Fondant Swags - Pre-Make Or Do It On Site?
Decorating By CustomCakesBySharon Updated 17 May 2007 , 7:38pm by 2508s42
ok, here's a wedding cake that i'm doing in a few weeks. it's for a wedding that's 2 hours from where i live. i've never done the central dowel thing, and honestly don't want to start on this cake. i plan to make the tiers in advance and assemble on site. the issue is - do i premake the sheets of fondant (roll out and cut to size), wrap them in saran wrap (laying flat), etc and then put them on the cake on site? or will i take a chance of them drying out too much? i can't imagine i should roll and cut them on site....not professional. i can't think of any other way to transport them. what do u guys suggest?
thx!
sharon
bumping myself before i head home for the day....come on guys, opinions please? :0) i hope to see a bunch of suggestions when i come in tomorrow morn....luv u guys!
Once I have to help a friend with the same dilema, what we did was pre cut and put the pieces of fabric like fondant on plastic wrap and ziplocbags, and on site just give them shape and put them on the cake.
Hope It helps.
Claudia
thanks so much claudine1976....that's what i figured i'd have to do, but wasn't sure that it would work.....i guess as long as they're wrapped air tight, the pieces shouldn't dry out.....thanks for your help!
you can transport this cake all ensabled, no need to do anything at the site.
omg, i can't imagine doing that paolacaracas! i'm terrified that it'll colapse on the way there....i need to go ahead and practice the central dowel thing soon tho so that i eventually have the guts to go for it
I'm scared of the central dowel thing also...The thought of hammering a dowel through the cake boards is frightening! I had to do the central dowel for the last 3 tiered cake I did though because it was a pick-up and I didn't want anything happening on the way.
I did it differently though. It was a very small cake so I was able to do this. I'm not sure if I could do it with a big cake or not though:
Since I was using the upside-down icing method anyway, I put a hole in the center of the middle cake's board with an awl and then put the dowel through to the top of the cake so that when I put the 2nd layer on, I'd be able to just put it right on top of the bottom tier that way. Then, since there was already a hole going through the center of the cake, it was easy to find the hole in the cake board when I poked the long dowel through the two bottom tiers. Then, I poked a hole through the bottom of the top tier and then just had to set that on the dowel that was sticking up from the middle tier. It sounds weird but I was too scared to do the hammer thing.
I'd deliver it all assembled myself. If you have dowles supporting each tier it will not collapse at all and it supports the pounding in of the long dowel as well. If you use foam core for the center cake boards a sharpend dowel goes through those very, very easily, easier than cardboard IMHO.
I'd be more afraid of the fondant drying out, bring along extra and rolling pin and cutter just in case. I have been known to roll out a bit of fondant in the back of the van at a delivery site LOL!
Good luck!
thanks guys for all the suggestions! i'm still not sure what approach i'll take....both make me nervous 
wish me luck! 
I stack everything onsite and/or sometimes I will stack the bottom two tiers and leave the rest for stacking onsite.
When I did one of these I applied the swags to each tier before delivery. Just be sure to leave a tiny space between the lowest drape on the swag and the bottom edge of the tier. You won't even notice that space once it's stacked. The swags will firm up a little, but not so badly that you can't cut through them.
If you decide to apply the swags ahead of time, just be sure they're all going in the right directions, so it looks right when you stack it.
thx for all ur help guys....i ended up pre-making the drapes and wrapping them well in press n seal.....they were still nice and soft when i arrived and i had no trouble folding and attaching them....here's a pic of the finished cake
Your cake is gorgeous! I'll have to remember press n seal if I ever do swags. I haven't gotten to do any yet, but I just got a bunch of mini tiered pans, so maybe I'll try it on one of those. Beautiful job on that cake, you should be very proud! I bet the bride and groom were thrilled.
thanks for all the wonderful compliments guys! i love this place!! i hope to soon attempt to deliver a fully assembled cake...i just know i'd be a complete wreck by the time i reached my destination! ~lol~ until then, i'm glad i have u guys to bounce ideas off of!
LaSombra - i guess that depends on what the bride wants.....this is my first cake with swags and i'll be doing another one next month - both only have them in the front.....if the cake would be on a table in the center of the room, going all the way around might be a good idea
sharon
thx for all the tips guys! i pre-rolled the drapes and folded/attached them on site with the help of a friend/fellow decorator - it sure was handy having the extra set of hands/eyes!
here's the finished cake...
~lol~ sorry guys, i must b losing it....just realized i had already posted the finished cake! ~lol~
For this size cake, assemble entire cake at home, let it set for a few hours, can refrigerate. The setting up will make the fondant more stabile. They can actually take a beating. You will be fine. If it still makes you uneasy, assemble the bottom 2, place the top in place temporarily to fit your swag. Let it set, under a fan or so, take the top back off, transport it, assemble on-site.
Very nice cake!
thx everyone!
2508s42 - the roses & leaves are gumpaste, the swags are MMF
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