I am making a piano cake with the keys laying on the outside edge of the cake. I've iced my cake with buttercream and am now ready to "attach" the keys... I'm wondering if those of you that have already done this would make each individual piano key, let it dry so that it dries nice and straight, and then "glue" it onto the cake, or do you lay a an entire strip of piano keys???? I'm not sure how to go about doing this and want to get it looking "perfect" because this is for a pianist who is also a perfectionist... I need to have this cake "impress"!!!

Can anyone help?

I would lay them individually

Thank you for that!!! I was leaning towards that too...

Question. I usually attach gumpaste and/or molding chocolate accents onto fondant with water or vanilla extract... when attaching to buttercream, would that form of "glue" work as well?

The buttercream itself should adhere and hold it in place. You could add a thin fresh line of buttercream or royal icing as you lay each key to form a glue.

I would make the keys out of gumpaste, let dry nice and hard and attach separately. If you apply them before the buttercream crusts i think they will stay put. If the icing has crusted just put a dab of fresh buttercream on the backs of the keys and it should hold.

You guys are awesome! I was hoping to use molding chocolate because it tastes better than gumpaste, but you're right, if it doesn't dry nice and hard, I may not get the same look from the chocolate...

You could also use pastillage for the keys... it would dry nice and hard just as gumpaste and I have added flavor to mine to help make it tasty.

Necco wafers are basically pastillage, so if you have ever eaten them you know what they can taste like. Add clear flavor extracts and you can still have white for the keys.

Only down side to pastillage is you have to work rather quickly. Seeing as how you are doing rectangles, you should be ok.

You sound like you are going to do just fine no matter how you decide! Good luck and remember the pictures!

Thank you so much!!! You guys were such a BIG help!!!! I will for sure post a photo!