Not sure if I am wording this right, but I have a customer who ordered a cake for next week and wants the top of the cake to have hearts on a "wire" coming out of the cake.

What type of wire/stick should I use to get this effect? I am thinking it would need to be a pretty heavy gage wire.

Please help!!! Thanks!

18 to 20 gage wire should be fine. I use 18 all the time.

Not to hijack the thread OP, but I have a question about the sprays as well. The difference is I want them to be much longer....at least 2 feet...is there something I can use for that? TIA

And you just stick them in the cake? They hold up fine?

I am attaching a picture of what I do with wire. The hold up just fine. I can stick them in the cake and have them come out as far as I like.

This is exactly what I was looking for!!! Thanks!

It's best not to stick wire into a cake,check this out.
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-632290-wire.html

i made the same look, but put my wires into coffee stirrer with a touch of icing to keep them in there. cut the stirrer to fit from cake board to top of cake, and wire to fit from cake board to where you want it, so the wire and stirrer can rest without worrying about falling too far into the cake (they are all the way in)

I am by no means an expert but I used 20 gague floral wire and then I used a straw to insert into the cake.

Momma2many - this is almost like the cake I am making! The bottom is going to be hot pink with zebra stripe, top is going to be white w/hot pink hearts (square cakes) and a bow on top w/sprays of pink and white hearts.

Thanks all for your tips, I def. will use straws!

I cant wait to see it! this is my first and only cake so far. make sure you insert the hearts are still soft (i sacraficed alot of hearts because I waited till the hearts were hard, lol) but hay it was a learning expirence!

how did you do your zebra stripes? I have never done them before! I am thinking just take my round cutter and wing it with crazy stripes.

that was exactly what I did. I cut irregular stripes then cut them in half at angles and stuck them on it till I was happy with it. also I had a little black messy transfer when I was doing it so i took a little white ball of fondant and rubbed it over the black spots on the white fondant and it cleaned it up a bit. I also pinched the bottoms of the hearts to make them them more intersting.

I am actually using buttercreme for the cake, so hopefully I won't have transfer issues.

Your cake looks amazing for your first go at it!!!

thanks. I had someone back home to make them for me but I just moved 5 hours away from her and couldnt find anyone here. so i decided to take a dive and make the cake I wanted. now the cake bug has bitten me. untill this my only cake expirence has been limited to opening a can of icing and spreading it on top. I joked with my husband that I am bad about skippinjg the basics when i learn new things and going straight for the advanced, so if it didnt work out we were prepared to run to walmart and buy a sheet cake. i acctually had people want my card at the party, lol, they were amazed that it was my first ever cake!

I use a straw, coffee or regular or bubble tea. I insert the straw then insert the wire. If I use a large straw for big center sprays, I place some fondant in the straw first then stick the wires in so the fondant will hold the wires in place long enough for me to arrange them and then I squirt melted chocolate or candy melts into the straw so they wont move.