Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi
Does anyone know if it is possible to cut a 6″ round dummy to a 5″ round dummy. I need one urgently and my cake shop does not sell….HElp please…. Thanks

Hi Jackie
Why don’t you make a dummy using rice krispie mix. Melt 50g butter and 250g marshmallows in microwave then add 150g rice krispies or enough so that there is no liquid mixture left. Line a 5 inch cake tin with cling film then add the mix and leave to harden. This would be a lot easier than trying to cut a dummy cake, kind regards Grace

Hi jackieharris

Dummies can be ‘shaved’ with a serrated knife but it can get messy. I tried it and the results for me were not great, I’m not the best person for carving! In the past I’ve used a plastic food container with lid. Fill the container up, (I emptied a bag of flour into it) to weight it down. Unfortunately the lid doe leave a slight lip which I concealed by piping a snail trail. If you want to carve down the dummy place a 5″ cake card on the top as guide to get the correct size. If you look here http://www.cakeflix.com/questions/faking-a-cake-dummy there’s a couple more ideas. Sorry can’t help more. x

I have made one with the rice krispies, its in the fridge now with a weight on top. Hopefully it will work. Do I need to put anything on it before I cover in fondant ?

You could cover it with a thin layer of marzipan or fondant. This will help cover up any lumps and bumps to give a smoother finish. I cover mine with marzipan. Hope it works out for you Jackie. x

The only way I was able to cut a dummy was by using a hot knife which I held over the cooker and immediately cut the polystyrene, it just glided through. If you do decide to use this method make sure you are using an old knife as it does leave a residue on the blade. Hope this helps!

the craft stores sell styro cutters. the handle looks like a torch light and it has a wire that gets heated up and cuts through the styro like butter. its a bit tricky to get it even but if you use a template and some practice you will get the hang of it. good luck.