I am doing a wedding cake next weekend in which one tier will be a styrofoam dummy. I want to do it up ahead of time and maybe save a little bit of money and was thinking I could just use shortening under the fondant instead of buttercream icing. Has anyone tried this? Any opinions or suggestions? Thanks

Just a mist of water or a thin scrape of piping gel or even corn syrup. You want the fondant to stick to the dummy.

Also, watch the top edge of the dummy. It has a tendency to cut the fondant.

You need to smooth the top edge of the dummy because if you don't, it will cause the fondant to tear. I use a cheap disposable nail file/emery board--very gently. Also, smooth out any other lumps, bumps, or lines the same way or they'll be magnified in the fondant finish.

You can certainly use crisco to adhere the fondant. It's a nice smooth undercoat and can help stop bubbles. The only drawback I find is that the dummy is then pretty hard to clean up to use again (the grease is hard to get off and gets an odor over time). If re-use isn't an issue, I'd say go for it. If you want to re-use it, then water is the cheapest & easiest. You only need a fine mist and then some spot touch-ups around the bottom edge for a good stick.

If you want to re-use a dummy, no matter what you put under the fondant, you can put it in the microwave for 20 seconds--NO MORE-- and the fondant will peel off easily and with no mess. If the dummy is too big for your microwave, set your oven on warm (150-180 degrees), sit the dummy on a piece of aluminum foil, and leave in there for no more than 3 minutes. Again, the fondant will peel off easily. You can wash the dummy with hot soapy water and it will be ready for another round.

HTH
Rae

I use Glad Press N Seal to cover my dummies. Works like a CHARM! Then, you can uncover and resuse those pricy dummies. I just put a VERY thin layer of clear piping gel on the Glad P S..... then add fondant.

Jen

I always use water!

Wow! thanks these are great tips!! I don't think I will be reusing the dummy so that is no problem. Thanks so much!

cakes80 i was a little curious of why the dummy cake? i mean i think that its a great idea if the bride wants a 5 tier cake and can't afford it ,... lol just woundering

i also use glad press n seal.... like jenniferMI.... i also use glad press n seal when i use buttercream on dummies.... works great....then you have a clean dummies to reuse if that is what you want to do.... the buttercream sticks to it wonderfully...

HI Pinkbiz, the reason for the dummy is that she wanted a pretty cake for display purposes and to feed the wedding party but she is having individual cakes on each table for the guests so she doesn't need that much cake. I didn't do the individual cakes as space and manpower (little old me) couldn't realistically do that but I was all about the big pretty cake.

I know blakescakes said to use a file to smooth away rough edges on the dummy, but doing crafts all my life, the smoothest way to do it is to use another piece of styrofoam to smooth the edges.

great tips!!

Most people say to mist water on (don't for get to gently round all your edges first). Thinned-down (with water) Elmer's white glue works well for a permanent fake cake.

WATER))))

GraciesJ, Rae's method worked great and was way less messy than water. The fondant just peeled off.

I buy mine already rounded on top (Taylor Foam sells them that way). I only mist my dummies with water. And I mean MIST - it doesn't take much to make the fondant stick. If it is giving you a fit, use sewing pins to hold it down until you are done. The pins are so tiny you have to really really look to see the pin holes. Especially if you do it at the bottom where you will most likely have a border.

If you are careful, you can peel off the decorations and use the fondant covered dummy more than once (I get about 3-4 uses out of each time I make one.) I wash them off in the sink using a light scrubber and they are as good as new (a few times only).

When it's time to replace the fondant, it just peels off... usually - if I didn't use too much water. Once I had to soak it in the sink for a bit and let the foam dry out.

Anyway, I do a lot of dummies due to wedding shows and sometimes brides want a larger cake than the guest count warrants. A wedding cake for 30 guests just doesn't have the presentation most brides seek. So, out come the dummies. I do charge for renting the decorated dummies and charge a refundable deposit.