Can anyone tell me the best way to attach dragees to the side of a cake? Do you use royal icing, buttercream, or melted chocolate? Which would work the best without showing?

I would also like to know how to attache them, everytime i try they fall and i cannot get a good grip without puncturing a hole in the cake?

If it's a fondant covered cake I mix a tiny container of meringue powder & water to a thin syrup consistency. I pick up the dragees with tweezers, dip one side in the mixture and press into the cake. It's like cement. And it dries invisible so you don't see anything but the cake and the dragee.

However, sometimes I WANT the look of a dragee sitting in a dot of royal icing. It really depends on the look and style I'm going for. I've never used buttercream as a glue since I don't really trust it to grip anything too reliably.

I would imagine the best way would probably be royal icing, just a tiny dot, or even just a dot of vodka which will make the fondant sticky so the dragee sticks, then it will evaporate once dry. Then maybe wrap some greaseproof paper around to hold them until they are fully stuck?

I'm assuming you're using a fondant covered cake anyway!

HTH!

also a dot of piping gel works

If I am putting them on a BC covered cake I don't use anything to attach them.
If putting them on fondant I dip them in a lil "tylose glue".

For either I use tweezers to put them on the cake, but use very slight pressure to gently push them in - barely, mostly on the BC. The glue usually holds them onto the fondant rather quickly.

Ok, I should have mentioned it will be on buttercream. Will gumtex mixed with water hold it on? I think if I use royal, it will show. I will try that or piping gel. thanks!

I use water with a pinch of gumpaste dissoved in it and it works like a charm.