I am very new to this and want to make a win bottle cake, I have tried moulding fndant icing over a wine bottle, but am worried this may not work. I have also heard that cakes are easier to carve after freezing? Is this true?

Also, Any tips to make the Wine Crate would be much much appreciated!!! thankyou!!

I would make the wine bottle out of a candy/chocolate mold.They have molds that are a life size replica of a wine bottle.

Hi LauraLouise,
I just did my first one of these so hopefully I can be of some help. Here is the one I did .
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1737944

I used SugarEds blog http://sugaredblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/making-gumpaste-wine-bottle.html for the wine bottle. I only made 1 side because I was doing the crate cake. Try and make an even cut all the way around, mine was not the same height on both sides which was kind of a pain. Be sure not to tuck any fondant into the bottle opening or you will have trouble getting it off the bottle.

I left it for several hours and then just went back and made sure I could lift it off the bottle, and then I left it for 2 days. After 2 days I took it off the bottle and flipped it over so the inside would dry.

On day 3, I disolved some of the green food colors into vodka and added corn syrup. I would recommend 2/3 vodka to 1/3 corn syrup, I did 1/2 and 1/2 and it took a long time to dry (over 2 days). Paint the corn syrup/vodka mixture onto the bottle and let it dry for 1 day. This is what makes the bottle shiny. On the 2nd day it was still a bit tacky to touch and I was able to apply the label without any glue which was nice. I used foil candy wrapper around the top of the bottle. I used an edible image for the label but honestly I think it was a waste of money. No one is going to eat the bottle so I could have just printed it on paper but that said I could honestly say everything was edible except the foil.

Using the advice for Sugar Shacks Boxes and Bows DVD. I highly recommend the DVD. I made the side panels in advance. I estimated the size of the panels based on the size of the cake. I wanted them a little bigger so I could trim them down. I tinted the fondant in brown with a little gumtex (or tylose) but left the coloring marbled. I rolled out the panels, I recommend about a 1/4 of inch, mine were thinner and one broke. I then used one of my flower tools to make line impressions so it looked like wood panels. You can use a flower tool or a toothpick and draw the lines into the wood so it looks like wood grain.

Let the panels dry for a day, then flip them over to the other side for 24 hours, ,then flip back for another day. They're still pretty soft so do this carefully.
I disolved some brown food coloring in vodka and used a paper towel to wipe it on the wood panel to bring out the grain. Let it dry for several hours.

The day before the cake I melted 2 large bags of white chocolate candy melts into a tupperware container and let it setup. This gave me a block of chocolate that I will shave for the packing materials. Make more chocolate than you think you're going to need.

To make the cake, I baked 2 10X15 sheet cakes. Iced and filled them. It was a chocolate cake with choc frosting. I let the frosting crust, then I measured the cake length and the heigh and cut my panels to length using a new exacto knife or sharp knife. I had the height about 1 inch over the height of the cake.

I attached the panels with melted chocolate. Make sure you attach them at the seams so that everything is sturdy.

I shaved the chocolate on my cheese grater. I liked the effect of the single long blade but I also used the other graters to get different textures. It helps if your chocolate is not cold when you shave it. Too cold and it crumbles, too warm and it melts, it's kind of a pain to get it just right but you'll figure it out. For a cake this size it takes a LOT of chocolate

Then I placed the wine bottle on the shavings, and added more chocolate to hide any of the flaws on the rough edge of the bottle.

I know it sounds like a lot of work but it worked for me and because you do things on different days it's really great. It's not like 20 hrs in one day. You can really work ahead.

I HIGHLY recommend ALL of the sugar shack DVDs at www.sugaredproductions.com. They have totally changed my cakes and it really helps to see someone do it. Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm sure other people will pipe in as well.

Thankyou SO much for your comments and advice.
I live in London and cannot seem to find a lifesize wine bottle mold anywhere!! I was lookng for cake tins so maybe i should try a chocolate mold, i might have more luck.

Thanks Sillywabbitz for your detailed instructions. It is very much appreciated, i will post some pictures when it is finished, im sure it wont be anywhere near as good as yours, but practice makes perfect hey!

I recently made a wine bottle cake, and I made it with cake and covered it with fondant. I think it was about 12" long (actual size of the bottle). I made my own template from the wine bottle and got a long knife and carved it bits at a time until I was satisfied with it. It's in my photos if you want to see it.. hth
Good luck with whatever you decide to do

Here's a cool tutorial with some pictures: http://sugarsweetcakesandtreats.blogspot.com/2010/04/wine-bottle-in-crate-cake.html

Thanks for all of the great info!!!!

Thanks for all of the great info!!!!

Thanks for all of the great info!!!!

I also recently did one and molded fondant (mixed with tylose) over a bottle and it worked great (in my photos). Elisas Strauss also has one in her Confettie cakes cookbook that's made of cake. Her crate directions are very good...