Wilton Romantic Castle Set-Augh!
Decorating By bigsisof3kids Updated 28 Jul 2009 , 1:54pm by stampinam
mommabuda I iced my turrets with buttercream, just be prepared to repair them everytime you touch them because it will NOT dry hard. Unless you do them days in advance and let them dry out completely. My 286 flowers were made from fondant.
Monica I am going to try to do the same with wilton..But i purchased mine through sugarcraft. i would be happy with a refund.. The kit is not worth it.
Anyone who drills the holes, please let us know how it works!
I bought mine at Michael's. They never questioned where I got it from.
OK, I made the stupid castle.......After a nervous breakdown, my husband said if this is the way you act when making a cake......PLEASE STOP!!! 
It wasn't a pretty site (and I'm talking about me, not the cake!).
I would highly recommend you do not buy the set! I really think I could have done it using paper towel rolls better. In the end I guess it turned out alright. It was my second stacked cake. (I should say the first one fell!)
Wilton castle set........$19.99
The look on my little girl's face..........PRICELESS!!!!!!
It was all worth it for my daughter! She said "This is the bestest, awesome birthday ever!"
I had to take a picture the old fashioned way, my digital is not working. so when I get the pictures back, I will post.
I actually used a coupon to buy the set, so I guess for $12 I will keep it. Probally more of a headache to return it for me.
I made one and had exactly the same experience as everyone else. It took WAY longer than it should have and then fell apart every time I moved it. I would suggest decorating any plastic pieces with Royal and then adding them all on site. I'm thinking of using my Dremel to see if I can just cut off the bottoms of the turrets to make them an open pillar. Then I think they would accomadate the hidden pillars or at least plastic dowels than would be bigger around. Otherwise it's a great idea, just not completely thought out. I made it with a 6"+10" round and figured for the time involved it was going to be at least $125 cake!
-Lori
OK, made the sand castle variation of this cake this weekend. I'll admit it was adorable ... the folks at the shower loved it. 
That's what matters, right? I will post the photos when I can.
However, add my 2 cents to everyone complaining about the pillars! Just NOT stable. They wanted to fall over in transit (I wouldn't let them ... grrrrr 
) At the site, I had to do some careful readjusting and wasn't completely happy with how it looked. No one else seemed to notice, though.
Also however ... I'm not ready to toss the set. I think with some adjustments -- going to drill holes in the bottoms of the towers, maybe just cut them off altogether -- things could be made a lot more stable. (Just wish it wasn't necessary.) People really did love the cake, and I'm afraid I've neither the time or skill to make towers, etc., from scratch. (I'm just a hobbyist.)
I'm making a princess castle cake for a friend's little girl next month. We'll see how it goes.
Okay, I'm going to put the cake together tonight. My husband came up with the idea to take the entire bottom off the pillar thingies... so it'll just be hollow then, that way they can be stuck into the cake and not smush a big piece down... it'll be more stable that way too... as for the others, my hubby made a "carrier" for me with 12 different holes (3 different sizes) to hold them while we drive there... I did the tops all in royal icing so they could dry hard, I'm going to do the rest of the decorating on the turrets with RI as well... the cake will be the only part that has BC... hope it works! I'll let everyone know how we turn out 
I wondered about the sturdiness of the Romantic Castle Kit after I purchased it, and also wondered why in the world Wilton would not make the bottoms of the towers "open"....so I'm the one who had my hubby drill them out! Attached is a picture!
Notice on the "peak"....the part that goes above the door as they have it pictured on the box, the hole is flush with the side of the part, so that when you insert the wooden dowel it rests against the side of the plastic part and makes a nice, solid connection! I actually ended up not using this piece. I'll also add that I glued at least 3-4" of the dowel inside the turret with candy melts. It was very easy to clean....just filled up a sink of very hot soapy water. Melted right off!
I used candy melts to glue the towers to the bottom of the cake board, and I also used a small spatula to place some chocolate on the side of the tower so that it made a good seal with the buttercream on the cake and didn't want to pull away from it!
I also used candy melts for the turret tops...I just rolled them in it and set them on a wire rack to dry. While they were still tacky, I sprinkled tons of edible glitter on them!
I absolutely LOVE this kit and had to travel w/ the attached cake for my niece 1.5 hours away and not one piece budged! The first one I made wasn't quite as sturdy as the Cinderella castle I made, but you live n' learn! Hope this picture is helpful!
cambo: that is exactly what my husband did with them! i don't like the idea of candy melts so i'm using royal icing... should work just as good. we'll probably end up assembling it at home and then traveling with it... i'm too impatient to wait till the party to have it completely set up so hopefully i'll have pictures of it tonight... we'll see...
cambo: that is exactly what my husband did with them! i don't like the idea of candy melts so i'm using royal icing... should work just as good. we'll probably end up assembling it at home and then traveling with it... i'm too impatient to wait till the party to have it completely set up
so hopefully i'll have pictures of it tonight... we'll see...
Actually, royal icing would probably be a better choice with this heat we're getting here! I also assembled mine completely before traveling with it....I'm like you....too impatient and I don't like people watching me! he he!
I'm so happy to hear a sucess story!! I'm most def going to cut the bottoms out like that (thanks for the pic!)
Oh, and using candy melts (or RI) on the turrets is a great idea, much better than BC.
Cambo~ your cake is bEAUtiful!!! My little sisters would absolutely LOVE a cake like this...*thinking ahead to their birthday cakes-next May. Lol*
K, I posted it in my pictures... we took it there unassembled... my bottom cake wasn't tall enough for the door to fit so it hangs over the edge a bit... PITA cake! I wouldn't do it again for any less than $125 and that would be pushing it!
It turned out beautifully!
I'm sorry so many people are having a hard time with this set but I must say it is typical of Wilton to market something that isn't worth the money you pay for it! Some of you are managing to get a pretty decent castle out of it even if it is a PITA! Personally, when I first saw the thing in the store, I thought it was overkill - all those turrets!! I'll just stick to making my own turrets and getting the castle to it's destination in one piece!! At least I know that my homemade version can take it!!
I am absolutely nuts -- just wanted to start out with that! I am NOT a cake person, but my daughter saw this and begged me to make it for her, so here i am.
First question: Where the heck do you find pans deep enough to make the cakes?!? Or are there "2" cakes on each level that oyu stack to get such a thick cake?
Sigh ... I'm in big trouble!!
I made mine out of fondant (display cake, so the fondant is now ROCK hard). EVERYTHING is fondant... Turrets, peaks, EVERYTHING. And moving it from one shelf to another is KILLING me!!!! The darn turrets and peaks fall off the boards and fly only at my head and eyes... UGH!!! I'm totally waiting for the show to be over so that I can drill holes. That will make all the difference, I think. I will use dowels that can go from the top to the bottom and stick out about 2", just so that it is TOTALLY stable. But for now I'm going to get out the candy melts.
Your cake looks beutiful! and like you said the little girls look made it all worth it! MY dh and my kids got me the casstle pan for x-mas and I haven't used it yet I want to make it for my daugther first and her birthday it's coming in july so I could sure use your tips! Thankyou and wish me luck!
I am absolutely nuts -- just wanted to start out with that! I am NOT a cake person, but my daughter saw this and begged me to make it for her, so here i am.
First question: Where the heck do you find pans deep enough to make the cakes?!? Or are there "2" cakes on each level that oyu stack to get such a thick cake?
Sigh ... I'm in big trouble!!
Deep breath. I do have a little experience making cakes, but when I was asked to do this I came pretty close to saying no. I read over all the posts I could here on CC, and read over my directions, even bought the latest Wilton Cake book with the castle on it.
I had to make my very large because they wanted it for 50 people. I only had 2 inch pans and used those. It was really tall, but worked out. Take a look at my blog and it explains a little bit of how I did it. My advice would be to just keep it very simple, and don't feel like you have to use all the piece of the castle. I used candy melts to put dowels on the towers, they worked well. It is time consuming and took me a lot of time to do!
You could also do the castle cake Wilton pan. What ever you decide to do, enjoy the process and don't make it too hard on yourself!
Sandi
That is an awesome blog! Your cake was amazing ... just beautiful!
So those are 2" cake pans? How many did you stack to get each layer that thick?
Is the fondant hard to work with? I've read that it melts very easily and you need to be in a "cold" room to use it.
What is "royal icing?" I assume that is different than what I buy at the store ... what makes it better?
Your blog has given me hope -- it is doable!!!! Just still a bit scary. =]
I just made my first castle cake this weekend, and everything was great except for the turrets attached to the cake board. I used royal icing and they came unglued during transport. Candy melts sound like a great idea. I bet they hold a lot better than royal icing!
That is an awesome blog! Your cake was amazing ... just beautiful!]
Thank you! I actually put the cake together the day before and hardly slept at all, I was soooo worried it was going to fall all apart the next day! And now that I look at it, I can think of all of these other things to do with it to make it even more "dressed" up!
[quote="beginner_in_nj]"So those are 2" cake pans? How many did you stack to get each layer that thick?][/quote]
Yes, 2 inch cakes, two stacked. I didn't torte, just put buttercream in the middle of the two layers as filling. I also use the White Almond Sour Cream recipe from here, and fill my pans about 3/4, which means then usually bake a bit high, then I don't have to cut off so much at the top. I can't remember what size the cake pans, I think they are listed in my blog.
Is the fondant hard to work with? I've read that it melts very easily and you need to be in a "cold" room to use it?]
I used Satin Ice with this cake, but normally I make my own Marshmallow Fondant. With the Satin ice I found that it was quite soft and I added powdered sugar to stiffen it up. I can't make a realistic rose, even after taking the class from Wilton!, but making the Duff Roses, (you can do a search and there are instructions for it on here.). They also went much more quickly and I could make them ahead of time. Even though I think they look a bit whimsical, on this cake it seemed to work with the design just fine. I haven't had problem with melting due to heat, but I imagine in a place that is very humid it might cause some issues. Maybe someone else has some idea on that part.
What is "royal icing?" I assume that is different than what I buy at the store ... what makes it better?]
Royal Icing is an egg white based frosting. There are several recipes on here that you could use. I have used the one listed as "Antonia74 Royal Icing" and haven't had any problems using it. If you are using it as "glue" or as flowers/leaves you need it to be of medium to stiff consistency. You can do a search for royal icing on the forums and you should get a lot of posts to explain it.
Your blog has given me hope -- it is doable!!!! Just still a bit scary.]
I was really nervous to do it! I read over as many posts as I could, some were really helpful, but some really scared me too! If you have any questions you can always PM me, not sure I can help, but I could try.
Sandi
Hi
Just been reading all of these posts - I have used this kit quite a few times and I love it. Not had any problems with it. I do cover my cakes with sugarpaste though and then use edible glue to stick the towers to the sides. We obviously don't get the extreme heat here in the UK either so don't have major problems when delivering cakes.
Here are some pics of the cakes I made using the kit.
Oh, that's a wonderful cake! Even better than the cake itself is what you did for this girl and her family!!
I've made a cake with this set once before, and I assembled the turrets onsite so they wouldn't fall off (unfortunately one of them did, but that's because I ran out of dowels and used straws! It was for my sister's birthday, and she didn't mind too much!)
Oooh love those cakes, but what is edible glue? Anybody know if we have that in the US?
Hi
Sorry should have said - it is just sugarpaste and water - either boil it up in the microwave or just leave it in a jar with a lid - makes nice sticky edilble glue
I use it for everything - sticking garret frills on, sticking petals together on sugar flowers, making models. Everything.
Hi
Just been reading all of these posts - I have used this kit quite a few times and I love it. Not had any problems with it. I do cover my cakes with sugarpaste though and then use edible glue to stick the towers to the sides. We obviously don't get the extreme heat here in the UK either so don't have major problems when delivering cakes.
Here are some pics of the cakes I made using the kit.
Those are terrific castles, much more detailed to look more realistic that the one I did!
Sandi
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%