Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I have to stick LOTS of pearls on a sugarpaste covered cake. Literally all over. Worried piping gel will stay sticky and disguise flavour. Any hints would be helpful. Thank you.

Thank you so much for your detailed help. I have an applicator but my pearls are all different size so can’t use it 🙁 I’m sure your instructions will be of help to me. Many thanks.

Hi fancycakes12

The pearls can be stuck on with royal icing or edible glue. I use a small parchment paper icing bag and fill it halfway with royal icing. Cut a tiny hole at the end, enough to deliver a tiny dot of the fluid to the cake where the pearl is to sit. Hold the pearl on it for a few seconds to make sure it has adhered.

If you don’t want to make royal icing, take a small amount of sugar paste, the same colour as the covering and soften it in your hands. Flatten down on the counter and add to it tiny drops of water. With a pallet knife, paddle the water and icing together to start forming a runny icing. Add enough drops of water until the icing is of piping consistency but not too thin. Scoop the icing up and place it in the piping bag and proceed as above. If you make a mistake or if the icing makes a bit of a mess, you can gently remove any marks with a damp paintbrush.

Alternatively, you can use a dragee applicator. Google, ‘cake decorating pearl applicator’ to see the different suppliers and how to use the tool. It is much quicker than by hand application, although I’ve heard it takes a while to get the hang of using it. There are tutorials on youtube if it is of interest to you.

Hope some of the suggestions help. 🙂

I hope all goes well with your project. I know how time-consuming hand embellishments can be. 🙂