I will be doing a square, white cake iced in BC with two black horizontal fondant stripes on each layer.
Any tips suggestions for keeping the stripes straight and even? Thanks!
lazer level.....works like a charm, I got one on ebay for $2.74 WITH shipping
You've mentioned this before but I've got a question for you. How do you hold the level in the correct position and apply the fondant at the same time?? I have enough trouble just holding onto the fondant! But if it works well, I'm buying a laser level. Right now I just eyeball it.
My laser level stands up by itself at the level and angle you set it at.
http://tinyurl.com/2eltb4b
I got it at Home Depot for about $20. There are cheaper ones you can find. But this had a lot of versatility to what I could do with it.
Most of the time, I just eyeball it. Once it is on the cake, I use the back of the butter knife to push the sagging or sloping areas up and down. If you are not comfortable with that, you can also use painter's tape or a long piece of paper as a guide.
I used my lazer level to put the ribbon around the middle of this cake.......I set the cake up on my turntable and then put the lazer level on it's side (so that the beam made a straight line horizontally on my cake) and propped it up on the counter next to my turntable to the height I needed. I chose to put the top of my ribbon at the lazer line (however you choose to do it that works best for you) so I secured one end of my ribbon to the bc and then used my left hand to turn my turntable a little at a time and used my right hand to place the ribbon. It was so simple!!
Here is a pic of the cake I did and here is a pic of the lazer level I have
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lazer-Level-Laser-leveler-better-than-chalk-line-/290451042375?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a03b3047
Thank you all for the advice! One other quick question... The bottom tier will be a 14 inch square. Should I cut 14" strips of fondant and do each side individually, or try to use only one or two strips? I'm afraid that if it is too long the strip will stretch and lose shape as I am trying to place it on the cake.
I don't have a lazer level. (Although it sure would be nice!) You can take a piece of foam core and cut a strip the width of how high you want the bottom of your stripe to be. If you are doing 2 stripes, I would do the top stripe first. So if your cake is 4" high and you want the bottom of your top stripe to be 3" from the bottom of the cake, just cut your piece of foam core 3" wide. You can then gently lay the piece of foam core against the side of your cake and use it as a guide and to help hold your stripe level and in place as you attach it. Then do the bottom stipe the same way. I hope that makes sense!
I used my lazer level to put the ribbon around the middle of this cake.......I set the cake up on my turntable and then put the lazer level on it's side (so that the beam made a straight line horizontally on my cake) and propped it up on the counter next to my turntable to the height I needed. I chose to put the top of my ribbon at the lazer line (however you choose to do it that works best for you) so I secured one end of my ribbon to the bc and then used my left hand to turn my turntable a little at a time and used my right hand to place the ribbon. It was so simple!!
Here is a pic of the cake I did and here is a pic of the lazer level I have
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lazer-Level-Laser-leveler-better-than-chalk-line-/290451042375?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a03b3047
This sounds like something that I need to get! Your cake looks great as usual!
One long strip will be a nightmare! Even two could get dicey. Will there be any flowers or anything that you can hide joins behind?
I would do one long strip. Either roll it up like a cinnamon roll and unroll it as you go or just lay loosely around the cake and pick it up and put it on as you go. I just don't see how you could get the corners to look right if they are all cut.
And if you don't have a level you can use the foam core technique described. I've done that except I used card stock instead of foam core.
I personally would do one long strip and roll it up like mentioned above, slowly unroll it with your right hand and pat it to the cake with your left hand. If you have an airbrush it's really helpful if you mist your cake with just water in your airbrush till it has a nice shine on it (not dripping, but rather moist) and then your fondant strip will stick nicely.
Anyhow, pat it to the cake surface with your left hand and once you finish one side, turn your turntable to access the next side.
I would think if you did 4 separate strips you'd have a hard time with the corners looking nice.
You can always practice this on a flipped over cake pan too, or a cake dummy until you get a good feel for it!
Thanks for the pic and description khalstead! That helps. I'll be going to home depot or lowes this weekend to get one!
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