Seperator Plate Question

Decorating By smiling1809 Updated 3 Mar 2005 , 4:40am by SquirrellyCakes

smiling1809 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
smiling1809 Posted 26 Feb 2005 , 4:47am
post #1 of 24

When doing a cake with columns, should I put each cake on a foiled board, decorate and THEN put it on the seperator plate at the reception, or do I decorate it ON the plate without a cake board under it?

23 replies
Skylar Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Skylar Posted 26 Feb 2005 , 2:56pm
post #2 of 24

You need to put some type of cake board underneath so your separator plate does not get cut when the cake is cut. You can put the cakes on boards the same size and then on the separator plate.

cakemommy Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cakemommy Posted 26 Feb 2005 , 4:59pm
post #3 of 24

This may sound bizzare but it works. I was taught to hot glue the cake (already on the same size cardboard) to the separator plate using non-string glue sticks. You can still remove the cardboard and glue from the plate once all is said and done. This is just and extra assurance the cake will not budge especially if your cake tiers are not directly sitting on one another.
hope this helps. It's worked for me numerous times.


Amy

GHOST_USER_NAME Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
GHOST_USER_NAME Posted 26 Feb 2005 , 6:59pm
post #4 of 24

I've never heard of non-string glue sticks. Where are you purchasing yours?

MrsMissey Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MrsMissey Posted 26 Feb 2005 , 7:58pm
post #5 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by smiling1809

When doing a cake with columns, should I put each cake on a foiled board, decorate and THEN put it on the seperator plate at the reception, or do I decorate it ON the plate without a cake board under it?




f I make an 8" cake for instance, I put it on an 8" grease proof cake board..just use a little icing to make it stick to the board. The I put that on top of a 10" separtor plate..again, I just put use a little icing to make the board stick to the separator plate. Then I decorate the cake. To transport that same cake..I take a 12"cake board and press the feet of the separator plate into that and put everything in the 12" box to go. It keeps the decorated cake from touching the sides of the box or getting messed up!

GHOST_USER_NAME Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
GHOST_USER_NAME Posted 26 Feb 2005 , 8:31pm
post #6 of 24

My first instructor taught us to use large egg trays (turned upside down- I think they hold 30 eggs) to transport stacked cakes. I've only done it a few times but it works. She even gave one to a customer like this and he took it on a ferry ride to an island where the reception was being held. The totally constructed, stacked cake made the journey unharmed.

cakemommy Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cakemommy Posted 26 Feb 2005 , 8:49pm
post #7 of 24

I've bought the gluesticks at Michaels! They might actually be non or low string glue sticks. I haven't bought them in a year or so. Just ask at the store, they have to make them because I've used them.

BTW, I love all the info you (Cali4dawn) have to offer on these forums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thumbs_up.gif

GHOST_USER_NAME Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
GHOST_USER_NAME Posted 27 Feb 2005 , 12:49am
post #8 of 24

Thank you, cakemommy. I also receive a lot of great information. We just need to keep passing it on.

MrsMissey Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MrsMissey Posted 27 Feb 2005 , 7:21pm
post #9 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by cali4dawn

My first instructor taught us to use large egg trays (turned upside down- I think they hold 30 eggs) to transport stacked cakes.




Sounds like a great idea, as long as it fits in a box! I'm kinda of funny about transporting a cak (or any food for that matter) unless it is covered or in a box.

GHOST_USER_NAME Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
GHOST_USER_NAME Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 6:57am
post #10 of 24

I'm all about boxes myself... and not even to keep the cake from knocking in to things... It's those flying fuzzies.... yuck!!

SquirrellyCakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
SquirrellyCakes Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 6:02pm
post #11 of 24

Back to placing the cakes directly on separator plates, this can be done and cutting the cake doesn't mark them up either, you have to cut awfully hard to cut them. I do it both ways, depending on the cake and where it is going and how it will be used. The one drawback is that because of the feet, they take up space so when figuring on the depth of your cake you also have to worry about the legs when calculating the depth of the box. The advantage to using the extra boards is that the leftover cake or saved tiers don't interfere with you getting these separator plates back promptly. The advantage to just using the separator plates is that they are much more stable than cardboard so you don't have to worry about doubling up the boards so that they don't cause any cracking of the icing when the boarded cake is being moved around. But actually the separator plates were originally designed for direct use.
I have never seen the low string glue either, low temperature and dual temperature yes, but low string never. I will have to shop for that, it sounds like a good idea and maybe I can put my hairblower away and stop using it to get rid of the glue threads!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

heracastle Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
heracastle Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 6:33pm
post #12 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquirrellyCakes


I have never seen the low string glue either, low temperature and dual temperature yes, but low string never. I will have to shop for that, it sounds like a good idea and maybe I can put my hairblower away and stop using it to get rid of the glue threads!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes




I'm confused. What are the glue sticks for?

Michelle

SquirrellyCakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
SquirrellyCakes Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 6:53pm
post #13 of 24

Haha Michelle, hard to follow this thread? The glue gun sticks are for gluing the cake boards to the separator plates so that they don't slide. Some folks use a dab of icing instead, others use sticky tape. Some folks feel that using a glue gun with damage your separator plate, but most of the time, it comes off clean and quite easily.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

GHOST_USER_NAME Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
GHOST_USER_NAME Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 7:47pm
post #14 of 24

Hahaha!!! I use icing to glue my cake boards down. I wanted to know about them for other crafts.

SquirrellyCakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
SquirrellyCakes Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 8:22pm
post #15 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by cali4dawn

Hahaha!!! I use icing to glue my cake boards down. I wanted to know about them for other crafts.



Haha, me too! I have never heard of it before. I thought I was doing good having low temp and mixed temp and mini and regular glue guns, but I like this no strings idea!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Mjmil7 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Mjmil7 Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 8:26pm
post #16 of 24

Have any of you ever tried using foam shelf liner? I don't transport cakes anywhere except back and forth from the kitchen to the garage refrigerator, but I place a piece of the foam shelf liner on my caketaker and then place my cake--which is sitting on a foil-lined board--on top of the foam shelf liner. It works great and doesn't slide around. You can purchase the shelf liner at Wal-Mart or probably any department store. The brand I bought at Wal-Mart is Duck. It even states on the back of the label "use under wedding cakes during transport" along with about 60 other uses for the liner. I will be transporting my first wedding cake in April for my son's wedding, and I'll have to let you all know how it worked for that. Since my future daughter-in-law has selected a three tiered cake stand, I have cut three pieces of the foam shelf liner to the size of each cake to place upon each level of the stand so the cakes won't slide off the stand during the reception. I've read too many horror stories on this forum and wouldn't want that to happen! Thanks to all for the great information you all have shared. thumbs_up.gif

SquirrellyCakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
SquirrellyCakes Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 9:19pm
post #17 of 24

I use it in the boxes and for transportation, but not for placement on the stand. I have thought of it, but I actually prefer putting a dab of icing in the centre of the separator plate or a piece of sticky tape before positioning it. I prefer this mainly because if I don't position it exactly where I want it, I can still move it over, whereas I cannot do that with either gluing or using the rubbery shelf liner because you can't slide the cake around on that.
To me that is the one drawback for the shelf liner, even when used to secure a boarded cake in a too big box. It works well to stop the boarded cake from moving in the box, but you can't slide the cake in on top of it but you have to really leave one side open and place your cake on top of it.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

GHOST_USER_NAME Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
GHOST_USER_NAME Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 10:38pm
post #18 of 24

I love the non-slip shelf liner. I use it for lot's of stuff. Even to place under my cutting board! have you ever had your cutting board slide around when you're trying to cut something? Or under the board I roll fondant on... again doesn't slip around even a little. I have a huge sheet of it in the back of my station wagon that I place everything on. Boxed decorated cakes, my ice chest, groceries, whatever. That stuff is almost better than sex! Well, at the least it is more reliable!!!

I agree with SQC, though...I don't think I'd place it on a cake stand. I think it would not be easily moved if I needed to shift it.

I always place my cakes in the box with one end open, so that's not an issue for me. The foam is really great stuff if I allow my self to run out of the proper sized box and need to use a larger one.

SquirrellyCakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
SquirrellyCakes Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 11:14pm
post #19 of 24

Haha, I slit some boxes too so I can slide a cake in, but for the little ones that you can just place and not have issues, well the shelf liner makes it a bit of a problem. So I guess what we like it for is also sometimes what we don't like it for.
Oh yes and it washes and drip dries so darn easily, another nice feature. Plus is can be had in rolls at the dollar store, so it is a lot cheaper to buy it this way. For the wider stuff, well you have to go to Walmart or elsewhere, but I just piece the widths together and it is fine.
Come to think of it, I have never used it as a shelf liner or used the larger size under an area carpet - er like it was designed for, haha!
But is sure beats the heck out of the old method with the masking tape and crumpled up tinfoil and such!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

GHOST_USER_NAME Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
GHOST_USER_NAME Posted 28 Feb 2005 , 11:39pm
post #20 of 24

Nope- as a shelf liner it drives me nuts. I'm short (5'0") and need to slide stuff in and out of those hard to reach shelves (which is most of them!)

I need slippery shelves if I don't want to to drag my ladder around with me.

SquirrellyCakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
SquirrellyCakes Posted 1 Mar 2005 , 12:01am
post #21 of 24

Makes sense, Dawn, but I bet it would be great in a utensil drawer to keep things in place.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

m0use Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
m0use Posted 1 Mar 2005 , 2:34pm
post #22 of 24

It works great in a utensil drawer. thumbs_up.gif I have three utensil drawers and I have non-slip shelf liner in all of them. Of course if you slam your drawer hard enough long enough the stuff does move, but if you are careful- it works with no problems.

heracastle Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
heracastle Posted 3 Mar 2005 , 4:15am
post #23 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by SquirrellyCakes

Haha Michelle, hard to follow this thread? The glue gun sticks are for gluing the cake boards to the separator plates so that they don't slide. Some folks use a dab of icing instead, others use sticky tape. Some folks feel that using a glue gun with damage your separator plate, but most of the time, it comes off clean and quite easily.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes





Thank you. I must have been having a brain fart. LOL So the glue comes off well? What about if there is cake left and the person wants to take it home with them? How do you get your plate back? The board is stuck to it right. (Can you tell I'm new to all the "stuff" that goes with making a cake ?) I've not made a cake yet that would require the separator plates.

Thanks for helping my confusion a bit.

Michelle

SquirrellyCakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
SquirrellyCakes Posted 3 Mar 2005 , 4:40am
post #24 of 24

Haha Michelle, well that becomes the problem and is why a lot of people prefer to board the cakes also. Most of the time the gluegun glue comes off well, I have had a few issues with one, but not normally.
Since you normally use the separators for wedding or anniversary situations, I charge a deposit that will cover the costs of these as they are super expensive here in Canada. I set the deposit aside in an envelope with the date I expect it back and the person's name and I make sure I also note this on their contract. So that way if you don't get it back, you have the money for a new one.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%