Okay. I do admit that I know what dummy cakes are, but once decorated how do you clean them off? I've never actually seen one, just read about them here at CC. I would like to get several sizes/shapes to practice on, but was just curious of the clean up process.

I'm with you! I have bought rounds and squares to practice with, but I have been afraid to actually use them. I'm afraid I will not be able to get them clean.

I use fondant on them. It's much easier to just peel it off than wrestle with buttercream. But you would decorate them just like a real cake. I smear some crisco on them and lay on the fondant. The crisco helps the fondant stick and makes removing it really easy. I used water once and the fondant stuck to the dummy like cement. With crisco.. it just comes off. If you use butter cream I would just put it right on the dummy.. some people wrap them with plastic wrap, but it's hard to get it on with no bumps and buldges. You can scrap buttercream off pretty easily. Dummys can be hard to cover with buttercream though because they are so light and they move around a lot.

If I just decorate for a picture and the icing is still soft then I just wipe it off and then clean with soapy water.

If it has sat on display for awhile the fondant or BC will have hardened enough that I can just take a spatula under it and it pops off.

Sometime I wrap my dummies in seran wrap first so when I am ready to change I just turn the cake over and unwrap the dummy over the trash can, everything comes off easy and I just rewrap. If you use seran wrap make sure you have a needle or pin handy to pop those pesky air bubbles b/c they will show through when icing.

If you don't know the answer it's not a dumb ?

I work mostly w/b'cream. I just scrape it off w/a spatula. If it's only for practice that's all you have to do. Eventually the dummy will get yellowish and mishapened but that will take a long time.
If you wait long enoug (like 6mons-yr) it will come off in big dry hunks.

There is a method of using contact paper to encase them... (cut to fit top bottom and sides.) I did that for a show recently but found that the fondant wanted to slip right off so I peeled the contact paper off and applied the fondant straight to the dummy. I had no problem getting the fondant off about a week later. I'm not sure my contact paper was high quality which might have been the reason I had problems as my friend used the same process for the same show and had no problems with hers at all.

I actually cover mine with clear packing tape. Completely smooth when covered in b/c. Cleaning is easy..just run under water and dry right away. Others use saran wrap...I had a hard time getting rid of the creases under my icing.

I put my icing right on the dummy. I tried the plastic wrap and it was just to much of a headache to get the plastic wrap flat with no creases.

I also do the fondant with crisco covering the dummies.

I'm glad you asked this I've been wondering the same thing. Now if you do a cake in fondant for picture portfolio purposes only. Can you take the fondant off and reuse it for another cake in the same day , or does it dry too fast? Thanks

I too am glad that you asked this question because I have been debating making dummy cakes. I am limited on pictures of cakes that I have done and I often have brides asking me to send them pictures of wedding cakes that I have done. Also, I would really love to have some dummy cakes displayed throughout my kitchen...my kitchen seems to have taken on a cake theme all on its own so it would not only blend into the theme of my kitchen but I would have some beautiful displays for my clients to see when they are enjoying a cake tasting consultation. My only concern is the dummies becoming dusty....how would I keep them clean?

Good post. I've always wondered -- but never asked.

Debster: your post cracks me up!!! Oh to be so skilled that I could accomplish getting a cake done and the fondant off to be used on another cake all in the same day! I'm SO the tortise... But, seriously, if you are a fast worker, then yes, I would assume you could easily accomplish using the fondant more than once in the same day. As always, there is the pop-it-in-the-microwave method of softening it up a bit. As to the question of how long they can sit around... depending on what you have used to cover them, they can sit for quite some time. Some designers use RI to decorate them, some use the decorator putty (it's like Spackle for dummy cakes but can be used all the same ways as BC and RI --and is pretty permanent), fondant does harden eventually. Only the BC would be a long-term issue. The ones that become hard can be dusted, but they do fade over time if displayed in a high light area. I saw one in a hotel lobby promoting their wedding services... it was so faded and yucky and pieces had been "picked" off by curious passers-by. It was NOT a great piece of advertising.

I put the BC directly on the styro. It hardens hard as concrete. To remove it, I just break the icing surface enough to get a spatula under the icing, run the spatula around the cake and the hardened icing pops right off. Wipe it with a damp cloth and you're ready to roll again. Takes 3 minutes.

The last time I used BC on a dummy and I had to take it off before the buttercream was totally dry... then I just ran it under the really hot water to melt the buttercream. It came off so easily!

thank you i was wondering about dummy cakes also.

Win, hahahahahhahaha maybe wishful thinking on my part, but I was hoping it would be quick you know roll the fondant smack on some different flowers some maybe silk then some premade gumpaste. Maybe it's not doable. Hope you didn't burst my bubble. hehehehehe

Tonimarie: apparently you weren't the only one with questions about it and I thank you so much for posting your question, I've been very busy and haven't got around to but I was wondering the same thing. I just bought a bunch of them for an upcoming wedding show and was needing such info. Thanks everybody for your answers too.

I too needed to ask this question...thanks for the wonderful tips! I'm going to start planning my next project now.....

I do just fondant on the dummy. When you are ready to take the fondant off, put it in the fridge for a day or so. The fondant will get hard and pop right off. Now, I have never tried to use the fondant again, but I am sure you could if you just leave it out to get warm again.