is any wire safe to use to attach a decor? like if i want to have little balls floatin and want them sticking out on wire.

Yes, but parts of the cake that the end of the wire touches should not be eaten, so insert the "stems" of the wires into a flower spike, hidden pillar, or wrap them in press'n seal before inserting into the cake. I used a hidden pillar for this cake.

What is a flower spike and where would you get one?

I read some book, they suggested to use a holder which so called spike (flower spike) to be inserted on the cake and the wire are inserted on the spike. You can find this item in Wilton.

You could also use an amount of fondant to secure your wire decorations into.

You can also cut a piece of plastic drinking straw - I usually press the straw all the way down to the cake board and put the wires into the straw.

what brilliant ideas! and that cake pic so so very close to what i want to try i can't believe it!!!!!!!! my jaw is on the desk!

I'm doing a cake for this weekend with flowers on wire stems, and Wiltons "Celebrate with Fondant" book says to use one of the pillars (the ones you'd use to hold up a cake plate it looks like) and insert that into the middle of the cake. Then it gets decorated over, but leave the center hollow and stick a ball of fondant in the bottom to secure the wires into and press your wires into that. It looks so cool and easy too!

for those of you who ace of cakes. He just shoved the wires directly into cake and so do some other people who decoated cakes. I e-mail two decoators regarding this one cover her wires the other just puts them in the cake and said she never had a problem so far. She has her own bakery and has entered into contests.

So that is what my research has found out. So I do not know what way I would go. If it is for flowers use a flower spike (water spout). for just to add decorations to a cake I am not sure which way I want to go. Stick directly into cake, cover with fondant or use coffee stirs (they are very skinny and you do not have to worry about having a hole in the cake.

that's funny... i saw that ace of cakes episode (i LOVE duff!) and he did just shove them in... but i didn't know if you needed special wires.

My concern (especially for the one I'm making) is the weight. I'm afraid the weight of the flowers on the wires might make the wires cut through the cake diagonally. Which is why the pillar in the middle makes a good choice (for me) because it contains them. Like they are in a vase.

that is brilliant! that would have never even of occured to me. wow, you may have just prevented a disaster! LOL. THANKS

I also think there is no issue with putting regular cloth covered wires (which I use b/c the gumpaste sticks well to them) directly into the cakes.

I dont think it matters if the wire is in the cake. But I do know that you can not insert floers directly into the cake. You should be abke to get the flower spikes from Wilton or a local cake store. I like the idea of the straw though if you are worried about the weight of the decorations

These are from a previous thread:

from Squirrelly Cakes

"...if you mean the green painted florist's wire, the wire is painted with a paint that can have traces of lead and is not considered safe. Florist's tape is also not food safe according to the manufacturer. The wires that silk flowers are on, the plastic coated wires, is also not food safe when exposed.
Carbon steel can rust and there are different grades of it, some more rust resistant than others. It is not all knife quality. I have a wok made of high quality carbon steel that rusts quite easily. Even stainless steel can rust under the right circumstances. Of all the metals, the stainless steel is the safest. "

and from Pyxxydust

"I just took a gumpaste flower class with Nicholas Lodge, which was AWESOME! Anyway, we were talking about just what this topic about, cuz we wondered if you could stick the flowers on wires right into the cake. He said not to - because it can definitely rust. He said he was at a wedding where the cake was a $26,000 cake that had gumpaste flowers all over it - and when the bride and groom cut into it - the wires were all rusted so the cake had rust in it. Yuck. Can you imagine paying that much for a rusty cake?! So he said you should use floral spikes (depending on the length of the wire) or like somone else said - use plastic straws and stick the wires in there, or I like the Saran Wrap press n seal idea also."

Based on these statements, I would definitely put a barrier between the cake and the wires.

All I know is it is the Food Authorities here in Australia have ban the use of wire directly into cakes no matter if its covered or not. If caught you can be sued. Its a health and saftey issue. Maybe you should ask the food administration and see what their answer is.

I have to make a whimsical cake in a couple of weeks where she wants black wire sticking out of the top of the cake, that has been shaped into swirls. I was just going to use black wire, but I haven't figure out what kind yet. And some of them will have stars on the end. She wanted it in fondant, but I was a little nervous about the weight and suggested I make them in something else. I was actually thinking of using mylar as she wants a glittery type look. I didnt think it would be a big deal! Should I do the pillar thing? Glad I saw this post!!

I'm just saying there are different opinions on the subject. Kind of like cake pan sizes.

I use floral wire in some of my cakes. I've actually put the wire directly into some of the cakes with no problem but I prefer to wrap them in florist tape then push them into the cake.

I need to make metal swirls and some of them need to have little silver balls on the end. These will stick it out of the top of the cake. Do you use fondant or gum paste for the balls???
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!1

lovemynhl,

For the balls I would use a 50/50 mixture to make sure they are sturdy enough. Mix, roll, stick on wire and let dry. Good luck and be sure and post your photo when done.

Jackie

Jackie, I hate to sound stupid, but what's a 50/50 mixture???
Thanks!

I would use thicker plain florist wires with fondant balls "glued on the end with egg white" place the wires into a posy "water" pick which has been inserted in the cake.

Therefore, nothing is touching the actual cake but plastic and every bakery uses plastic. Then I would fill the posy pick with BC or cover the top with some fondant so it doesn't show and then tell your client how to pull it out for cutting.

Edited to add: Oh ya, make sure to curl the ends of your wire to hook the fondant. I have also used straws very successfully as the posy pick holder.

lovemynhl,

Nothing sounds stupid. You should have heard the questions I asked when I first started on the site. The mixture is 1/2 fondant and 1/2 gumpaste.

Thanks!!!! Sounds strange but it's going to be a 4-layer cake with white BC and black ribbon around the bottom of each tier. For the topper, the client wants an Empire State Building with metal swirls with silver balls cominig out from the top. Will post pic when done. Thanks for your help!

wow. sounds fantastic! i just saw duff, on the ace of cakes, do a black adn white wedding cake last night based on an artist (from the 20's) and it was very dramatic. white cake, white lady on top with black dress that swirled down around the entire cake. and black bead swirls too. very coool.