I have been asked to make a cake to look like a jar of Armour chipped beef. 
Apparently, there is a family joke about this and this cake is for the grandfather's birthday.
I don't even know where to start. How would you do this (she seems to be more concerned about the label (and it has to say "Happy Birthday, we love you") than what the cake looks like).
HELP!!!
I couldn't paste the picture of the jar, but here's a link to the page on their website:
http://armourstarfoods.com/products_dried_beef.html
Depending on how many people...
I would make a stack of 6" rounds and carve to jar shape - fondant lid.
FBCT the label - it will be far easier.
Wouldn't worry so much about the "glass" effect as after base icing, using thin pieces of colored gp to make the "chips". Then smooth things out with apricoating (or your favorite heavy syrup that dries nice and shiny). Once it sets up - smack the label on (not really - but you know what I mean) and call it a night.
Using hard candy to create the glass effect will produce a cake that can't be cut 
Thanks for the ideas.
I have 2 questions, though.
1) What is apricoating? Is it something I buy or make?
2) I was thinking about FBCT for the label but how would I get it to go around the curve of the cake? When it's frozen, it's flat. It would have to be placed on the cake frozen. I can't figure out how it will take the curved shape?
Thanks!
Apricoating is melted apricot jelly (with a drop or two of h2o). It is an excellent sealant for cakes/pastries. Has a definite gloss to it. 1/4 C jelly and 1 T water, melt over low heat (or nuke on low) and brush away.
The FBCT would be frozen flat (you could try to shape the surface the wax paper is on, but that may be a pain). Once frozen, you can lay it on the cake and using a clean piece of wax paper, gently bend to form. This will work best of course when it is not frozen solid, but enough to come off the paper without sticking (my freezer does this in about 3 hours). HTH
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