Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi, please can you answer my question and help me.
I have been asked to make a 3 tier sponge cake.
1. Can I cover a sponge cake in sugarpaste (Massa Ticino) in the usual manner and when dry, pipe royal icing swirls all over the sides to completely cover, or will this then make the sugarpaste soggy?
2. Will it have to be a white chocolate ganache mixed with butter cream crumb coat, and then pipe ganache/buttercream mix swirls all over the sides to completely cover?

Any suggestions and tips other than this that you could give would be most appreciated.
Thank you,
Lorraine

Hello Lorraine

I don’t quite understand the question but I’ll have a go at answering.
First: Yes you can pipe royal icing over a sugarpaste covered cake. You can see Chef Ceri Griffths in his royal icing tutorial here :

Vintage Piping Techniques

Second: It is better to do ganache crumb caot without mixing buttercream into it. If you mix buttercream into you ganache it will be a very soft consistency and will not set up as strong as just ganache.
I don’t think it is a good idea to pipe royal icing on a buttercream ganache crumbcoat because the fat in the buttercream will break the royal icing down. The piped royal icing will not set.

Tips and suggestions:
Crumbcoat the cake with white chocolate ganache 3 parts chocolate to 1 part cream ratio. If you are living in a warm climate it is better to use more chocolate eg 4 part choc to 1 part cream. Use Paul’s ganching tutorials in the free/beginners section. When you have finished ganaching, enrob the cake with the carmas massa. Let it dry, pipe your royal icing decoration as in Chef Ceri’s tutorial using his recipe in the ingredients list in all his tutorials.

If you only want to use ganache and buttercream mix for decorating you can do that but not a good mix with royal icing. Hope this helps and that I have understood your question.