Hello,

I have a 3D golf bag which will stand uprightand I was wondering if anyone could advise me on how best to cover the thing with fondant without the sides slipping down. I have heard that this could happen on large vertical surfaces. I believe some people use modeling chocolate first to cover the cake then use fondant on top of that which I guess helps to provide more friction for the fondant to hold on to.

Anyone have any experience on how to best handle this situation? If the modeling chocolate is the way to go, how do I best adhere the chocolate to the cake and what to use to adhere the fondant to the chocolate?

Also, any advice on how to make this thing so it doesn't fall over on transit?? A large dowel down the middle through all the layers??

Thank you so much,

Lsienna

I have seen Duff use modeling chocolate under fondant to help with slippage, but the best way I've seen is to drape the fondant over the top of the bag and smooth the fondant down over the sides from there. (as opposed to wrapping the cylinder with the end open on top and bottom).

If you go the modeling chocolate route, you could adhere it with frosting, let it cool so it stiffens up, then add the fondant and you could probably adhere that with water or piping gel. I'd roll it as thin as possible, so you will have to have very smooth modeling chocolate on your cake.

As for transporting it....prayer!

Seriously, it's going to be scary. Use a good support system such as stress free cake supports and use a long dowel through the whole entire thing and into or through the cake board. I'd have someone sit with the cake and be ready to be "hands on" over bumps, twists, and turns.

I can't in good conscience recommend using dowels....if you search the forums, there was a HUGE disaster involving a standing golf bag where the client sued the decorator. Poor girl was really put through the wringer. If you must use something other than stress free supports, get those wide hollow pillar looking cake supports by Wilton. The more stable the better.

Good luck and post pics!

Since you are making it with fondant, is there any way that you can build it so that it lays down flat to travel, and then set it up on it's angle (Okay, whatever, I can't spell!!!) when you get there???

if you don't already have SFS, you can use SPS if the diameter of the cake is large enough. SPS doesn't come smaller than 6".

I would cover it over the top like a regular cake... and then wrap just the sides again if that first coat doesn't look so hot or if you want a different color - whatever. The base coat of fondant will hold well and then the sides can't slide down.

When I tried covering a stockpot cake (which was 6" around but 9" tall, like a golf bag) in fondant, it was a royal PITA. When your cylinder is really tall, your fondant diameter must be huge. But once you lay that huge piece over the tiny top of the cake, there is so much left that it bunches like there is no tomorrow. "Lift and smooth" is nearly impossible unless you are an octopus; the fondant you are not supporting will hang down, yank the top of your cake, and/or just plain rip. Plus, I still don't know where all that extra fondant can possibly go. Try it with a paper towel and a Pringle's can and you'll understand what I am talking about. Even if you can somehow resolve this problem, my belief is that the weight of the fondant may still cause it to drag down the top of your cake, or even rip at the top edge.

In my case, I was so frustrated I went at the fondant with scissors to remove the excess, and did not overlap it in the back. I think that was my fatal error; you're right, the fondant wrapped only on buttercream just peeled itself right off a few hours later .

Although I have not tried the sideways wrap method, I have since seen it recommended as the best solution and personally I would do it that way next time. You assemble and crumb coat your cake and then freeze it for stability. After you wrap the fondant around it sideways like a log-roll, just be sure that you give it a generous overlap. The overlapped part is the key to getting the fondant to stay on your cake. It makes sense: the overlap creates an entire vertical zone for your fondant to cling to. The overlap becomes the "back" of your cake or you can obscure it with appropriate details like an actual seam, etc.

Just my 2c based on own my major mishap. I am not an expert in this field but I did SO much research on it after the fact to try to figure what I SHOULD have done, so I am just passing along a combination of my failed experience and others' successful techniques. Good luck!

Contact the ladies at www.twosweetsisters.com

They have a standing golf bag cake and I took the demo at ICES. If I remember correctly, they wrapped it laying down but they have a PVC stand--they sell it for about $100. I used the same concept with my standing golf bag dummy cake.

I used a 6" PVC pipe to make my stand. The bottom has a 4" tall base that I use a 6" X 4" dummy. You have to cut most of the pipe away for the rest of the stand but it is more stable than using just cake. Hope that helps.

Thank you for the suggestions. Yikes, it is sounding a little scary. I was initially thinking of making 3 - 12 inch x 4 inch high cakes (for 75 people) and put them on top of 3 - 12 x 4 inch high styrofoam dummies which have been glued together. So the structure will be 24" high total all of which would be covered in fondant etc. The sturcture will be upright and not leaning.

All of these layers then would have a thick 2 inch dowel covered in clear contact paper - or after reading this post and others, perhaps I will make it a 24 inch 2" PVC pipe. Perhaps I will have around the radius of the cakes a few dowels going straight through all the cakes and down into the styrofoam to prevent any slippage of the cakes.

The pipe or dowel will be secured at the bottom into a flange which is then secured to the base. The three cake layers I thought I would use bubble tea straws bewtween each of the three layers of cake but not sure about that.

Anyway, that is the paln for now. What do you all think of that plan?

Thanks again,

Lsienna

Isienna--
That's a huge cake--diameter-wise.
Two Sweet Sisters use 8" cakes and it serves about 75 guests (three 8" 2-layer cakes). With the stand, they use 1 8" x 4" styrofoam dummy. Just a thought.

For what it's worth I would definitely not use something covered in clear contact paper as a dowel. Contact paper is not food-safe. I use it on my cake boards but my iced cake is on a board of its own so it doesn't actually touch the contact paper. I don't think you want that stuff actually inserted into your cake. I would say: Listen to Leahs and get the SPS, for a cake this big you will need it to be seriously sturdy.

Speaking of which, omg that cake sounds so huge, it makes my head hurt! But to further what Mac posted, doesn't a single 12" cake feed like 50 people (assuming it's a 2-layer cake)? So right now your proposed cake is big enough for 150... Anyway I think you might want to put the dummies on TOP, to lower your center of gravity. Correct me if I'm wrong here people, I am just going on gut feeling on this one.

Yes, good point that a several layer 12" cake is way too big. I will probably go with an 8" cake. I read online that a 12" double layer cake serves 30 people for parties but less for weddings, that is why initially I was thinking 12" but I believe that is way too big as well.

As for putting the cakes on the bottom, my concern there was the customer will be cutting the cake themselves and I am not sure how to handle the information part of cutting the cake for customers. I can't see them pulling the syrofoam dummies on top up and off the middle support. Most people I believe would probably end up hacking up the cake before they even get to cutting it.

Is that too much to expect of them? I would prefer putting the actual cake on the bottom for sure if you all think that is perfectly fine. I would like to know how you have done similar situations in the past.

I guess for 3D cakes it is a necessity to explain how it is made and how to cut it etc. - as I was thinking of making the golf clubs non-edible - using fondant covered dowels and perhaps fondant covered, painted, styrofoam for the clubs. I obviously would need to tell them they can't eat that. I would love to know how you all go about handling the 3D cake assembly discussion with your cakes.

Thank you for the info on not to use contact paper on the dowels. What then do people do when they do use actual dowels in cake? What do they cover them with? Or, in the case of using a main middle PVC pipe through the entire structure - what are those covered with or are they used as is inside of a cake?

Thank you again for all the advice - it is beyond helpful!!

Lsienna

I'm not too sure about your dowel question. I buy the Wilton dowels which are meant to be food safe (think, giant toothpicks). If you are careful when you shop for your PVC pipe you can ensure that it is food safe...the analogy I have seen here is that your household water travels through it. I don't personally know if there are leaching issues due to the fact that CAKE surrounds it rather than just having water flow through. I believe the assumption is just that if it's safe enough for my water to reside in it's safe for my cake.

Hopefully someone will answer your other ?'s, especially on whether or not you can expect your customers to disassemble and cut it if the cake is on the bottom. I know it's hard to get an answer on CC right now with the email-notification system not working...unless you check your "watched topics" daily like me, you don't ever know if anyone responded...so I think the site isn't as busy as normal due to the problems. Hang in there! You might want to PM Doug too, he is the resident expert on structural issues.