I am covering a cakeboard with fabric and clear contact paper. Do I need to put something under the cake or can it go directly on the contact paper?

The cake can go directly on the contact paper. It works great.

Michele

The makers of contact paper recommend NOT putting food directly on it, especially if it's the printed/colored contact paper (the dyes contain lead). For the clear stuff, they say it "should be OK" for a short time.

I put a board (for me, 3/16th inch foamcore) the same size as the cake under it and then put that on top of the contact paper. I use double sided tape to secure the two together. If anything is touching the contact paper, it's the border--and they often don't make it to the serving plate, anyway. If a border is really huge (and may be consumed in quantity), I put a parchment circle under it so that it doesn't sit on the contact paper.

HTH
Rae

I didn't know all that. I only did this once-- on the clear contact paper, and it was fine. I'll have to think about that for future cakes.

i use contact paper with a base of decorated paper, and i really feel like there isn't a problem with my cake touching the contact paper....but i put all my layers on their own foamboard. reason? because i hate having to wipe the overspray from my airbrush off the contact paper, because i hate having to wipe the grease off the contact paper, etc... i just do all my layers with their own board, then put a dab of hot glue on the contact paper, then lay my first layer down. contact paper glues itself to the foam board, and i go up from there. it also gives you one more layer of stablization when hammering your dowels down from the top, all the way through.

I guess one thing I've never said in all of the discussions about contact paper is that many, many times, it's problems that result from things THAT WE DON'T SEE that are the issue.

The comment I so often read is, "I do it all the time and no one's ever complained or gotten sick, so I'll keep doing it that way....". Well, no, you'll never get a call from someone saying, "I ate your cake and because it was sitting directly on contact paper, I've now had an exposure to phthalates and/or lead and I'm upset/worried, etc." No one is going to get immediately sick from a cake directly on contact paper--but the advice of the manufacturer of the product is to simply not do it, so why disregard that advice???? That's what makes no sense, at all, to me.

Just put down a barrier or use a cake board under the bottom tier and avoid the issue all together. It makes life so simple. I put it right up there with washing your hands after you use the bathroom

Just my honest .02
Rae

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I already covered my board and when I put the clear contact paper over the fabric I detected a smell. My thought was that the smell might penetrate my cake and that is why I asked the question. I definitely do not want to take any chances so I will be putting cardboard under my cake. Thanks again for your time and for the information.

Well said, Blakes Cakes.

all I have to say is I use Clear Contact paper and it is acid free...which means no poisons in them...the stuff is basically plastic. So, it's fine. are you going to stop putting your cakes on cake plates then too? those are plastic too! just my opinion

I'd be nervous to put my cake on contact paper. If I use something other than foil, like tissue paper, I just stretch some plastic wrap over my board and tape it underneath. I'm no pro, but it works for our family/friends cakes! And then I always have my cake on a board the same size as the cake. I ice it, put it on the decorated board, then put my border on the cake.

For the boards that go directly under the cake for each tier...do you use the cardboard circles that are waxed on one side? or do you cover it or a plain circle with something? I've always wondered how others do it. Thanks.

Hello everyone. Every time I see a post such as this I always feel compelled to copy and paste the email that I received from the makers of contact paper. I wrote to them and my inquiry was if "clear" contact paper was safe to put my cakes on top of. This was the response that I received.
Hi Margie,
Contact Paper is made of PVC VYNIL. We do not recommend this to be used in Direct contact with food. I do have other customers that are doing the same thing with our paper, and although we have not received any complaints in regards to this type of use, we still must give you caution.

Thanks,

Have a Great Day!
Teena Leyva

Kittrich Corporation
Customer Service Dept.
714-736-1057 phone
714-736-2157 fax

Thanks again for the responses. If the manufacturer does not recommend using it with food products, then I don't think I want to go against their advice. Again it was the smell of the contact paper that made me question this practice. I certainly did not want my cake to absorb the taste of the contact paper. By the way, my cakeboard looks great and I can't wait to put my cake on it (with cardboard under it of course).

i definitely agree with you, rae, on the saran wrap. in the beginning, i used it a few times also, until onc day i had to carve a bit off for an adjustment and i noticed that my knife sliced the saran...i had just never thought of it ripping/tearing. luckily it was only used on 2 or 3, since i was just beginning and didn't really have my name out there yet. ever since, i've been a religious foamcore person, catching every sale at hobby lobby that i can!!

Ok, just a question...so all your cake boards are just white foam board? I have a wedding cake for a dear friend due Saturday. I've always done silver wrapping paper covered with clear contact paper. She doesn't want a border...just a ribbon around the bottom edge. So, how would you do that so the extra cake board (or foam board) doesn't show?

I ice my cakes (both fondant and buttercream) all the way down over the foamcore base (because it's the same size as the tier).

I'd just wrap the ribbon at the base of the cake.

Sorry for not having any better ideas.

Rae

I just wanted to say that i use freezer paper to cover my cakebords I tape it tdown with the plastic coated side up. Overspray and iceing smudges wipe clean and its the perfect shade of white. And since it it used to wrap meat for freezing is is compleately food safe. Hope this helps someone.

And then you put the cake that's iced all the way to the bottom of the foam board on top of the decorated cake board...did I get that right? So the foam board would just be part of the cake, so to speak, and my ribbon would be around the foam board and the cake?
One more question...Could you just cut a piece of parchment paper to put under the cake and secure it with icing, or would that cause the cake to slip off the board?

Yes, jam, your description about the board & ribbon is correct.

The board under the tier makes it easier to move around while icing and even adds a bit of height to your cake. It also provides additional stability (so it can prevent icing from cracking due to boards flexing).

Sure, you can put a piece of parchment under the cake, instead. You don't get any of the benefits mentioned above, it can be shredded during cake cutting, and some parchments have silicone coating so they're naturally slippery.

Rae