Hello everyone,

I'm starting to decorate cakes semi-professionally (friends and family, word of mouth, etc) and would like to figure out some way of creating samples and practice pieces without baking 15 actual cakes that would just go to waste.

I know most bakeries use styrofoam for the display cakes, but I'm not sure if I could scrape the buttercream off and re-use those. Do you use a "dummy" cake to practice on and/or create samples for photographs?

Thanks!
Tricia Ballad

Welcome to CC Tricia! You're going to love it here!

Lots of people use dummy cakes to build up a portfolio and to practice. And you can definitely re-use them over and over. Someone on here told me to take clear packing tape and wrap it all around the dummy so that it's easier to clean up...and it works like a charm. You can use them over and over and over.

Here are two of my dummy cakes!
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1336750

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1323953

Hope this helps!

Those are gorgeous cakes!

Thanks for the packing tape tip. I have one more question: It looks like your cakes are done in fondant. Would buttercream slip right off the packing tape?

Thanks again!

Yep, my cakes were fondant. I forgot that you mentioned buttercream! You could just ago and put the buttercream directly on the styrofoam and then stick the styrofoam in the dishwasher. Blakescakes does this! I think she just runs the dishwasher without the soap though. I could be wrong about the soap though. But she swears by it!

I thought this list of CC Acronyms would help you get around the forums easier!

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926.html

Thanks! That helps a lot - there's so much information here!

Tricia