Do I Need To Cover A Dummy Cake With Something Before I Ice?

Decorating By TrinaH Updated 8 Apr 2007 , 1:30am by rlsaxe

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TrinaH Posted 6 Apr 2007 , 10:31pm
post #1 of 12

I'm getting ready to start putting this all together.... I ordered a cake dummy from Dallas Foam .... I've never done a dummy before. Do I need to cover it with something before I put icing on it?

11 replies
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JoAnnB Posted 6 Apr 2007 , 10:34pm
post #2 of 12

nope. If you are using fondant, it will need a bit of moisture. But for buttercream, just go for it.

Be sure to anchor the dummy to a board (a couple of tacks work) or the dummy will slide all over the place.

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TrinaH Posted 6 Apr 2007 , 10:39pm
post #3 of 12

Thanks!! I wasn't sure if the buttercream would absorb into the styrofoam at all .... and of course I didn't think about it until ummmm right now when I want to start LOL

Thank you sooo much for the tip on the tacks, I wouldn't have thought about that and had one heck of a mess!

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gateaux Posted 6 Apr 2007 , 10:45pm
post #4 of 12

My teacher had us glue the cake dummy to the board. It's still stuck.

If you are using fondant, just crumb coat it with BC. It will be great.

Good Luck.

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indydebi Posted 6 Apr 2007 , 11:38pm
post #5 of 12

If you're planning on using the dummy over again, I wouldn't glue it to the board. 2-sided tape will work. When icing it, I put it on a non-skid mat to hold it in place.

And no, the BC won't absorb into the styrofoam. THe bc will harden and when you're ready to change the design, it scrapes right off with barely any residue left.

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TrinaH Posted 6 Apr 2007 , 11:40pm
post #6 of 12

I used floral tack ... the green gooey stuff that comes on a roll. My Wilton instructor had us use that to hold our flower patterns on the flower nail. It's working GREAT

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Sweetcakes23 Posted 6 Apr 2007 , 11:47pm
post #7 of 12

Great ideas about how to make it stick guys! You guys probably know this, but I thought I'd share it for those who aren't aware....When I went to reuse mine? I read somewhere you could just soak the fondant/BC covered dummies in warm water and the stuff would fall right off! I did it and it took a while for it to soften up, but then it started cracking and falling off pretty easily! But more important, it all came off VERY clean from my dummy without harming my dummy! I was just sure that the soaking would somehow ruin it, but it didn't. I just let it air dry overnight to "be sure" it was dry before re covering!

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gateaux Posted 7 Apr 2007 , 3:08pm
post #8 of 12

Yup you are right, it's pretty difficult to harm the stuff unless you punch holes in it.
We are doing renovations in our basement, my DH has been pulling out sheetrock and styrofoam here and there and replacing it. Some stuff had been wet because he could see the mold on the inside of the sheetrock as he took it off, but the styrofoam was basically prestine 30 years later!

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rlsaxe Posted 7 Apr 2007 , 3:23pm
post #9 of 12

I heard somewhere that there is this icing (that may not be edible) that you can put on cake dummies in place of real butter cream and it's apparently supposed to last longer and be more durable.
Anyone heard of it?

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indydebi Posted 7 Apr 2007 , 3:36pm
post #10 of 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlsaxe

I heard somewhere that there is this icing (that may not be edible) that you can put on cake dummies in place of real butter cream and it's apparently supposed to last longer and be more durable.
Anyone heard of it?




I iced a styrofoam in my regular BC last April '06; left it on until I cleaned it off just a few weeks ago. It hardened like concrete, maintained the color with just slight yellowing, looked great for 10 months, cleaned off quick as a lick just by running a knife under it. How much longer do you need it to last?

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gateaux Posted 7 Apr 2007 , 3:44pm
post #11 of 12

In my class some people mentioned using "spackle" yup stuff for the walls, is you intend on keep the cake for a long long time.
Also, I know a lady who had her 50th anniversary cake 5 tiers (was a dummy) White with Yellow decorations, if sat on top of her TV loosely covered with a plastic bag, it had been there of 10 years, when I met her and was still there 7 years later. It was all RI.

Good Luck

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rlsaxe Posted 8 Apr 2007 , 1:30am
post #12 of 12

indydebi.....uhhhh......i think 10 months is WELL enough time! icon_smile.gif
I probably misunderstood what the person was telling me. They were probably talking about cake dummies and not icing!

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