Hi all,

A friend has asked if I would be able to do a cake like this for her wedding in November -

That looks like some fairly intense piping in royal icing to me - am I right!? If so, what is the best way to get it even and looking so perfect!? Would appreciate any advice!

Cheers,

Amy

if it's a small cake it will be so much fun to do

a 14" or 16" tier yeah never mind

even a 12" would wear my last nerve

but for a petite cake

this piping is so hand crafted it's a stunning work of art

it's looks so balanced because of the rhythm of the decorator

if you gotta magnifying glass--the piping is no where near perfect

cake judges would sh*t themselves--blablabla--no offense to this decorator or to judges well one out of two :) jk jk

i love this cake and this style of decorating and the decorator was squarely 'in the zone' when they piped this

it would not be hard at all

just space/trace those dotted scallops and punch in the white fleur de lis type thingys in the row above

fillin all the rest

the scrolls on the top line are all the same but the top little scroll varies up or down from on to the next

to me the decorator is piping their 'impression' of the design

which i think is the quintessence of decorating

for the dotted scallops--get a roll of cash register tape (toba garrett)

and scallop cut it

then cut it ribbon thin and place it around the cake

so you could pipe those dotted scallops right above it

remove the tape viola

easy peasy

I agree w /you & K8. It probably is a tatting or embroidery (sp?) pattern. 

Beautiful.  Piped work like this used to be really common in Australia 20 years ago.
 

I'd get a stencil - there are so many I know you could get one with a very similar look and you'd be done with the cake in under 20 minutes.  Unless you really really want to do all that piping, which is cool too.  But if it's not your strong suit. stencil is the way to go.

Thanks for all your replies! I'll have to have a practice!

I'm guessing I'll find some info on how to trace and pipe in the forums?

And any advice on the flowers? I've made Wilton fantasy blooms before but that's the extent of my sugar flower experience!

Thanks again - much appreciated :)

Thanks From Scratch SF. A stencil might be the way to go! Any suggestions for websites where I might find the one you're talking about? Thank you :)

AAmy, this pattern is a variation on one of Faye Cahill's designs. I did a very similar piping job on a large three tier cake last year (its the lusted pink one in my facebook and website wedding cake photos). It's not *quite* as intricate and fine as traditional Australian piping work, but it still gives a lovely lace look.

K8 has the right idea- use either cash register paper roll to create your scollops first then add in the additional flourishes, dots and floral/fleur de lis details. You can also cut grease proof paper into long lengths around 60mm wide and use that. Use a clean hat pin or a proper scribe tool to mark your pattern onto the fondant through the paper.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing my cake with this sort of pattern, plus some other piped designs in the past year (its popular here in Oz ATM). If you are willing to give it a go, you'll get a much prettier look than stencilling (just my opinion), although Designer Stencils have a lot of pretty designs to check out.

Good luck with it!