AI have a client asking for a tiered cake with twigs sticking out of it. I'm not too crazy on the whole idea of spending a few hours working on the cake to only shove some dirty twigs in it, which probably aren't considered foodsafe in the first place. How do I go about this- is there a way to put real twigs in the cake safely, or should I make them from a mold and gum paste? Thank you in advance!

AIs that the Martha Stewart bird cake? You could cover the twigs with plastic wrap or foil before you stick them in the cake.

AYes, she doesn't want the birds though. She also suggested replacing half of the twigs with wheat grass. Should I also insert the twigs into a straw in the cake too?

AWrapping them should be good enough I think...

i haven't seen the cake--

if you could feel safe sticking them in the baby's cereal then do it--but i would recommend making them over the risk of using real ones--

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

then i got a leetle bit carried away just in general with cake deco--not yous in particular, annie or puddles_gal

i think cake decorators in general have played fast & loose with the potential of food borne illness far too long and it's more important for us to tighten that up than to make uber perfect decorated cakes--it's a cake decorator's duty to ensure that your client's guests will have a lovely memory of a beautiful day because their safety came first.

we scream loud and long about the horrors of cake mix and shortening oh my -- god forbid we freeze anything but we turn around and use feathers and formaldehyde infused flowers, boas, bling and wrapping paper covered boards and think nothing of it-- silk flowers would not be welcome in the baby's cereal either--

i mean i have done some of those things in my long career--working on getting smarter as i go--just some food for thought--

you'll never be sorry for erring on the side of safety--what i do is picture me explaining my cake process to officials investigating a foodborne illness incident at the wedding reception--or envision how good you will feel to see a new momma giving a little lick of icing to her infant--

you'll never be sorry for erring on the side of food safety

I have had a brides ask for twigs as well and what I did was create them out of wire and then wrapped them with floral tape. Put them in the cake inside straws or dip them in chocolate. Here is a picture of a cake I did in this manner.

AThank you everyone! I think what I'm going to do is dip the ends of the twigs in chocolate, let that dry,mand then insert them into straws that are in the cake. I'm hoping that works!