I've been asked to do a wedding shower cake for next weekend. The bride's friend said she wanted a cake that had "treasures" baked in!
I'm sorry--I'm an old fashioned Southern old lady and I have NO IDEA WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT! 
Where do I get the "treasures?" And, I guess I just bake 'em into the cake--or do they get inserted after baking?
"Fake it til' you make it, with a little help from your CC pals..." 
Thanks,
--Knox--
Maybe she means the little charms? I have made shower cakes with little charms attached to ribbons..they usually nowadays slide them under the cake board but some want them actually pushed into the cake...and if you do it charge well for the charms they are pricy!
Do a search in the forums. there was a thread a while back about this with several links to places that sell the charms. I remember it being said that most people push the charms into the side of the cake after it is baked. I think I would push them in after icing but before I put the border on.
Here is a link to some pricey charms:
http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?follow-pro=1&catalog=ultimatewedding&vwcatalog=ultimatewedding&query=wedding%20cake%20charms&x=0&y=0
And a link to info about the charms, the meaning behind each one:
http://www.ultimatewedding.com/articles/get.php?action=getarticle&articleid=662
OH...MY...GOBS of ICING!
I just went to that site and looked at the "charms."
THEY HAVE RIBBONS ATTACHED!!!
The cake I'm making is a BRIDE DOLL CAKE on top of another cake!
Thanks so much, Y'all for directing me to the site...guess I'll be figuring out HOW to incorporate all those ribbons into that design now.
Maybe a lil' cake on the top with the charms stuck into it? Maybe call that the "pulling" cake? GAH! Nasty ol' brides... 
Thanks again for all the help, Y'all!
--Knox--
Just a thought, but maybe since she said "baked in" she didn't mean the charms? Maybe by some odd chance she mean those Nestle chocolate candies called Treasures? I've never heard the charms called treasures before, but that still may be what she's talking about. I would contact her to find out.
She said she wanted the "treasures" to be used as favors/gifts, and to be pulled from the cake.
Trouble is, the cake is going to have 50-60 servings. 
I guess I'll go with the lil' "pulling"square there, in a "gift box" style, next to the "bride" that's going on top...GAHHH!
Thanks everyone!
--Knox--
I'm sorry, I shouldn't sound judgemental-but this sounds so stupid. I think brides stay up late at night trying to figure out how to make things difficult. That being said don't they do something similar with the Kings cake at Madi Gras? Maybe googling that will help you with some ideas! I would make the bride supply the charms and charge heavily for the work needed to incorporate the ribbons into the design. Maybe they could be the sash and cascade down the back of the dress?
I'm RIGHT THERE WITH YOU ELFIE!
I didn't have the "wedding/shower/honeymoon" type thing, though--just went to the preacher's house...wore a size 10 white linen suit...got my roses (3 of 'em) at Kroger's...My mother was our only "guest."
*oh--back to subject at hand*
So, now I guess I live vicariously through these snotty spoiled little brides.
I'm grateful to be doing the cakes, and I love the work (most days) but it just seems to me that the "brides" are getting more and more spoiled, and the "weddings" are lasting longer, and getting more lavish....and the actual "marriages" are ending up at the courthouse SOONER.
These people won't be doing ANYTHING themselves. But they WILL be paying me a PREMIUM on these lil' "treasures!" Shoot--I'm thinking $2.00 EACH--they're going to cost around $1.00 anyway...and with the bride wanting one for each guest--a big portion of my "profit" will be in that little box from the BIG BROWN TRUCK!!
--Knox--
MAybe she meant something like King Cake where charms (or in the case of a king cake a plastic baby) is randomly placed in the cake after baking and whoever finds it is "Lucky" or something to that effect
I have heard about this charm pulling at a shower before and always thought it sounded fun.
Anyway, you mentioned doing a bride cake on top of another cake...you could put the treasure charms in the bottom cake with the ribbons draping down. I would definatley insert them after baking. You could even tuck them into the iced cake at the bottom then cover with a border.
I think usually the charms are pulled by the bridesmaids, not every guest but you should probably check with the bride to find out exactly what she is expecting.
Also, you could have the bride purchase the charms and give them to you to insert into the cake...that way she gets the particular charms she had in mind and you dont have to find them. I have seen them at bridal stores and barnes and noble.
Good luck!
it's a quaint custome. Why not charge $3 bux a piece. Isn't your gas high?and your time to get them is at a premium too, right?
The charms are not to be baked into the cake. Like the Mardi Gras baby they are meant to be put in after the cake is baked. I would have the bride purchase the ones she wants. Insert them into the cake evenly spaced then put your bottom border on. The ribbons will be pretty on the bottom with the bride cake on top.
I don't think the bride is trying to be difficult. For some families this is a tradition that their shower wouldn't be complete without including this (I'm not one of them, though!)
Like kkhigh said they are only meant to be pulled by the bridesmaid and each one has a special meaning attached to it. so hopefully you will only have to put a few in!
I am kind of with kkhigh, if she just wants the charms for the bridesmaids and it is a doll cake, perhaps they can be inserted in with the ribbons draping down. I am nowhere near the talent that you all are, so forgive me if I am out of line suggesting this. Perhaps place the charms in at the bottom of the bodice of the doll cake and then drape the ribbons down the dress part and maybe tuck in the end of the ribbons and cover with a border of some kind.
I never had my wedding or anything like that either and some of the things I hear about people wanting kind of makes me wonder how they come up with such a thing. My hubby and I just went to the courthouse and got married and my mom made me a cake for my "wedding cake", which I thought was sweet.
I tried to make a quick sketch (I'm not an artist as you'll see, lol).
Hey, Y'all! 
Thanks VERY MUCH to everyone for the replies and suggestions!
I'll be speaking with the bride/friends sometime this week, and I'll see how many "charms/treasures" she's talking about. Then, too, I'll be presenting her with Y'all's ideas to see which one she likes best... 
I sure do appreciate everyone's help on this. I'm not "up to par" on the fondant thing, but it seems to be the "style" of cakes these days, so I've got advanced classes to attend during the HEAVY wedding days of the year, too. I'm also a little behind on the newest TRENDS, too.
Thanks much,
--Knox--
The charms you can get from Wilton, Sugarcraft or several of any other sites. If the bride has her own charms you can probably tie some white ribbon on them. When I did my duaghters wedding cake....after the cake was finshed I pushed the charms about 2 inches under the bottom layer with a dowell then put my finsihing border on. (after washing them and drying the charms) The cake was three tired and was placed above the water foutian so the ribbons hung down. Worked like a charm.
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