I've been asked to do two cakes in the very near future. The first one is to go to a nursing home for a woman's birthday. The only thing I was told was it was for 40 people and that they didn't want a lot of icing as the residents that will partake in it can not have the sweets. Design-wise I think it's basically free reign but I believe they are thinking of something more along the grocery store chain type but with less icing. Any ideas on how to cover the cake if I can't cover the whole thing in icing. My intial thought was perhaps a fall themed cake with BTC icing just on the top with maybe some fondant leaves and the greeting and then using some fabric ribbon around the sides to cover the part of the cake that isn't iced. The only problem is getting ribbon the exact height as the cake. The more I think on it the less I think it will look good too.
Any ideas???

Also I posted this question in the "naughty" forum and didn't get any answers so I'll clean it up and ask it here.
I had someone ask for a cake with whipped cream icing. I've only ever used the cool whip one but I know there is another kind out there. For what they want though the finish has to be perfectly smooth and they aren't looking to refrigerate this. Is it possible to get a perfectly smooth finish with whipped cream icing? Does it have to be refrigerated?

Thanks for all your help!

If the "children" aren't allowed sweets, then maybe you should make a cake that has a fruit topping and make a glaze to go over it. That way they get their fruit and fibre intake without comprimising their issues with eating sweets.

You could do a custard to go on top of the cake and then the fruit on top. Much like a giant fruit flan.

HTH.

Can't help you with the other question.

Rich's Bettercreme is shelf stable.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Rich's Bettercreme (and Pastry Pride):

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-1814171-.html

Decorating with Pastry Pride:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-181061-.html

HTH

Hello chrissysconfections

here is a thought for you... There are still a few Italian bakeries that do this. They put just a touch of icing on the sides of their cakes (like a crumb coat), then they cover with toasted slivered almonds. So unless your customers have nut allergies, this could be an option for you.

Another option would be a chocolate wrap. The coating of chocolate would be very thin, and if you use semi sweet chocolate, it really is not adding much 'sweetness' to the cake.

Whipped cream icing... here is something very simple that I do sometimes... whip about 1 cup of whiping cream; as it starts to thicken, add about 2 tbsp powdered sugar, 2 tsp clear vanilla and 2 tbsp Jello vanilla powder. The vanilla powder will stablize the cream; it won't look like fondant, but it will spread fairly smoothly.
It does need to be store in the fridge;
the finished cake can be left out of the fridge of a short time, but it is not recommended to leave it out for hours.

hope this helps.
Ciao

Well I got some more information last night....none of it that makes my job any easier......

50-60 servings,Traditional sheet cake, no chocolate,fruit or nuts, and extremely light on icing. Free reign on design as long as a specific message is on it.
These rules are from the nursing home directly. If the customer can't abide by them then she can't bring her 97 yr old Auntie a cake!! They are giving her a lot of hassel about this because the only time she's permitted to do the cake with the other residents is during a time that they would not normally be gathered anywhere and it's an inconvience to the staff to round them up in the dinning room. Nice place aye?
I'm back to the ribbon idea again but I'm thinking if I ice half the side and cover the rest with ribbon it will look weird when they take the ribbon off and cut it. My DH suggested fondant and just have them peel it off but that's pretty pointless too not to mention a waste of money. Plus I don't think the staff would appreciate the extra work of peeling it off. So now I have no idea what to do!! I figure the easiest way to eliminate a lot of the extra icing is on the sides but that leaves them bare and me with little imagination in covering them.
HELP!!!

I personally think the ribbon idea would work rather well. It may take some ingenuity to make it work, but I think it would. They have so many widths of ribbon that it shouldn't be too hard to do it. What is the height of the cake going to be anyway?

One other thought, have you thought about trying some of the sugar-free or low-sugar icings? I THOUGHT I saw one in the recipe section here, but I cannot recall right now. I do know I have read about it quite a bit on this site - maybe in the forums.

This is a common request from people with loved ones in nursing homes.


I do everything I can to make it easier on the customer, the elderly tennants, and the staff....

no ribbon on side...either leave the cake exposed or like was stated by a pp, a light coat of icing.

as for the top, give it a minimal amount of icing as well and decorate it beautifully with borders....

or, give the top and normal layer of icing(assuming normal ain't too thick), score it, reserving center area for writing, border the center with a small (5-7)round tip, put a small rose or rose bud in every other square, write message...no outer edge border is necessary


base ice cake, cut off all 4 sides, score, doing it in that order will insure nicely finished top edges

I have no skill when it comes to smooth icing a cake, and still, when I've iced cakes with whipped cream, it has comes out quite smooth. I just use whipping cream and powdered sugar.

That may be something you could do for the nursing home as well, just don't use so much sugar.

There is also a Wilton recipe for stablized whipped cream that may be easier to work with. It has some piping gel in it. Let me know if you need it and I'll find it for you.

RitzyFritz~I'm planning on doing a two layer sheet cake so it would be around 4" high

all4cake~ I'm not sure I understand your design idea. Do mean make like a grid around the top somehow and put roses in every other one? Saving room for the messages of course.

rsdd108~ Thanks! I'll look into it!! Seems I've seen lots of threads on here for stablized whipped cream but when I searched I didn't get any hits. Same with fall cakes that I searched today.

Some cakes are "naturally" pretty, with it's exposed sides-- poundcake-- angel food cake, so maybe you leave the sides exposed and lightly
frost the top

and the Rich's whipping cream will totally work for your other issue

That's what I mean, uh huh

a two layer sheet cake is no longer a sheet cake

aaaaaaaaaand

They don't give them folks big pieces of the cake either sooooo there's gonna be some wasted cake unless of course the sheets you are planning to layer are like 1/4 sheets or smaller...

seriously, when the staff says sheet they mean sheet...single layer...no muss no fuss no nuts no fruit no things to remove and scoring it adds *points with the staff *



*this small thing aids in referrals...*

I don't mean anyone working in nursing homes any disrespect but I would hate to be a resident in one and know that my birthday in any way caused them to be disgruntled...I might not get my arse wiped for days...dang
CORN???? I AIN'T ATE NO CORN!!!!

Nope I was planning on doing an 11x15 or 12x18 sheet cake because the customer said she wanted it bigger so she could take some home and possibly to work (an office buiding). So your saying nix the two layer? I've never done a nursing home before and am worried about the overall look with the sides unfinished or crumbs in a single coat. Maybe it's less about looks in these cases????

no icing on the sides of a sheet cake doesn't look bad. everyone's eyes are going to be drawn to the top decorations. and if it's done as if it were intentional, it's fine. that is why i suggested base icing the entire cake then trimming off the sides...it makes it look finished.

if it were me, and someone requested a sheet cake, i would give them just that...a sheet cake...one layer...2-3 inches high...in the size coinciding with servings requested.

a 12x 18 =54 2"x2" servings....even if they cut them that size, she would still have plenty to take with her to work. some may opt for a serving 1/2 that size, some may not want cake at all, some might ask for seconds and be told they're lucky they got what they got considering they aren't supposed to have any(I've been in several, in 3 different states...as a visitor...there's always been at least one witch...hateful to all...like she really wanted to be a broadway star but got stuck in her present position and takes it out on anyone and everyone. Some are just left there and are tickled that anyone remembered their birthday. It'll make you cry.) Sorry...OT

Here's a quickie...
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/52155/normal_IMG_0335.JPG

I don't think it looks so bad without icing on the sides. see the possible results and you decide whether you want it on there or not.