Draped American Flag

Decorating By lsigler Updated 10 Mar 2009 , 1:26pm by lsigler

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lsigler Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 2:18pm
post #1 of 20

I am getting ready to make a cake for my son's Air Force Retirement Celebration on base...He want's the Flag draped across the upper layer. I have questions concerning whether I should make the draped flag ahead of time and let it dry or should I wait and do it after the cake is decorated? Also, I was thinking about using a sheet of white fondant and laying the red stripes of fondant and the stars on that. How would I adhere the stripes and stars...I thought of just using gel paste...would that work?
I'm also doing his AF Emblem and Logo on sugar sheets then attaching them to a sheet of fondant for stability...couple of questions can I do these in advance, say a week, and instead of attaching a stick to the back of the plaque, would it be possible while cutting out the fondant to extend the bottom and make a stake (similar to a plant tag, v shape). Would it hold up....I'm not sure if the cake will be viewed from all sides...

LS

19 replies
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vickymacd Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 2:35pm
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Even though the flag is not draped:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=446883

I cut each of the stripes individually and stuck them together. This was hard and not a good idea. I would have a base of fondant in one piece, then add the stripes on top, whether individual or some other method. Then you can drape the whole flag. Now, as far as draping beforehand, I would not do it unless the draping shape is EXACTLY how you will want it to be. If it dries, you're done with the design. There are a ton of flag cakes out there, so I hope someone will help. I just know that when I tried to piece the stripes and push them together, my stripes squished, if you know what I mean. The stars and blue area were also pieced and pushed together. Stars just sat on top and tapped down a bit. My method was not the best way to do it!

Also, when reading your post again....laying red stripes on top of your base of white would make the red stand up above the white if you think about it. If you press the red down, it will once again squish. I adhered the stars with vodka.

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lsigler Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 2:49pm
post #3 of 20

thanx for your input, and by the way, your cake looks "GREAT"....after thinking about what you said about the stripes...I have to agree...I think i would have to do the base sheet of fondant...then do stripes of each white and red....then adhere them to the base sheet. I don't think I would have to press them together too much and I think it would look like it was one sheet....with the blue section for the stars...I might just cut out the star shapes and place the section (with cut out star shapes) on the white background sheet of fondant....thus the white stars...what do you think? Everything else is being catered...he wanted me to do the cake....oie.... icon_cool.gif

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jlynnw Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 2:52pm
post #4 of 20

I did my drape with a sheet of white fondant. I rolled the red out as thin as I could get and cut, glue together with fondant and embossed with a stitching wheel. That kinda "hid" the raised part a bit. I waited until the cake was made and the morning of the afternoon delivery. (Did make a practice one and placed on stacked pans for confidence)

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lsigler Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 3:03pm
post #5 of 20

I like the idea of the seam stitch look...think I'll try it on a practice one...did you have any trouble transporting the cake with the draped flag on it....I am doing a 2 tier cake and the flag will be on the top tier....traveling seperately....this really is involved...isn't it.
Thanx for your suggestions...LS

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vickymacd Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 3:19pm
post #6 of 20

Wish I could have helped more, but thanks for the compliment.

Make sure you post your pic when done! You'll be fine! I always stress over cakes and they are only for my family!

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grama_j Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 3:31pm
post #7 of 20

If you are doing an edible image for the other decorations, why not do it for the flag too, and just drape that ?

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jlynnw Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 3:41pm
post #8 of 20

I did the flag in the am and delivered 3ish. The cake was a three tier. The flag covered most of the 6 inch and cascaded down to the 14 inch tier. The topper was a stabilized image. I would not do the veggie pick as the moisture of the cake may cause issue. I sandwiched a popscicle stick inbetween 2 pieces of fondant glued together with vodka. You could then make the image on both sides for viewing. Don't think anything different about delivery and the flag. It is just a colored swag, no dis on the American Flag usaribbon.gif Congrats to you son and be sure to post a pic. icon_wink.gif

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jlynnw Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 3:45pm
post #9 of 20

the edible image dries brittle and any movement will brake it. the image on the fondant and then draped cracks and chips I am guessing for the same reason, or at least that was my experience

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lsigler Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 3:45pm
post #10 of 20

hadn't thought about that...do you know if any pics on CC...sounds great and "simple" if it looks right...don't know why it wouldn't though...good thought..

How long ahead can I do the sugar emblem and logo....will they last forever like the fondant flowers do? I've worked with the sugar sheets but only putting them on cakes with BC or whipped icing. After a while they soften and start to dissolve.

Thanx for your suggestions...
LS

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grama_j Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 3:50pm
post #11 of 20

Good info on the edible image...... I didn't think of it getting hard, and it sure would without the BC under it.......
There are a TON of flag cakes in the gallery...... maybe you can get an idea from there....

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&meta=search&type=full&search=Flags

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jlynnw Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 4:12pm
post #12 of 20

the emblem can be done just like gumpast flowers. You can do it ahead of time and protect it just like you would flowers or any other decoration.

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KimAZ Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 6:29pm
post #13 of 20

I thought I'd share my two cents. I just made a flag for the first time to drape on a tiered cake. Originally I cut a piece of white fondant and then cut each red stripe to size. Then cut the blue background and each star out. Layed them on the white fondant, just glued on with water. It worked fine but....once I tried to lift the flag off my counter, it started to rip from the weight of it. I attempted to lay/drape it on the cake and it just ripped and the stripes seperated from the background. What a mess!
( about 2 hours of work for nothing)

So my next try was to just cut the white fondant flag, attach the blue background with the white stars, again with just water. I marked the lines with a cutter for the stripes so they would be straight. I layed that on the cake so it was draped the way I wanted. Then painted the red stripes on the flag with food coloring. That worked much better. It's the Patriotic Eagle cake in my gallery.

Hope that helps.
KimAZ

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lsigler Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 7:08pm
post #14 of 20

Thanx jlynnw for that helpful info....I'll atleast be able to get them done and out of the way.

KimAZ your cake is amazing....hope mine looks as good....we'll see.... Not sure about this but...I read somewhere in my research that the draping doesn't work with the MMF, infact someone suggested to use 50% fondant (regular) and 50% gum paste....probably because it would be stronger....thought I'd pass that along. Thanx LS

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jlynnw Posted 22 Feb 2009 , 8:32pm
post #15 of 20

I used wiltons for draping. I don't like mmf it does get stretch and can be and issues. Not tried it 50/50, but will give that a try.

KimAZ WOW! I gathered mine up a bit and it was a bit more swag like than yours. Did I mention WOW?

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Michellers Posted 23 Feb 2009 , 2:14am
post #16 of 20

I *just* did a draped flag cake. They wanted a patriotic yet romantic cake for a birthday/anniversary cake. I did mine differently from what others have done though. I bought blue and red Wilton color mist sprays from Michaels (wish I had an airbrush kit) and I sprayed the stripes and square. I put heart cut-outs where I wanted it to stay white (they wanted hearts instead of stars).

You'll want to make the flag last so it can go directly onto the cake or else the flag will crack when putting it on the cake. It looks more "flowing" that way.

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formerbuckeye Posted 27 Feb 2009 , 4:56pm
post #17 of 20

I made a draped flag for my husband's Army retirement cake. The picture is in my gallery. I'm sorry, I don't know how to attach it here. I used fondant and airbrushed the stripes then pasted on the stars. It turned out pretty good, but it did crack when I put it on the cake. Next time I would use gumpaste and roll it very thin before I airbrushed it or put on the stars. It would be much more pliable and not crack.

Sandra

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lsigler Posted 10 Mar 2009 , 12:58pm
post #18 of 20

Well, I made it and I think it turned out very nice. My son was in awe...thanks for all your input, it really made it easy. The use of the pasta press really helped with the stripes. As I get more pics I'll attach them.
LL

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formerbuckeye Posted 10 Mar 2009 , 1:22pm
post #19 of 20

It looks wonderful! Congratulations. Did you use gumpaste or fondant? Is it airbrushed?

Sandra

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lsigler Posted 10 Mar 2009 , 1:26pm
post #20 of 20

Thanx...I used 50/50 ratio fondant and gumpaste. By adding the gumpaste it really made it more flexible and easier to handle, especially when adding the color to the fondant. I made the flag the nite before and covered it on a cookie sheet. It was still flexible enough to drape it on the flag once I got to the hall.

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