Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

I have been asked so many times to make a cake with chocolate panels which I have done but the decorating process I find really difficult….it’s so different to fondant…fondant you can make whatever you like but chocolate is so different…i am making a twin boys 21st birthday cake this weekend with plain choc panels and choc and gold transfer sheet panels but need ideas for decorating the top layer if the cake???

Hi Fusion Cakes

You haven’t mention the age of the twin boys so it’s difficult to give suggestions. Chocolate panel cake can be decorated with models in much the same way a a fondant decorated cake. This link http://www.hungryhappenings.com/p/chocolate-making-tips.html is all about chocolate, from melting and tempering to model making. You could use white modelling chocolate and by colouring it make models to place on the dark choco cake. Colour on a dark cake looks stunning. I haven’t actually made a panel cake but have ganached and decorated with models made of gumpaste. If we could have a little more information please our members could perhaps get their thinking caps on for better ideas.

Sorry Fusion Cakes, scrap the first few words of my previous reply. I’ve just noticed you HAVE said the age of the boys, must be reading with my eyes shut!! How about hobbies, interests, champagne glass and bottle, caricatures models of the two of them. If you used white modelling chocolate you could colour it with powder colours for models to place in between the panels if it’s a tiered cake. There are idea for boys 21st birthday cakes in google which could be adapted for chocolate.