Martha's Damask Cake - How To Do This Pattern On Buttercream
Decorating By rits Updated 7 Oct 2007 , 3:56am by Steady2Hands
Hi all. I have a bride who want this cake (different colors), but doesn't want any fondant involved.
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=113afba241942110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=damask%20wedding%20cake&rsc=ns2006_m2
So, the outside will be buttercream. The original design called for piping in royal over a pattern (easy) & then attaching the pieces to the fondant. I also thought of pressing fondant into molds & then affixing to the cake. But, with buttercream (I use IMBC, not a crusting BC), HELP!!! Royal obviously won't work, and anything I stick to the side of the cake could slide down as the buttercream warms to room temp.
I realize I could just pipe the pattern on the cake, but the bride really wants the super-tailored, clean look in the pic, and I'm not sure BC piping can accomplish that....
bright ideas?? Much appreciated!
Jen N
Well...I feel silly! I'm not sure how I can be a pastry chef & not know you can pipe chocolate onto BC!!??!! Just regular old tempered chocolate from a parchment cone? Any tricks I need to know of? And, the patterns won't slide down the buttercream as it warms?
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!
Hey Rits, no don't feel silly. Pastry chefs do know best! You're right, you can't pipe it directly on the cake or the BC. You will need pipe it on the design on parchment or plastic like a plaque or transfer.
Or you could mold it.
Then apply all the pieces like fondant. 
You know what?? I would recommend emailing Wendy Kromer herself. I emailed her about one of her cakes that I saw in a MS Weddings magazine. She replied immediately and was a HUGE HUGE help. She gave me very detailed instructions on how to make the bevel for my Lambeth cake. I had several people give me advice and hers is the one I went with. She was like talking to a best friend!!!!! 
I'm sure she'd be happy to offer advice.
www.wendykromer.com
Let us know how this turns out.
Amy
Hi everyone - a quick follow-up, in case anyone needs to know in the future...
I went to Kinkos & had them blow up the cake photo to life-size. Then, I laid parchment paper over the giganto picture & piped the designs in tempered white chocolate (X4, for 4 sides of the cake, obviously 
) I went over the patterns again after the first coat of chocolate dried, just for safety.
I then dusted the patterns with pewter-colored luster dust (bride wanted pewter on cream-colored IMBC). I attached the pattern to the cake at the venue when I delivered (took about 70 minutes), since I knew the designs would break when I stacked the cake if I placed them ahead of time.
I attached the pieces with dots of IMBC from my piping bag, and it worked & stuck like a charm. I had done a test overnight in the fridge & letting a cake sit out at room temp for several hours, so I was confident it would work.
It sounds like an odd color combo, but it was really lovely! (It was the bride's choice to match her invites, so don't think I'm patting myself on the back!)
Thanks to all for your help with this!
Jen N
I love the design on this cake. I'd love to see a picture of the finished cake! It sounds pretty.
I have to do this same cake this weekend. It will be blue white chocolate fondant with brown RI Damask. I look forward to seeing your pic.
cakemommy ~ thank you so much for suggesting to email Wendy Kromer. I did and she responded! Wow! She answered all my questions.
I ended up piping the RI onto the cake. The pattern the bride chose was super delicate and the piece broke too easily. So I printed my pattern onto transparencies. Then I lightly piped some RI on the template (NOT the side the ink was on). Then I quickly pressed the pattern on the cake. That gave me a the pattern to pipe over.
One good thing about doing it this way is that the RI didn't break to pieces when it was cut like it would have if I had put the dried pieces on the cake. Wendy K. suggested removing the RI pieces but it worked great this way.
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