Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi a friend of mine wants a cake with a gold drip, I bought the rolkem stuff
To paint it, I always use ganache for my drip, should I stick with ganache
Or use royal icing? And if royal icing what consistency should it be I’ve
Only ever used ganache?

Also what’s the best way to cover RKT in fondant?
Last time I did it was a mess and was bumpy, is there any tricks
To making it look smooth and neat or is there a good recipe someone recommends?

Also I’ve been seeing cakes with a tartan effect on fondant,
What’s the best method to achieve that? Couldn’t see a tutorial for it

Thank you!!

Hi Susan Forbes

I’ll try and answer your questions in order or asking. Here goes:

1…. I would stick with what you know. Ganache is great for making drips and tastes much nicer! Try and colour it with a little teddy bearbrown or ivory gel colour as this will make a better base for the gold. Let the drips harden off and then paint as you would do normally.

If you would like to use royal icng, have a look at the basic consistencies with Ceri Griffiths here:

Beginners Royal Icing Course

2…. For best results when using RKT, make sure it is tightly compacted. Really squeeze it to prevent it from cracking once it dries. I usually add a little melted chocolate to the mix. It just helps prevent it cracking.
To make it nice and smooth it will need to be covered twice to hide all the lumps and bumps! A base layer of fondant or base covering of marzipan can be used. I like marzipan best but that’s my personal choice. Let base layers dry overnight before applying the final covering of fondant. A base layer of ganache can also be used but it won’t be quite as smooth unless you really trowel it on.

There are lots of recipes for making RKT online. I use the original recipe on the back of rice kripie treat cereal packets or take a peek here: https://www.ricekrispies.com/en_US/recipes/the-original-treats-recipe.html

3. …. Tartan effect on fondant is done with printed icing sheets. If you have an edible ink printer, you could print off the tartan of your chocie on plain icing sheets or buy them ready printed online. Take a peek here for any type of tartan or even bespoke tartan:
http://www.rainbowsugarcraft.co.uk/Edible+Tartan+Sheets/0_CAAA831_CAAA826/PRAD026.htm

There isn’t a tutorial on the site but there are a couple on youtube if you search ‘tartan pattern on fondant’

Hope answers help. Please let me know if you need more information. 🙂

Thank you so much for answering all my questions MadeitwithLove!
I’ve saved all of these, learning so much from this site! (Sorry there are so many lately)

Please never apologise for asking questions. On this site we are all learning from one another by asking and giving answers. Your queries are most welcome! 🙂