A bride wants a beach themed wedding cake and I was wondering where to buy beach themed cake accessories like in the picture. Can they be edible?
I made this cake too!! My bride sent me a picture and wanted me to reproduce it.
Yes, they're all edible. Shells are made out of fondant/gumpaste and coral from royal icing. You could also use white chocolate for the shells.
I couldn't find the exact same shell molds but I substituted as best I could.
It was a fun cake to make!
Good luck!
The bride said she is going to e-mail me pics of cakes she likes the look of, I don't know if she'll choose this one. I am just researching before she contacts me again. I found a site in the Uk which sells a mould for the sea horse, shells and star fish but I do not know how to to the coral. Is there a template that you used with the royal icing? Also, what are those colours used to make the sand colour? I have dark brown. Can I mix that with something?
That coral is very precise, very beautiful. I would imagine that it's RI. Another way I learned to do it, can't remember where I learned it, is to crush ice and put it in a bowl. Then pour melted chocolate over the ice. Then put it in the fridge or freezer. The ice will help to give shape to the chocolate to look like coral. It does take a little practice but not to bad a learning curve. And, if you don't like how the piece turned out, when it's dry, just melt it again. If you want larger pieces, take one that is already done and put it in the ice and pour more chocolate on the ice attached to it, adding some to the piece already done, and you can get different twists and turns with it.
That's probably more for a fun cake, but thought I'd share, just in case. For an elegant wedding cake, I think I'd print out a phot of what I wanted, put down some nice waxed paper and pipe with RI.
Thanks for the tip. How can i make those colours by the way? How much would you charge for this cake?
I made some sample coral out of royal icing just freehand. I googled "coral" and got a picture and went by the picture. It turned out really nice but before I got a chance to show it the bride, she told me she didn't want the coral (because you don't find it here in the cold waters off Newfoundland) so I didn't need to use it. Also, she only wanted three tiers instead of four.
With the graduating colours, I just made batches of fondant using different amounts of melted chocolate for each one to give the different colours.
The sand was a mixture of white sugar to give a little sparkle, graham wafer crumbs and vanilla wafer crumbs. The two different type crumbs were slightly different colours so it added a natural colour dimension.
I did another beach type cake as well that's really pretty. It has the seashells with a lighthouse on top. I can send it to you if you like.
classycakes, did you just pipe the royal icing randomly when doing the coral (with out a template)?
yes, I printed off a picture of coral from the internet and imitated how the branches or spikes (whatever you call it!!!) were shaped. There are hundreds of pictures on the internet so it's just a matter of finding one that looks easy enough to duplicate and one that looks like the picture.
I guess if you enlarge the picture you could put some waxed or parchment paper over the actual picture and trace it too.
With regard to pricing, can't help you much there because ingredient costs vary from location to location. I took my base price for the three tier cake, added the extra time and cost to make the coloured fondant and the "waves", then added the time and cost to make the sea shells and the like, then added the cost for the "sand". I charged $450 for the cake but that could be higher or lower than cakes in your area. You will have to source out your costs and decide what's right for you.
I didn't include the cost for the actual sea shell molds because I added it to my inventory of tools and I've used it since then on other cakes. I would only charge for a mold if it was something I would never use again.
I think I would charge this £350 in the UK. On another thread I read that you can put non perials on the corals so they can look more textured. What are they? Also, what tip nozzle did you use when piping the RI?
They are sprinkles or edible pearls or beads. I just used a number 3 tip, small round circle. I used it with a "shaking or jerking" motion so it would come out knobby or crinkled. It's hard to explain 
. Normally with this tip you would pipe a smooth line - I did one like my granddaughter would do!!! I then sprinkled it with a luster dust to make it sparkle.
what colours did you use to colour the fondant?
I used ivory for a base for the fondant, then separated into three groups. One third I left plain ivory, the second one I add some melted chocolate and some cocoa powder til I got the right shade, then the last one I doubled the amount of melted chocolate and cocoa powder. I didn't use brown food colouring at all.
Didn't the fondant go too wet and unmanageable after putting the melted choc?
Sorry....I'm not explaining this very well, am I???
I made three batches of fondant. All of them had an ivory base. The first batch I set aside to use as is.
The second batch, besides the ivory, I added melted chocolate and cocoa. I add the chocolate when it's at the wet stage of mixing with half the icing sugar, then I add the cocoa mixed in with the rest of the icing sugar.
The third batch, I added twice as much melted chocolate and cocoa. Again I added it during the wet stage, then added the cocoa with the balance of the icing sugar.
Can't quite remember the ratio. I think I melted one cup of chocoate and used 1/3 and then 2/3. Cocoa maybe 2 tablespoons and then 4 for the darkest tier. Something along those lines.
The scallops or waves at the bottom used up what was left from the ivory and light chocolate fondant.
if you are using gel color and trying to achieve these shades, just take a small amount of fondant and experiment. If you are using brown gel color, you shouldn't need much to get your lighter brown shade, then just add more until you get the shades that you are wanting.
As for the shells, you can find molds for them. I did a beach theme wedding cake and I bought a silicone mold from global sugar art. I used melted white chocolate and once the chocolate was set I unmolded the shells and used luster dusts in pearl, oyster and bronze colors to shade them. if you use melted white chocolate it's a good idea to tap the mold or "drop" it on the counter/tabletop to remove any air bubbles.
As for the coral, I'd do as suggested with the royal icing. Using the shaking/jerking motions should give you the texture you are after and then just dust with your luster dust.
I just used a number 3 tip, small round circle. I used it with a "shaking or jerking" motion so it would come out knobby or crinkled. It's hard to explain
. Normally with this tip you would pipe a smooth line - .
Boy, this should be a cinch for me them. That shaking/jerking motion is usually how my hand is going when I'm trying to get the straight line..... LOL
I did a birthday beach cake, no near as nice as this one though! I used white chocolate to make shells. I think I even found the molds at Joann's or Michael's. For the coral, I used chocolate again, then sprinkled it with sanding sugar before it set for texture. It was an easy cake to do.
Classy cakes, you sound like you make the fondant yourself. I will be using ready made fondant so I may not be able to mix melted choc. Akgirl10, like your cake! What is sanding sugar by the way?
Yes, I make all my own fondant except for black which I order in.
Also, how do you paint on / colour white choc shells? When doing the royal iced coral, how can I make sure it doesn't snap when taking off the paper?
I think I would charge this £350 in the UK. On another thread I read that you can put non perials on the corals so they can look more textured. What are they? Also, what tip nozzle did you use when piping the RI?
my wedding cake was 3 tiers and its was very simple, white fondant white red and silver hearts cascading down the tiers, all tiers were sponge. i paid £300 and the work would have been nothing in camparison to a cake as detailed as this!
i dont know anything about pricing cakes but i personally would pay more for that cake! 
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