In search of ideas for a very irritating bride I came across 'wrap cakes' on Sweetarts web-site, here is a link to one of her cakes in this style:
http://www.sweetart.com.au/view.php?pos=64

The bride in question wants a three tiered cake, but with each tier being double height and I think this kind of style might be the answer! Have any of you tried this? What do you think? Do you think t's normal fondant or mixed with gum paste to help it keep the shape?

Wow...the cakes are very beautiful and intricate on the site!!Boy that would be one thick cake...double tiers..Hmmmm.I wouldn't use gumpaste as it will get to hard to cut and tends to cracks.Fondant should be fine!!

Woweeeee! Those are so gorgeous! She is amazingly artistic!!!!! My mouth stayed dropped open with every cake I viewed (just like I do with yours Emma )

It may be fondant or it may be chocolate wraps. I'm not sure. But what I am sure of is that you of all people can do this

It's definitely not chocolate - it has the whiteness of fondant, or some sugarpaste and they normally say if it's chocolate. I think it would actually be easier than smooth coating a cake with fondant as the creases and folds of the fabric effect will hide a multitude of sins. I'm so lazy!

A VERY VERY long time after I posted this initial query I have finally made the cake in question. I based the idea on the fondant wrap cakes in the link above, but mine turned out really different looking (more by accident than design!)

I covered the cake in normal fondant and let that dry a bit. Then I tipped the cake up so that it was at an angle (I don't have a tilting turntable so just propped it up on a book edge.) Then I rolled sausages of petal paste and fondant mix (half of each) through my pasta machine (hand cranked) and draped the fondant around the cake, arranged it in pleats and folds as I went. I used sugar glue to paste the cake with before draping the petal paste on. I then covered any dodgy looking bits with flowers that I punched out and finished with a bead of royal icing in the centre of each one. The paste was all ivory and I finished it off with a spray of PME pearl lustre spray.

The cake was very high and very big and I built it so that it faced the top table at the wedding and then found out it was the present table so I had it facing the wrong way. Fortunately the stand its on was easily swivelled round. The caterers made this stand out of a huge disc of glass set on top of shot glasses - it looked really clean, simple and stylish - I will definitely steal this idea as my cakes can look odd on traditional silver cake stands.

So, anyone now thinking of making a fondant wraped cake - I've tested it out now and it wasn't too hard, but not for the faint hearted!

That is incredible, Emma!!!

I love all the work that you do!! You are a master!! Someday I want to make cakes like yours")

AMAZING!!!

Very sophisticated and glamorous Emma. The stand was a brilliant idea, I may steal that one myself.

i did a fondant wrap, although mine was using dummy cakes, i love the look of these cakes..

Mine is no way near as big and detailed as your gorgeous one...

here is mine from a few months ago..

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=279223

cheers

kylie

Wonderful cakes....both of you!!

Thanks for posting your wrap cake Kylie - it looks much neater than mine! Also the folds seem to be thicker than mine which gives it a softer feel. Maybe I was being too stingy with the sugarpaste?

Ohhhh, Emma - gorgeous cake! Yours, too, Kylie. In a recent class with Nicholas Lodge, he gave us a 70% fondant/30% gumpaste mix to use for drapes - said it gave enough strength to hold but enough elasticity to drape nicely. I love this look - you did an excellent job.

Awesome! Both cakes are stunning!

Oh WOW, both of you! Gorgeous cakes. Thanks for sharing--I love looking at other's work, but can only dream of doing that someday. I will admit, I do get a bit jealous of all the talent(in a good way, though