Vent About Trying To Make Fondant Tassles... Grrrrr
Decorating By maggiev777 Updated 12 Oct 2007 , 2:53am by Teekakes
Making tassles is going to be the death of my cake decorating enjoyment.
I have tried three times now, and they keep looking lousy and/or breaking!! I'm using fondant, pressing it through a clay extruder. The extruder itself isn't that easy to work with since the strings of fondant tend to stick together when I press them out unless I fiddle with them to separate the as I press. Then I try to assemble the tassle, and if I hang it on th ecake to dry, it falls off. If I try to If I dry them flat, they end up with a weird looking flat side to them!
Anyone know a foolproof way to make these dumb things? My pillow cake really needs them but this isgoing to make me loose my mind. 
Thanks for the help.
I haven't put tassles on a pillow cake, but I have used a tassle on a bookmark on a book cake. I pressed the fondant through a hand held garlic press (that I obviously don't use for garlic) and just pinched one end together, put a little wrap around the top and slapped it on the cake.
I'm using fondant, pressing it through a clay extruder. The extruder itself isn't that easy to work with since the strings of fondant tend to stick together when I press them out unless I fiddle with them to separate the as I press. Then I try to assemble the tassle, and if I hang it on th ecake to dry, it falls off. If I try to If I dry them flat, they end up with a weird looking flat side to them!
as they are dangling off the extruder, try putting some corn starch on your fingers and gently touch the "strings" with the corn starch so they don't stick. I cut the corners of my pillows so that they are not pointy. After you pinch the strings together, as leahs mentioned, and then put on the "cap" of the tassle, wet one side of the cap with just a touch of water and stick it on the corner of the pillow (assuming you pillow is also fondant?) You may have to hold it there for a couple of secs till it holds.
If you warn the recipient, you can also use a toothpick in each corner of the cake to hold them up. Put the toothpick into the tassle first, and then gently push it into the cake at a downward angle.
Good luck!
I'm not sure what extruder you are using, but I use the one below and swear by it. I extrude into the air and when long enough, gently lay the gun onto the counter and cut the paste where I want the knot. Sometimes on really delicate work, I cut each piece individually. I apply to the cake with egg white. It is the BEST glue. Then I apply the knot at the top of the tassel. HTH
Here is one of my tassels:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=828703
Edited to add: The key is extruding really long tassels and cutting where you can clean the edges up.
If you don't want to attach it with a toothpick, maybe you could support it with a couple of toothpicks until it stays in place. I've only made one tassle, so I'm no expert, but I feel your pain, I had the same sticking problem. I'll bet gum paste would work better.
When I make tassels, I also use a clay gun. I do the same thing with corn starch, and make them extra long so I can straighten any that stick together. Then I fold them in half, pinch the top together, and trim all strands to the same length. I then add whatever details I need to the top of the tassels, and attach them to the cake (if it's covered in fondant) with a little water on both the tassel and the cake - I just make sure to move the water around with a dry brush until it becomes tacky before placing. After holding it for a few seconds (literally), it stays in place. I've never had a problem with it this way. Good luck! 
I do almost exactly what Danielle does, except for one step. I make my tassle and then set it on the outside corner of the cake pan I baked the cake in and let it dry there. Then paint if I plan on doing gold or silver, attach to the corner of the cake with a little ball of moistened gumpaste. I roll a small ball, flatten it and brush gum glue on one side, press it against the corner of the iced cake, then moisten the outer side of the flattened ball lightly with gum glue and press the dried tassle in place. Drying the tassle separately gives it the shape of the corner of your cake and I think takes less support to hold it in place on the finished cake.
Ok, I finally got these crazy tassles done (see my pics). UGH. Thanks so much for all your helpful tips. I ended up buying another extruder which worked much better, and using toothpicks to help them stay on helped a lot. I still had two tassle disasters on the way to deliver the cake to the fair, but I got them pretty much fixed. I'm thinking next time I might try making them out of gumpaste instead, but then again that might dry so fast I'd get frustrated about that! Right now I'm just hoping I don't ever have to make tassles again. LOL
The finished cake is in my pics. I'm happy with it, and glad I didn't give up on the tassles since I really think they help the final look of the cake Thanks again! 
Sure hope you win first prize! Lord only knows you certainly should! She's a beauty! Would you mind sharing how you made those perfect tassels?Quote by @%username% on %date%
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