Hi all,
At the end of September I will be making a birthday cake for my partner. It will have a wine/grape theme. I envision the bottom layer as round and the top layer rectangular. I want the top layer rectangular because I want it to look like a wooden case of wine.
Here are my two questions:
1. Is it OK to use a cake dummy to make the top rectangular layer (the wooden wine case) because the round layer of real cake will be in addition to four other desserts I am making. Or is that tacky? (I've only made one 2-tiered cake before and both were real cakes.) I figure we won't need that much cake. There wil be about 30 people in all at this party.
2. Does anyway know of a good site that has instuctions for making fondant look like wood?
Thanks in advance to anyone who answers. Of course I will post pics when it is done. It won't be until the end of September though!
Thanks again! 
I don't see anything tacky about it at all, expecially if you don't need all that cake.
When I was reading about your cake, on from the gallery poped into my head. It had wine glasses half full with wine as the separators. I thought it was such a nice touch. You might want to check it out. Search "grapes" I think it will come up. I forget who made it right now.
Here's a wood grain tool that might help - or impression mats could work too - might be cheaper.
http://www.creationsbyedith.com/product_info.php/products_id/316?osCsid=0ca0b084d5ca08bef9ca47506cde4a03
hth
(Hi NEW - had any good pprni rolls lately? I'm still on a quest for those too.)
Just an ides: Instead of making a cake look like a box, since you're planning on not needing to serve it anyway, why not try to make an actual box? I don't know of where offhand but I know I've seen instructions and places you can buy things like woodgrain transfer sheets, etc., where you can make the sides of the box out of chocolate and then use the woodgrain transfer.
To answer your question though, I don't think it's ever tacky to use a cake dummy!
Hey DelightsByE, making the box out of chocolate would be a great idea. Thanks. I can even use a real wooden box if I find one small enough. I don't know why I didn't think of that at first!
And I did see the cake you are talking about New. That's a great idea. I'm not going for anything that fancy, but I can surely work the wine glasses in some way. Thanks everyone.
Keep the ideas coming...I need all the help I can get!
I saw a demo by Millie Green (Greenwood, IN) at ICES convention many years ago. She did a wood grain on chocolate using two different colors...cocoa and then dark choc over that and she used the wood graining tool from the paint dept at home depot/lowes type places. She was making sheets of chocolate for a wooden box cake. The graining tool was rubber . Its an idea...
I was thinking you could make the box out of pastillage, but chocolate is probably a better option if you're woodgraining it.
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