Does anyone else find doing a dummy cake extremely difficult? From covering with fondant to stenciling with royal, I'm having the hardest time. What's the deal? I thought it would be easy since there was no rush and I could handle them better. I think it's because they are so light; maybe. 
I have something called "The cake Wheel" that has attachments. One has prongs that stick up and I just put the dummy on that. The product is a bit pricey.
What you can do (I used to use this and it works great), take a piece of plywood, pound some nails into it, flip it over and stick your dummy on the nails. If you put some non-skid shelf-liner under the wood, its not going anywhere.
I so agree! I thought they would be easier, but recently found that is not the case. I do think it's because they are so light - but I also think it's because they are so hard & dry. There is no give or moisture the way there is with real cake. I had the hardest time!
Good luck to you!
~diem
When I made my friend's wedding cake, I covered the two real tiers in less time than it took me to cover the dummy. It kept tearing and I was getting beyond frustrated!
Mine mock me.
They are impossible to cover. I can't get buttercream to smooth correctly on them. I tried fondant and it's not smooth either. I've been watching them all Summer in my house without air conditioning. One day they're sticky, then the humidity goes down and they're dry. Between the buttercream and fondant attempts I patched them with drywall mud- the kind that starts out pink and dries white. Where they were patched now has dark spots- I assume that when they got sticky due to the humidity the mud got damp and now can't dry. I can't stack these things to store them because I'm afraid they'll get sticky again and will stick together. Therefore, they are placed on the tops of various pieces of furniture around the house, amassing a lovely collection of dust and lint. I think I'm going to have peel off the fondant, scrub them, and put them in storage time out until I'm not ticked at them anymore. That should take about 3 years, give or take.
Really? I love working with dummies. No worrying about bulges or the heat or support systems. The best advice I can give you: file the top edges so that they're not as sharp, rub them down with crisco to stick your fondant to and to disguise any small blemishes, and use a small dab or glucose on your turntable to keep them in place while you're decorating. Although I do agree with Indy...6 inch dummies SUCK. Good luck!
i couldnt agree more! i bought some at a cake show hoping i could use them for practice. oh heck no! i cant cover them no matter what i use.
ive tried everything....so now they make a great holder for fondant work.
good luck.
luckily they were expensive.
The small ones are annoying
But for the lightness I just hollowed out the bottoms of them and filled with quick cement I had so now they don't move 
I like this idea. I've been toying with getting some cake dummies for practice to hopefully get a cake decorating job. You need a portfolio and I don't need to have so much left over cake, so I was thinking dummies for the portfolio.
I use them all the time. In fact, made my first demo cake for a bridal fare coming up in Jan (need 6 of them so I have to fit them in here or there) and it was a cinch. I, too, use crisco as my crumbcoat and that seems to really help. I did get a tip here that seems to really help and that's to use squares or rounds of non skid mat under the dummy for covering. Holds them in place nicely.
The funny thing is when I go to move the finished demo cake..I completely forget, every single time, that it's just dummies and weighs nothing and I always grab it up with a bit too much umph and nearly toss it every time! LOL!
I'll post the one I did today whenever the photos work here again. I'm really really happy with how it turned out!
Cat
I'm doing a bridal show next weekend. I planned to do cake dummies with the top 6 inch tier being real so I can use as a give away. Not having done dummies before. I'm wondering how you stack them. I mean what holds them together. With a regular cake you have dowel support and all the weight. How should I transport them? this is my first show and I'm a newbie!!
I have something called "The cake Wheel" that has attachments. One has prongs that stick up and I just put the dummy on that. The product is a bit pricey.
What you can do (I used to use this and it works great), take a piece of plywood, pound some nails into it, flip it over and stick your dummy on the nails. If you put some non-skid shelf-liner under the wood, its not going anywhere.
Thanks for this bit of advice. I have to cover 2 3" dummies in a while and was getting worried about how they would cover. Im sure this will help me loads. 
I loved how EASY my dummies were to cover. Flawless edges and such. My only problem was, I wanted to re-use them. Trying to get the fondant off after attaching it with water was IMPOSSIBLE! Does it come off easier if you use crisco? I, too, used RI between the layers. Worked like a charm. Love the ideas for keeping them still during covering. Will have to look into those. 
I am sorry to hear that some of you are having problems covering dummy cakes. I do them all the time and have no problem, even with the little 4" diameter tiers. Make sure you soften the upper edge to keep the fondant from tearing. Let them dry a few hours before stacking and decorating them. It is also easier to decorate them once they are stacked. They do not move around.
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