AHi, I've got my first wedding cake to do this year and the girl wants a cake like this [ATTACHMENT=1468]image.jpg (90k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT]

She want glitter swirls on the sides of the cake but the icing is to be white with white swirls, starting darker and lighting as you go up the tiers. I was going to use wilton piping gel in white but I have two problems

1 I would need to mix or make my own silver gel for the bottom tier. Can I do this with dust and piping gel? Also, how do I apply it? With a brush?

2 I've read that piping gel doesn't dry. I'm concerned the cake may be bumped and the swirls damaged. Is this true?

Is this the best way to create this look or is there a better way? Also, she wants the swirls only half way up, to the second tier. Do you think this will look ok?

I really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks Linda

Aare you doing Buttercream or Fondant?

is that glitter or sanding sugar? Looks like sanding sugar.... if it's sanding sugar, could you paint thinned royal icing on fondant and place the sanding sugar on it if you didn't want to use piping gel.  I think glitter would get all over the cake....

AI'll be covering in fondant.

I've never heard of sanding sugar! How do you apply it? Just sprinkle it on the royal icing?

Thanks

Ahttp://www.ask.com/question/what-is-sanding-sugar

Just google sanding sugar to get more information about it...

Ahttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S7GeUkJ6U-8

Ahttp://www.globalsugarart.com/search.php?q=sanding+sugar

AThanks so much everyone! Could I mix white and grey then to get different shades to make the colour change as I go up the cake from the bottom? Would this look ok?

Thanks :)

Sanding sugar comes in all colors,  I have a silvery grayish bottle.  I read some where that someone applied swirls with gum glue, Sanding sugar will only stick to the "glue" or icing and stray  bits can be "dusted" off of fondant that is not sticky.  Glitter will adhere to everything.  I'm sure you could mix colors to get different shades.  People color their own sanding sugar with food coloring.  The sweet adventure of sugar belle has a tutorial on it  just google it . HTH!

I think @savannahquinn suggestion of gum glue is the way you want to go...

I used gum glue (aka edible glue made with tylose) to attach gold sparkling sugar 'specks' to this small practice cake, http://cakecentral.com/g/a/3352807/garish-baroque/...

the fondant dried smooth and the 'specks' were firmly attached.

for swirls, you would just paint the glue in the pattern that you wanted.

here's the recipe for the glue...

http://sweetopia.net/2009/09/how-to-make-edible-glue/