I made this cake tonight and the overall look is good but there were alot of things I could have done better.
One is, I had trouble getting the burgandy fondant ribbon to go around the cake all in one piece. What's the best way to do that? I'm a terrible seamer as well, so that's not great either.
Also any tips on using dark colored fondant? I have the worst trouble with the powdered sugar. I have a roul pat and a silicone rolling pin but you still have to use some sugar to keep the fondant sliding around and easy to pick up. I try SO hard to keep it all brushed off but I still end up getting some light streaks in my dark colored fondant.
And then I had trouble with my bows fitting together nicely at the bottom, I guess that just takes practice. This is adapted from a smaller Wilton cake and they weren't very clear on how to get the nice borders on the bows and so I ended up with some somewhat sloppy work but hoping the bride will like the overall effect so well she does not notice the close ups!
(Oh and scuse the blue towel, I didn't want to move the cake more than necessary. I'll take a nicer pix tomorrow after delivery....hoping it goes well... for my album.)
i have not tried this, but i have heard that you can mix some cocoa powder with your powder sugar so that the white wont show up on the darker colors. i would say it's worth a try =)
Oh wow, I haven't heard of trying cocoa, I'll have to try that next time. That would have worked really well with this dark maroon color (which ended up drying a bit too dark to match the fabric but oh well...)
Here is another pic that shows a couple seams (which I tried to rub some royal into it but the color was slightly off) and also you can see a few marks left by powdered sugar.
Also both my dark fondant and my royal icing pieces all turned out really dull and matte. How would I have been able to get at least a little sheen to both the fondant and the royal?
OK, I have a couple of suggestions for you.
First, to keep fondant from sticking and aleviate the white streaks on your fondant, simply put a sheen of crisco on your fondant and rolling pin (if necessary) before you roll it. If it still sticks, add a little bit more crisco to your fondant. Basically, use crisco instead of powdered sugar...
The sheen (dull or shiny) on royal icing run-in and color flow pieces is dependant on how quickly the piece dries. The longer the icing takes to dry, the duller it will appear and the weaker the pieces will become. So, if it is very humid where you live, you might want to place the pieces under a lamp to dry or in the oven with the light on. Another thing you can do is put them in a food dehydrator to dry. Also, if you need to make dull pieces shiny, you can always rub a bit of crisco on them or add pearl or luster dust.
I don't have any brilliant advice for the seams of the ribbons, but I would make them start and end on each tier directly above one another so you can make that the "back" of the cake.
On the photo you really can't see any marks left by the sugar.
when mixing dark colours do this the day before you need it. colour a couple of shades lighter than you need and allow to stand overnight. the colour will continue to develop as it stands.
to give fondant a shine brush with a little glycerine mixed with water
Sorry, I don't have any tips for you as i am just learning to decorate myself. I just wanted to say how lovely i thought your cake was and not to worry- the bride will NOT notice any minor flaws like the ones you are concerned about 
. Your cake is so beautiful, and I really love the way you did your ribbons!!
Amber
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