Cake Dummies Vs Real Cake

Decorating By 4dollars Updated 1 May 2006 , 11:42pm by leily

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4dollars Posted 1 May 2006 , 7:56pm
post #1 of 6

I have a question that I'm sure has been asked before, but I cant find it. Is it really that much cheaper to make a cake dummy than a real cake? A friend of mine is getting married and picked a huge cake out of a book. The design is simple enough that I can do it, but there wont be that many people at the wedding(Cake serves 250, the guest list is around 100.) We talked about cake dummies, but I don't know where to get them or how much they cost. I make my cakes from plain cake mixes, nothing extra. The icing is very simple buttercream. What do you all think?

5 replies
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mmdd Posted 1 May 2006 , 8:00pm
post #2 of 6

You could try dallasfoam, there is a minimum on the site, but I think it's different for dummies.

They're not hard to decorate at all! And, lots of times they're used to make cakes look larger.

The only thing about them that might be a problem area is that they're exactly 4 inches tall...most cakes don't turn out that tall unless you tort them.

Good Luck!!

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ConnieB Posted 1 May 2006 , 8:02pm
post #3 of 6

I think you would probably come out cheaper making the real cake. The reason I say this is because I was looking at Dummie cakes in a bakery/supply store and they cost around $7 for a 9" round, but you can buy them from Dallas Foam for about $1 to $2 plus shipping. usaribbon.gif

HTH
Connie

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ellyrae Posted 1 May 2006 , 8:04pm
post #4 of 6

What shape cake dummy would you be using?? Cost wise I'm guessing the dummy would cost more to start with but in the long run, as you would use it over and over, it would pay for itself...KWIM?

There are options to what to use also. For instance, I have used a round hat box in different sizes before...worked great! (got at Michaels). Also styrofoam works great and if you can't find it as thick as you'd like, you can glue cirlces of it together with styrofoam glue they have on the market....all at Michaels. You can also get the hat boxes in squares.

Many times you can find these things on sale and in that case, your cost would most likely be about the same as a real cake, but you'd benefit like I said, from having them to use over and over again!
HTH!

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4dollars Posted 1 May 2006 , 8:25pm
post #5 of 6

I'll be using rounds. THe cake she wanted has (5) 6" , (3) 8", (2) 10" and a 14" (all 2 layer). I had thought about using a dummy for the 14" (I don't have a pan that big, so I'll have to buy one anyway.) I don't make cakes all that often, so re-use isn't really that important. I only make for family and close friends, and luckily most of my friends are married now! (YAH! no more bridal showers!!!!!)

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leily Posted 1 May 2006 , 11:42pm
post #6 of 6

You can also use the 2" pink insulation. it is a stryofoam material. Do you know any contractors-or a local lumber store that does building? if they have scraps maybe you can get them cheap, or you can buy a partial sheet and cut out the sizes you need. I have some of this stuff sitting around, but havent' had the time to cut it to size or glue it together.

But to answer your question. Most of the money for wedding cakes is in the decorating and icing... at least for me it is. It can be cheaper, and if you don't want a lot of extra cake then it is a good option. The other great thing about it is you can decorate it in advance without the cake going bad =) Just remember if you have any colors besides white, make sure you decorate all of the cakes with the same batch of color so they all match, and as they dry they all dry the same color =)

Hope this helps.

Leily

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