I went to look at cake dummies and they are pretty expensive for the 14 inch round size i need. $11 each and i would need two for height. I know
W I need to sand the top but I was wondering if I can take the fondant off to reuse them? I was told to adhere the fondant using royal icing but it has been mentioned to use piping gel for a less permanent hold. This is for the bottom tier of a 5 tier cake with a 12, 10, and 8 inch rounds of cake and a 6 inch dummy cake.

Thanks for your help!
Erin

Yes, you can certainly reuse them. I've never heard of using royal icing to adhere the fondant to them, though. I've tried piping gel, shortening and water and have settled on water as my go-to method. I just lightly mist the dummy with a spray bottle.

Yes, you can reuse them. You can use shortening or spritz with water instead of piping gel.

To get the fondant off your fake cake you will need to soak it in water until it is pliable again. Then you can peel or gently scrape it off. It is hard to soak them because they float - I usually weight mine down in the sink with soup cans!

or you can set them outside during a hard summer's rain.

THANKS!

You can cling wrap the dummies first.secure this with masking tape it holds better,then you can use a little butter cream or just pat on a little water to dampen the wrap and cover your dummy ...It works perfect every time,when you need to just take off your old work and you get a perfectly clean dummy to reuse.