I have a few ''how do I....'' questions so thought I would put them all in one thread and see if anyone can answer some or all of them. Anyhelp is much appreciated! I have tried searching but I seem to get thousands of results and can't seem to find the answers although I know they will be in there somewhere!!

1) Best thickness of fondant to cover a cake? I think I do mine to thick so it doesnt go as smooth and look as ''clean'' at the edges, or is it just a case as Im not smoothing it enough with the smoothing tool?

2) My cakes always come out 1.5 inch after ive cut the top of to make it level so I have to do 2, is this to best way or should I double the mix and adjust the cooking time?

3) what do you do with cake wastage, my cakes seem to rise in the middle, kinda like a hill so I cut it off flat but there seems so much that I chuck in the bin!

4) How can I get gold like the circles & number on this cake

5) if you paint on with vodka, does it totally evaporate so there is no alcohol on it (something I was worried about when making a cake for my niece so didnt do it lol)

6) how do you all get your great range of colours (i.e luminous greens & pinks, 20 shades of orange etc) on your figures and fondants do you just mix in loads of different colours and need or do most of you paint after its set

I'm sure I had more but Im drawing a blank right now again!!!

Thanks in advance for any answers

1) Thickness of fondant: I shoot for between 1/4" and 1/8" thick (LOL, so I guess that would be 3/8"). You will find many different opinions on this, as it comes down to a matter of preference. If you apply a regular coat of buttercream, smooth it very well, and then put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, your buttercream will chill hard and you will be able to really work that fondant smooth.

2) It sounds like your cakes have quite a crown on them. You can try baking more batter in deeper pans, decreasing the temp and increasing the bake time, using Bake-Even strips, and using inverted flower nails or heating cores to try to get a flatter surface. Less crown = less waste.

3) Personally, I throw all of my cake scraps away. I'm not a fan of cake balls. You could save the scraps and make a trifle if you don't want to do cake balls.

4) Paint with gold luster dust thinned with vodka or another quick-evaporating liquid, such as lemon extract. I personally use 24K ground gold from www.creativecutters.com. It's item # C409. I also have several other brands of gold luster dusts but the 24K ground gold is by far the most amazing.

5) Yes, the alcohol completely evaporates.

6) Mix or paint. I personally mix lots of colors.

Hope that helps!

1) We used to try to roll it 1/8" thick. We got really frustrated with it. Then we read that Colette Peters rolls hers 1/4" thick, so we're going to try that.

2) A friend of ours taught us to fill the cake pans to 3/4 full. Right after removing from the oven, take your cake cooling rack, place on top of the top of the pan, and using your towels, push down and hold for a minute. Then you can flip in one motion and the cake will now be sitting on its cooling rack. We tried it and it's amazing! She thought it made the cake more dense, but we didn't think ours was.

3) We make cake balls. Mix with some frosting. Roll with some liqueurs (or not). Chill. Dip into chocolate. Chill. Enjoy! We made some for our annual Christmas party and we had just gotten Nicholas Lodge's letters strip. So we did colored letters to represent the different liqueurs. It was a big hit!

5) We use either vodka or rum. It mixes really well with the luster dust and it dissolves really quick.

We were waiting to hear the responses for 4 & 6. We normally just use luster dust for our colorants. We may try the other one.

HTH

Paul & Peter

( what do you do with cake wastage, my cakes seem to rise in the middle, kinda like a hill so I cut it off flat but there seems so much that I chuck in the bin!)

To elminate the hill, I does place a pan of hot water i on the bottom rack and the cake on the second rack in the oven and let it bake. The cake bakes and rise evenly. So no wastage. The stem from the pan of hot water helps the cake bake faster to.

I bake at 325 degrees. I also rotate the pans from side to side before I place them in the oven so that cake batter clings to the sides about a quarter of an inch above the regular batter line. I think that this allows the sides to rise more easily. Once the cake has been in there for a little while (sorry, don't really pay attention to exactly how long!), it will have baked on the sides, but still will be liquidy in the middle with a dome. At that point, I take it out and shake it so that the dome collapses and batter leaves the dome and goes onto the sides. The cake will be little uneven on top when you're done, but once you level it, it should be fine- with a lot less waste! Hope this made sense.

I have also heard great things about bake even strips.

I always make cake balls with the extra cake if mine rises in the center, As Peter & Paul said they are easy to make and they freeze well. Than I take them out when I want them and coat with chocolate, They are always a hit. And an easy dessert to make for company or to take along to a party. I never throw my cake away. Give them a try and if you have kids around they will love them.

Thank you all so much for you hints & tips

Paul & Peter : Those cake balls sound devine, I guess ill have to organise a party everytime I make a cake, oh well im sure no one will mine

Tguegirl, yes it did make sense thank you very much

Wildrose6633, i think your bang on the mark, the kids will love them, don't know if thats a good thing or a bad thing, don't want 300 kiddies raiding my house every night ha

I will give each tip ago and see which i think works best, cheers guys