I plan on getting started on my ICES Display cakes soon. I have two ideas and I'm kinda leading to them both. But I wanted to ask a question. For those that work with fondant alot, and color it yourself, do you have any problems with bold colors like black and red bleeding on to each other?

One idea I have is a black and white design and the other is black, red and white. I haven't made anything with those colors and let it sit any amount of time, so I don't know if they bleed or not. If I actually get it done early then they may sit for a week before the convention. And even if I don't get them done until last minute, I'd hate to open the box at the convention and see that the colors have bleed.

As far as the colors bleeding, I haven't had that happen once everything is cut and decorated on the cake. I accidentally wrapped a black ball of fondant with a white ball of fondant in plastic wrap and that did bleed into the white. Just an FYI though - practice first with the coloring black fondant. Sometimes the fondant changes texture if you have to use a lot of black food color. My satin ice and fondx get too soft if I color it solid black, and I cant cover a cake without it ripping. I would recommend starting with black colored fondant or chocolate fondant. And definitely only use Americolor; it gives the nicest colors in fondant. Good luck!

PLEASE!!! Use Satin Ice precolored red and black fondant. They've done the work for you! I've never had a bleeding problem either. Just be very careful with whatever you use for glue. Getting it too wet may cause bleeding.

For red and black if you don't have time to order it I would highly suggest making the small batch of MMF. Color your melted marshmallows BEFORE adding the PS and it makes it A LOT easier. I have not had any problems with it bleeding before.

I have to get back to work but if you have any other concerns about the MMF let me know.

Alrighty well I went to look at the prices for the Satin Ice just to have an idea if I wanted to pay that and shipping. At $13 for a 2lb bucket I can't afford that for a styrofoam cake.

Right now I'm considering doing two 3 tier cakes. One of them will be half black and half white, while the other will be red, black and white. For the black and white one I will need around 10lbs of fondant with half of it being black. I'm not totally sure on the red, black and white one, but I think it will be around 13.5lbs of fondant with 2/3rds of it being black and red.

I could buy the wilton 5lb box with coupons for $12 but that is still around $60 for fondant on a cake, there goes ICES shopping money!! For a cake that is just going to sit there for a couple of days then sit in a room until I soak the fondant off and use the dummies again I just can't see paying a ton.

Right now I'm thinking the cheapest way to go is the MMF, plus I can color it while making it and not have to kneed it in after. Easier on my hands.

Thanks for the replies. I feel better about doing the colors and not worrying about them bleeding.

You may already have done this but I would call www.satinfinefoods.com and ask if there is a local dealer near you.

since you won't be eating it why not use wilton? it's cheaper and there's precolored stuff to.

miriel, I will keep that in mind if I want to use it in the future. I may even look into getting some at the convention this year. But for a big display cake I just can't see paying their prices.

With one of the cakes half of the cake will be black so that is atleast 5lbs of black fondant for it. With the other I'm guessing around 3lbs black and 3 lbs red. At $13 for 2lbs of precolored fondant that is way more than I would spend on a dummy cake.

dandelion, Wilton is a consideration. I actually use it all the time and don't have a problem with it. But I have the same issue on price. It is cheaper than the precolored Satin Ice, but Wilton's precolors only come in 4.3 oz packets, that would add up really fast.

I can get the 20lb white box with a 40% off for $12 but that is still around $60 for fondant. The MMF recipe looks like it will cost me under $3 and even if i need around 11 recipes (if my math is close) that would be around $33, so that is half the cost of the Wilton.

Even though I'm using part of my dummies from last years cake I will still need to buy some more styrofoam so that is around $10 there. I'm trying to figure out a free or cheaper option for a cake dummy for my second cake.

I feel so cheap! But a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do right? I'm trying to do this will the smaller amount of money cause what I don't spend making the display cakes, I get to use shopping.

I totally understand where you're coming from.

There will be lots and lots of cake toys at convention that you will want to get

I would just caution against using MMF for pure white fondant. I have always found it to have more of an off-white color. For your ICES cake, you might want to use premade fondant for the white.

i read somwhere here on cc that the discoloration of the mmf will only happen if you heat your marshmellows too long and they scorch. someone also mentioned that using generic brand marshmellows sometimes causes an off-white.
i always use kraft jetpuffed marshmellows and i think it comes out pretty pure white.