Tonight I'm decorating a graduation cake and want to use Wilton's cake sparkles (those fluffy, wafer type sprinkles that add a little sparkle - see link below) for a portion of the top of the cake. I plan to use cakery's inspiration to make a wavy line to sort of divide up the top of the cake - want to sparkalize a side border section and then have text in the other part (if that makes sense).

http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E310D1E-475A-BAC0-5E0EF1DB7697E8A1

But by the time I'll be ready to add them, my BC will have already crusted over. What can I use to get them to adhere w/out melting them? Would a light coating of piping gel work? is that overkill? Maybe just smooth that section again with a hot/wet offset spatula and use the moisture to get them to stick? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks so much!

Been there. I just lightly brush on some gel and sprinkle it on over it. Works like a charm.

Dawn

How about a very fune mist of water sprayed on that section then sprinkle with the sparkles.

Good Luck - and don't forget to share your results!

Do you think if you use a spray it very lightly with water then sprinkle it with the sprinkles they would stick I know when I put a editable image on a cake I spray it lightly with water and the image sticks very well to it (just very very lightly) I bought a water bottle from walmart (.50) in the beauty department and use it for spraying my cakes, just an idea

Molly2

Have you ever tasted these? If not, you might want to.

I bought a bunch of colors and decorated cupcakes for my daughter's class. Cool effect.

I decided to taste one and I personally found the stuff to taste like plastic shavings (well, if I ever ate plastic shavings I think that's what they would taste like )

Anyway, JMO but I will never use those again on anything that will be eaten.

Great ideas everyone! I might try the piping gel because I have that on hand at home already. I've been meaning to get a water bottle to spritz for this kind of thing but at the moment, we had a plumbing disaster this week and I am dealing with a clean up contractor ripping our carpeting and putting down plastic and emptying out our basement at the moment so no time for an extra stop at the store! I really wish I didn't have a cake/cupakes due tomorrow but so be it.

Thanks again for the quick replies!

Projectqueen
your right they don't taste good but if you don't use alot of it it just tastes like the buttercream. I ate some too, definitely tastes like plastic.
Dawn

Oh, don't ask how I know that. Lets just say kids eat the darndest things.

i'd be worried that if you use piping gel or even spritz with water that when you sprinkle on the colored cake sparkles they'll melt and leave you with little puddles of color!! They're made of dried egg whites, so I'm thinking they'd melt! If I were you, I'd use a hair dryer and slightly warm up the section you're wanting to put them on so that it's not so crusted over. Besides if it's just on the top of the cake, do they really need to "stick"??

I've used them before and didn't notice the plastic taste but thanks for the warning - I'll just use enough to get some sparkle. I can get a little sparkle-happy if I'm not careful..... LOL!

When I use them I don't use many I just use them for decoration

Molly2

KHalstead - Hair dryer idea might be a good idea...

No, they don't really have to "stick" but they are so light, they tend to kind of drift off if they aren't anchored down at least a little. If it was for my family at home, I could just sprinkle them on but I have to transport this to my customer's barn. Yes, barn, outside and full of flies (complete with ineffectual fly paper!).....whole other story. I did a grad cake for their other child last summer. Totally gross set up but hey, I'm just getting paid for the cake.

Did you taste them by themselves or with the cake..I wonder if the taste gets lost on the sugar flavor..
Edna

I've used them om big cakes and you can't taste them now if you completely coverthe cake I mean really cover now that maybe another story and you will be buying more the one jar of them

Molly2

BTW - I am going to use the white sparkles on white BC (black and red accents on other parts of the cake) so I'm not as concerned with any color bleeding...but the possible melting/dissolving is what I'm more concerned about.

When I used them, I sprinkled them on cupcakes. Yes, I did taste them on the cupcake. Maybe it was more concentrated because it was a smaller surface area, but.....plastic!

I tired using the sugar sparkles on some fondant accents last year. I had used the clear vanilla to attach them, following a suggestion from a Wilton book. It was semi-humid, and everything turned into a wet mush. So, next try, I just rolled out the fondant, sprinkled the whole thing with sparkles, and they stuck quite well, then I cut out my shapes. They stayed sparkly even when suspended on the side of a BC cake at an 85 degree outdoor reception.

So -- maybe a strip of fresh fondant (MMF or other) might work (I'm assuming you are also looking at some humidity in the barn setting). The slight warming with a hairdryer would also be a good bet.

Hope this helps...

Oh, and I should also clarify -- if you are preparing the cake with an air-conditioned setting, the fondant will likely not be "damp" enough to do this.

Perhaps find a room without AC to prepare the fondant strip. This technique does not work in winter, either (at least in upstate NY).

Thanks for everyone's help. Here is the finished cake from the past weekend:

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1238571

What I ended up doing was just slightly wetting the area with a damp finger and it did get a little too sticky so I blotted with a paper towel and then sprinkled them on. They stuck great and did not dissolve.

I tried a taste test and they were ok, no plastic taste. I realized that I actually had CK brand (not Wilton) and just FYI, the only ingredient listed on the jar was gum arabic.