and stack on Friday for Saturday delivery.    The 6" will be the same as pictured.  The 9" I will use a impression mat and the cake will need to be really cold to get the detail with a hot pastry scraper.  (I am not piping those diamonds).  The third tier and bottom tier are similar to what is pictured.  My cakes will be refrigerated due to the fillings chosen.  I am using SPS.

 

Questions:

How long should I wait before piping after getting the cakes out of the refrigerator?  I don't want them to be sweaty and the piping slide off.

 

Should I freeze the piped layers for a short time to firm everything up before stacking?

 

Since I'm not piping the diamonds, do you think I should pipe dots at the intersections or use pearl dragees?  This is a very busy cake design, but after practicing using the impression mat, I just felt like it needed something.  Would the dots/pearls be overkill?

 

 

15 replies
-K8memphis Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
-K8memphis Posted 25 Oct 2013 , 1:37pm
post #2 of 16

no, not too much-- i think the dots or pearls would be fine and would correspond with the textures on other tiers--i would not freeze any decorated tiers--the fridge will firm them up fine--

 

i use similar fillings and decorate cold cakes -- i just decorate right out of the fridge or right after i ice which the tier just came out of the freezer so it's muy cold----the determining factor is how hot and humid your work area is--like some posters in the heat of the summer in other parts of the world--those cakes can condense like crazy--but mine never do right out of the fridge--we are very fortunate to be climate controlled with heat & air all year--

 

you should be fine--

 

i would mark the intervals then pipe the lines but only because i've never heard of the cold cake and impression mat and the hot pastry scraper--

 

good luck--you should be fine with all your practice

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kblickster Posted 25 Oct 2013 , 2:42pm
post #3 of 16

This is the technique I'm using for the diamond pattern.  Worked on a dummy.  Hope it works on the cake.

 


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-K8memphis Posted 25 Oct 2013 , 3:10pm
post #4 of 16

oh that is so cool -- loved the video--

 

now that i see that--i think i would delete the pearls on the diamond pattern because it is such a beautiful pattern with the puffiness built in--and it's the negative of the scrolls--the scrolls sit on the surface and the diamonds are set into the surface--i would like those diamonds clean --on second thought--

 

 

would love to see your cake if you feel like posting it--no pressure ;)

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kblickster Posted 25 Oct 2013 , 5:43pm
post #5 of 16

Will do if it works.  The best thing is the bride wants this cake, but is aware that I have very little piping experience.  She knows that if I need to, she's going to get a much plainer cake.

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-K8memphis Posted 25 Oct 2013 , 5:45pm
post #6 of 16

nice to have the wiggle room if you need it--good luck!

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kblickster Posted 11 Nov 2013 , 3:10pm
post #7 of 16

Ended up trying the impression mat and hot pastry scraper technique 2 times.  I gave up.  My mother said it looked fine, but I just kept seeing the flaws in it.  I redid the icing one last time and piped it on with tiny dots of buttercream.  Looking at the original pictures, I think that is what the original decorator did.

 

Anyway, the bride was happy.

 

*

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savannahquinn Posted 11 Nov 2013 , 3:30pm
post #8 of 16

The cake is gorgeous! 

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favrtdtr Posted 11 Nov 2013 , 7:24pm
post #9 of 16

Absolutely Gorgeous - you did a great job!!

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-K8memphis Posted 11 Nov 2013 , 7:30pm
post #10 of 16

that seemed like a pretty tricky method but the instructor made it look easy breezey--

 

you did a beautiful job--well done!

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kblickster Posted 12 Nov 2013 , 12:29am
post #11 of 16

Funny thing about this was I practiced on a dummy cake and it did fine, but on the actual cake it was so hard to get the depth correct.

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-K8memphis Posted 12 Nov 2013 , 12:32am
post #12 of 16

Quote:

Originally Posted by kblickster 
 

Funny thing about this was I practiced on a dummy cake and it did fine, but on the actual cake it was so hard to get the depth correct.

 

 

yeah dummy cakes don't have any 'give' which is why a nice cold or frozen cake might have worked better? i use smbc so when it's cold it's great to work with but i've never tired this---honestly i would tire very quickly of heating that thing up over and over--just my lazy b---

 

;)

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kblickster Posted 12 Nov 2013 , 1:37am
post #13 of 16

Yes, it was awful.  Not so bad for about half the tier, then drudgery.  Even worse after I re-smoothed the icing and started over.  I couldn't face it a third time.  This icing was 50% butter & 50% high ratio shortening.  It did get pretty firm, but not as firm as SMBC.  Like I said it was very pretty and I might tackle it again another day.

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Norasmom Posted 12 Nov 2013 , 1:58am
post #14 of 16

Nice job!  A+!!

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Sliimmz Posted 12 Nov 2013 , 2:34am
post #15 of 16

Beautiful! !!!

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ilovetolearn Posted 12 Nov 2013 , 3:41am
post #16 of 16

Excellent job!!

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