Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi,
I’m looking for some help please…I don’t have much experience of working on cake dummies & was wondering the following….
What should I use to adhere the fondant to the dummy…edible glue, water or piping gel?
I’m making a 3 tier wedding cake (all dummies), do I need to use any dowels?
As the dummies are obviously lighter than a cake, do I need to attach them to anything to stop them from moving around to cover them?
If anyone could share their working sequence for this it would be appreicated.
Thanks

Hi tickle123

Dummy cakes are really easy to work so you’ll get them covered in no time at all!

Paul has a couple of great ways of adhering the fondant which you can see here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/carousel-cake/lesson-3-icing-the-cake

Some dummies come with chamfered edges and others sharp. The sharp edge dummies are slightly cheaper. They tend to be slightly harder to ice because that’s where you’ll get the tearing. The problem can be easilly fixed by covering the dummy with a thin layer of marzipan or fondant as a base. The chamfered edge dummies are a breeze, there’s no real need to cover with an additional layer of icing or marzipan. I find rolling the fondant out a little thicker than what would be used on a real cake hides any defects on the syrofoam. Since it’s a wedding display it might be a good idea to give them all an extra layer of cover to make them look more smooth. However it’s not necessary.

To ice a dummy stick it down with either royal icng or melted chocolate onto a cake card. Stick that down onto a working cake drum and let them both set. Now the dummy won’t move and you can ice it as if it was a cake.
Once iced leave the ‘cake’ to dry overnight before removing it from the working drum but not from the card. Commence stacking once all the dummies are dry. No dowels are required because the dummies are ridged and unlike cake they will not collapse into one another. However you will just need some royal icing or melted chocolate to stick them together.

If you’d like to learn a little more about dummy cakes, take a peek at my blog here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/blog/cake-dummies-by-madeitwithlove
If you are based in the Uk, the company featured in the blog is where Paul gets his dummies. You may be able get a discount if you mention to them that you are a Paul Bradford school member.

Finally, if you find the information in the blog useful, a comment will be much appreciated in the comments section below the blog. Happy decorating!

EDIT

There are many more related dummy threads on the site. To see them type in the search box ‘dummies’.

Hi MIWL,

Thanks for your reply & the links they are very helpful.

What do you use to adhere the sugarpaste to the dummy please? Paul demonstrates with Trex or similar in the link you provided but also mentions making up a glue. I’ve heard other people say to use piping gel. I just wondered what your preference is please?

Thanks again.

I use trex because if I want to remove airbubbles it’s easier to lift the icing without getting into a sticky mess Some people use syrup, equal quantities of sugar and water boiled up for a couple of minutes. Piping gel is ok but again gets messy, some people slightly loosen it with water. I did use to use it. The edible glue is made up with tylose powder and hot water. Make it in a container with lid. A quarter of a teaspoon of tylose powder to two or three tablespoons of hot water. Shake the mixture for a minute or two to combine. It will look lumpy at first but will eventually combine into a thickened clear glue. For more quantity, experiment with the amount of powder and water ratios to make a consistency you like. I make it the day before to allow the tylose strength to activate fully. You can use CMC powder or gum tragacanth in the same way. I use it for sticking small model parts, sugarpaste borders, ribbon and bows or flowers. Paul uses it on a host of different things.

Hope this helps.

ps: I should have said that the made up glue will last for approx three weeks to a month in the fridge. However because it’s so easy to make I find making it up fresh is much more hygienic. x