Making An Edible Basket/fruit Crate
Decorating By thecakemaker Updated 14 Apr 2006 , 6:06pm by thecakemaker
I am making 60 cupcakes for an upcoming wedding. The ones in my gallery with the peas and the carrots on them. The cupcakes were to be displayed in fruit crates. Now they want EDIBLE fruit crates - like my bushel baskets with the crabs in them in my gallery. Do you have any suggestions on how to make these? I thought I could make them over a box and then remove the box once dry and make them maybe a good 3/16" or so thick for strength. I'm also thinking maybe 3 crates for 60 cupcakes. I won't be transporting the cupcakes in the baskets just displaying them at the site - hopefully it doesn't rain or isn't windy that day - it's supposed to be outside! Any suggestions would be great!
Debbie
Thanks! I did a search for "edible baskets" and saw a chocolate one. The bride is allergic to chocolate. The grooms 1/2 of the cupcakes will be chocolate with chocolate icing while the brides 1/2 will be vanilla with buttercream icing. Thanks for the thought!
Debbie
I'm thinking of maybe a mixture of gumpaste and fondant. I know from experience unfortunately that gumpaste can be pretty fragile too! 
I can't imagine how much gumpaste alone it would take to make 3 or so baskets too! That way it would be more "edible" too. What do you think?
Debbie
Am I insane thinking strips of brown sugar cookie glued together with royal? or like a gingerbread house?
yeah, I would have to agree with you cakemaker I haven't personally used the fondant/gumpaste mix so I didn't know how fragile it was...........but I'm sure you're right! Or what about the whole Fondant with gumtex in it or tylose or whatever people say they add to make it get hard??? I only suggest what I'm familiar with : ( all I know is I shipped some gumpaste flowers packed in paper from Jersey to Ohio and they didn't break!! LOL So that why I said that it's not TOO fragile........but I'll bet you're right about the fondant mixed in that has to help it be not so fragile. Can't wait to see what you come up with, I just love your crab bushels!
Not insane at all! I've thought snicker-doodle and breat dough already! I know she wants the wood grain like on my fondant baskets though...
Deb
Thanks KHalstead! i'll come up with something. My wheels are spinning right now!
Debbie
I'm with you! I'm a chocoholic so that would really hurt!
Debbie 
I've seen neat "baskets" made of bread dough. Take strips of bread dough and weave them together over an upside-down pyrex baking dish of the right size/shape, let it rest for a while and then bake it.
You could probably do it with strips of dough that's rolled thin like pizza dough, to give it more of a "crate" look than a "basket" look.
I'll try to find a picture to post, BRB . ..
Laura.
I can't find a picture of one made out of bread, but here are a couple of ceramic ones that look just about the same.
Seems to me that the directions were fairly easy, if you're used to making bread.
Turn the pyrex dish upside down, and grease the outside of it. Put the strips of bread dough on, making sure to weave a strip or two around the edge (to make the sides of the basket).
After that, you can add a twisted or braided piece around the bottom edge (which will be the top edge of the basket after it's baked) and handles also if you want.
I hope this helps some, I think it would be a neat rustic looking basket, and much simpler than doing it with sugar.
Laura.
EDIT: oops, forgot the link! 
http://www.canvastoclay.com/prod_search_results.cfm?ProdTypeID=133
Thank you slejdick! I'm considering all of my options at this stage. She sent home an antique vegetable crate with my husband yesterday that she had it home. It looks more like a plywood crate than what I had in mind. I'll probably test a bread dough, cookie dough and a fondant of some sort.
I found a recipe for a type of pastillage last night that is supposed to be quick drying and very strong. I'm going to try that tonite too.
Debbie
Ok ~ I tried two different pastillage recipes to make the "boards" with and neither of them worked. I called the customer and explained to her that a freestanding basket/crate of that size just wasn't going to happen because of the fragility of the medium's I have to work with. I asked if she was actually going to eat the crate or if she was keeping it or if it will only be used for the display. She is only interested in it for the display so I should "do what you need to do to make it work". She just liked the look of my bushel basket for my bushel of crabs. I was going to use styrofoam to make a cake form to adhere dried fondant slats to but when I went to the store to get the styrofoam I ended up just getting wooden crates. I started making the "boards" last night and i'm just going to adhere the fondant to the wood for strength and put risers in the crates to sit the cupcakes on.
Now ~ would you use buttercream or royal to attach the fondant? I would think buttercream would be fine but i've never used a wood cake dummy before. Would wood work the same as styrofoam? The wood crate isn't sanded so it isn't super smooth or anything. Do you think it would matter?
Thanks!
Debbie
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