I've never used ganache before, but would like to try it on a cake I'm making. I'm going to attempt to make a Russian stacking doll cake (carved from 8" rounds stacked 16" high). I think it would be difficult to use fondant (because of the height), so I wanted to try poured ganache.

I've never used food coloring to paint with, so I was wondering if anyone had tried it and if it would work on ganache?

There are large sections of bright colors on the doll that I would like to mimic. I know I could do sections of fondant, but I really wanted the whole thing to look smooth, without layers. Does anyone have suggestions for what I could do for those sections? Do you think royal icing would dry too quickly to fill in a large section and get it smooth?

Thoughts? I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew.