Do all of you pro's out there put your ribbon on before you stack the cake or after? I dont want to mess up the side of the cake with either. Thanks for your replies!!

I always put mine on after you stack.. That way, you can make it completely flush with the bottom of the next tier.

A tip I just learned on CC (apologies for not knowing who to give credit) is to iron the ribbon onto the waxed side of freezer paper (Reynolds Freezer paper near aluminum foil in the grocery store, about $7) before placing on the cake. Brilliant! That way the cake only touches the food safe paper, not the ribbon, and the ribbon doesn't bleed, and the ribbon doesn't come loose from the paper underneath.

Can I ask a second question along these lines? How do I attach the ribbon? I am guessing royal icing but how long does it take to set up? I have a cake that I need to use silk ribbon on, but I am not sure how to attach... sorry, I am not trying to take over this forum...

Hiya, not sure if you are attaching the ribbon to buttercream or fondant. I work with fondant 99% of the time, always attach my ribbon after stacking and I just attach it at the back with some dress pins (same colour as the ribbon or similar). I don't use royal icing anymore for the front etc as I have found it can show through.

I stack first then attach the ribbon. As aprilblack said, then it's flush with the base, and also, if you don't get your ribbon wrapped tight enough, it can fall back off the edge when you pick it up to stack it. I also attach with pins. I use straight pins from the sewing dept at Walmart. They have a very small silver head so they're not easy to spot.

Attach the ribbon after stacking so you can adjust it to hide any imperfections where the two cakes meet.

Use double sided tape - attach one side of the (double sided) tape to one end of your ribbon, then wrap the ribbon around the cake (starting with the untaped side), and the taped edge will then attach to the ribbon where you began. Tape only touches ribbon on both sides...you are not actually attaching the ribbon to the cake in any way, just to itself.

I have never tried using pins or tape, I have used buttercream or royal icing. As long as you use a solid ribbon, not sheer it doesn't normally show through, I generally just need it at the back. I am going to try the pin and tape methods though, it might be easier.

I'm going to attach it to buttercream. Thanks for all the repys and ideas!

Do you stick the pins into the cake?

I dont like the idea of using pins, but to each his own. I actually attach the ribbon before stacking because I usually deliver my cakes unstacked. I just cant carry a cake fully stacked and its too much trouble to put the ribbon on at the site. What I do is carry a pair of tweezers and I can grab the bottom of the ribbon after stacking and pull it down just a bit to touch so you don't see the board or a gap. I do use a push pin temporarily though. I use a pin to hold the ribbon and then I use hot glue. It only touches the ribbon and I can carry this with me. I dont use a glue gun, I juse carry a lighter and a glue stick. I heard that the Blue Bell Ice cream guy does this to reseal boxes and thought it would work great with my ribbons.

I apply after I stack.

I attach ribbon by using a dot/blop of BC on the ends, in the back of the cake. Holds fine. I never use royal for anything cake.

I tried once or twice to attach ribbon after I stack, but that doesn't work for me. I can't carry stacked cake to venue, so I have my ribbon already on the cake.

yes, wish I could stack in 5 minutes!!! One day...

Guys, don't overthink this! I have a 3 tier cake. The two bottom tiers already have the dowels in them. I sit it in place. I just sit the next two tiers in place. I wrap the ribbon around the base and secure it with a dot of BC. Boom! Done! Out the door I go!

THere's no work with a "stack and wrap a ribbon" cake. As boring as I find them, they were a great profit maker because there is no work to 'em!

Debbie, Someday I'll get to be as good as you!!!

Do you put anything on the back of the ribbon? I have a cake with a pewter ribbon to go on the bottom. I don't want it to look like grease spots on it.

I get it. Mine is always crusted, so I'll try it. THANKS!!

Mareg,

Here's another choice for you: edible ribbons.

These ribbons are made by smoothing SugarVeil over our "Celebration Ribbons" Confectioners' mat. Really easy to do, and you can make them in the exact color you want. And a tiny bit of moisture allow them to stick to any surface: buttercream, fondant, whipped cream icing, ganache, etc. They look perfect and no bleed-thru. You can also take them with you and place on the cake at the venue. I'll post a few photos below.

Thanks much,

Michele at SugarVeil

Michele, those are awesome...do they hold their shape easily? You know how fondant ribbon can stretch and become uneven? Does sugarveil handle more easily than a fondant ribbon?

Those ribbons are awesome! I have purchased the starter kit for sugarveil and haven't had a cake play date yet. Do the ribbons come in different widths?

Another reason I add my ribbon before stacking is because I use a non-crusting icing. So, after putting the cake in the fridge to chill for awhile, I find it easier to handle and I can sit and have the cake eye level to ensure I'm putting the ribbon around the cake evenly.

edit to add...just went sugarveil website and got my qusetion answered.

Wow those look awesome. Do you order the ribbons or do you make them?

Thanks, all. We are really excited about this "Celebration Ribbons" Confectioners' Mat - it's been in the works for a long time, and the ribbons are really amazing. You smooth white SugarVeil over the mat shown here: http://www.sugarveil.com/mat/sugarveil-mat.htm

Then scrape the mat cleanly (the white SugarVeil ends up being only in the letters, designs, and borders incised in the mat). Give the SugarVeil about 30 minutes to begin to set, then smooth a solid color of SugarVeil over the entire mat. When that layer is set (I usually just leave it overnite), you peel the mat from the solid sheet, and then cut the "fabric" sheet into ribbons.

I found that if you have a rolling cutter (a tool that quilters use) and a straight edge, you can zip thru cutting the ribbons really fast. You can also use scissors with decorative edges for a different look. If you want a ribbon without a message, you can cut the ribbons that are between the message ribbons and have just a solid ribbon with a white borderline.

There will soon be a video on our channel at youtube.com/sugarveil showing this as well as a new technique of making monograms using the loop designs on the mat. We just posted an album of photos showing these crocheted-looking monograms on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sugarveil. I'll also look into posting a few of those photos here, too.

Auntie, you can cut the ribbons to whatever width you would like, even combining two lines at a time. You can also (with a slight bit of moisture) attach the ribbon to a solid sheet of SugarVeil and make bows with ribbon edges.

Our website shows a pre-buy situation for the mat, since we're still a few weeks away from having a stock of them, but we are hoping to have a small quantity in hand at ICES end of this week (we'll be demoing in the Icing Images booth 42.

And Mjoy, the ribbons hold their shape perfectly - they are flexible but do not stretch out of shape.

Thanks much,
Michele at SugarVeil