I have a wedding cake to do in a week and i need i thought i would be able to do what i promised. Now that i think about it though im very nervous. I need to put a fondant ribbon around the center of the tier. instead of putting the ribbon around the bottom of the tier it will go in the very middle. If it was a cloth ribbon i know i could do it but will a FONDANT ribbon stay horizontally around the middle of a buttercream iced tier? Please help (with details).

Attach it with melted chocolate. I find it odd that you wouldn't have practiced this before now since it's for someone's wedding.

tiggy - so the melted chocolate will adhere the fondant to the buttercream? To clarify: I have done ribbon on cakes but she changed to fondant at the last minute. I have also done fondant on fondant but never fondant on buttercream in the center of the tier horizontally. It was this minor detail that i forgot i had never done. It is for a friend of the family and she isnt paying for the cake (not that it makes a difference in my eyes though). I plan on practicing this weekend as well now that i know this is a potential issue.

swingme83, I just did that on a cake -- fondant ribbon on BC, middle of the tier. It was a PIA because the fondant kept stretching and tearing, but water does work well for adhering fondant to BC (however, my BC was well crusted). Next time, though, I'm going to use Jennifer Dontz's white chocolate fondant for the ribbon. It doesn't stretch like regular fondant, so I'm thinking it will hold up MUCH better and be MUCH easier to place in the middle!!! The melted choc. that tiggy recommends sounds good, too. Good luck and HTH!

PDXSweetTreats thank you for sharing your experiance i really appreciate it. What kind of fondant were you using? I will be using satinice. Also did you roll your fondant really thin...i wonder if that would be worse or better. I plan on trying this weekend to see how it goes i will try to post so others can see how it goes.

thanks again.

I have done fondant ribbons on BC. I do not use crusting buttercream but put the fondant details on very soon after I have frosted to ensure it sticks. I fi let the cake set up though I just use a little water on back of the fondant to help it adhere. When it comes time to putting heavier things like a bow I either attach with RI or the other posters use of melted chocolate is a great idea as well.

Another problem i though of is instead of the fondant sagging have you ever had a problem with the icing peeling off the cake?

after cutting your fondant ribbon(maybe pearl dusting it) roll it up, put on a little cake circle or so, start at back of cake , put your melted chocolate on cake , not on ribbon. attach ribbon and go slowly around cake to the back again. this will help support so that the fondant won,t stretch. hth using support like this is useful in so many ways of adding fondant ,etc. to your cakes. even fun foam cut up . and lay your fondant peices on .

Hi, swingme -- I was using Pettinice -- great flavor and taste, but it stays soft -- way too soft -- at least for me, in putting on a ribbon. I think Satin Ice w/work well; it seems to be a little denser and will probably hold up better. With regard to the icing peeling off the cake, is the fondant peeling it off -- dragging it down? If so, then your fondant ribbon might be too thick. Generally, to get it to look good, you want something with less bulk. Perhaps after cutting the length of fondant ribbon, you could let it "set up" for a few minutes until it's easier to work with. That way, you could get the ribbon piece thinner, which will look good, and still get it to roll easily around the cake. HTH.

PDX - yes that was what i was wondering if it would be something to consider as a potential issue. So it seems if i keep the ribbon thin enough then it shouldnt pull the icing off once attached. thanks!

icer - thank you for your advice. She doesnt want any shine but maybe i could use cornstarch or pwerdered sugar and then dust it off. thanks!

Update - i tried water and i tried piping gel. Both worked very well. I even took the practice cake and started banging and shaking it on the counter to see if the ribbon would fall off, but it did not (i waited a good 20-30 minutes). The only problems i ran into that i have questions on are:

1) when i pushed the ribbon onto the cake it would leave an indent in the icing (minor issue) any ideas how to avoid this (i.e. pushing it onto the cake with enough pressure to get it to stick but not too much to indent the icing)
and
2) its very hard to get the ribbon exactly centered aroudn the whole tier - any helpful tips for this? do you simply measure and mark a line all the way around before you put the ribbon on?

Hi, Tricia --

Glad to hear it went well! I think it's just an experience/practice thing not to push too hard to get your ribbon to stick w/out indenting the icing. And, yes, I would mark your cake -- either a center line (if you're good at eyeballing the center of the ribbon to the center mark), or make a top or bottom mark to line your ribbon along. HTH and best wishes!

I used a laser level a few weeks ago for this. It worked well as long as you can keep your hands out of the beam of light.

I measure and mark, so I have a line to follow for the top or bottom, whatever works.

To adhere without pressing with your fingers, why not use a fondant smoother? Nice flat large surface will help not leave indents. You might call in some help for a second pair of "hands" on this one, too, I often do.

Off topic --

Chef Stef, I just saw your Margarent Braun cake -- WOW!! Nice job!!!

On topic --

I'm doing another ribbon soon, and I'll try the fondant smoother method. Sounds like it'd work great.