Although I'd bet there's info in here somewhere, I cannot find it.

I'd like to know how you get those decorations - stars, hearts, twirls, whatever, made from fondant, to stay on the end of the wire you put shooting out of the top of the whimsical cakes? Are they formed and dried on them?

Is it always fondant you make cutouts of, or can you somehow do royal icing ones?

Thanks,
Maija

With the fondant or gumpaste decorations, you can form and dry them on the wires. Before you start molding the flower or decoration onto the wire, make a tiny hook in the end of the wire and dip it in water and shake off the excess. That will help it to stick to the wire. I have made royal icing decorations on the wires too, I just piped and dried them first and then made a hook in the end of the wire, so there is more surface for it to cling to, and glue it to the wire with more royal icing. Careful about making the royal icing decorations very big or delicate though or they can shatter from the movement in the wire when you move them into the cake or whatever. Good luck.

Exactly what wire do you use (what kind, weight etc...) That is the thing that confuses me.

Thank you so much!!

You can use the floral wires that you get in the cake decorating and floral sections of the store if you are doing something lightweight, cloth covered or the painted. If you are making heavier decorations or want to curl or shape the wires as part of the decoration, then you can use wire in the 20-24 gauge range I think. It seems like thats about what gauge it was last I got it. If you go to a hardware store and test the wires they have you can get an idea of what you need. You want it to ben enough that you can do what you need with it but be strong enough that it won't bend when the weight of the fondant is on it. You can use stainless steel wire, copper wire, etc. The aluminum wire works as long as no one is going to eat the decorations it touches, since the aluminum wire I tried at least, would leave a black film of I don't know what on what it touched. And when you put them in the cake, you can use flower spikes and fill them with balls of fondant, then stick the wires into them. It helps keep the wires standing up and not ripping through the cake with the weight of the decorations.

I've also heard of people sticking drinking straws in the cakes to support the wires...

I have not worked with wire yet, but would like to think about it in the future. For those of you who curl the wires for decorations, how do you get the curl smooth? When I picture making curly wires, I picture them coming out bumpy and not professional-looking? Any tips?

i usually use 18 or 22 ga wire, theres a place online you can buy colored wires that are really neat. its called parawire.com
i use flower spikes or bubble tea straws to help hold the wires in place if i am making a topper.

to curlt he wire I just unwrap it from its sool while I am rewrapping it around almost anything, tiny tight curls use a dowel rod, big open ones, cel pin, rolling pin, even a can. anything that is round and the size you want the curls to be.

I usually cut out my deocrations from fondant , let them dry then "glue" them on the wires with chocolate.

hths

You guys rock!

Okay, so how long do you have to let the fondant decorations dry? What's the minimum time? Ummm... do I still have time for my cake due in 3 days? One of the things I might do is put balls on the wires - approximately 1/2" balls. If I cannot, it's not a problem.

It depends on how big the decorations are. But I think 1/2" balls would probably dry enough in 2 days that they would be fine. Good luck!