I've had many clients complaining that my cakes look great but I need to work on my cake board. As of now I use foam core board covered with foil. It's quick & easy !!
I'd like to get your opinion on how to make the board a little more attractive and ofcourse FOOD SAFE !!!
I personally just use cardboard cake boards that I buy pre cut and cover them with wrapping paper, border them with ribbon if I have any, and then cover again with food safe cellophane paper. It's inexpensive and looks nice. I know you can purchase pretty foil for cake boards too. Oasis cake supply has a variety of colors. They also make ready boards that are already covered in decorative foil.
A lot of people attach coordinating ribbon the the outer edge of the cake drum with a little bow...dresses it up a little.
I personally just use cardboard cake boards that I buy pre cut and cover them with wrapping paper, border them with ribbon if I have any, and then cover again with food safe cellophane paper. It's inexpensive and looks nice. I know you can purchase pretty foil for cake boards too. Oasis cake supply has a variety of colors. They also make ready boards that are already covered in decorative foil.
I cover my small cake orders in either white or silver cake board paper (ie Wilton). It's food safe, and they don't wrinkle like foil does. On my bigger orders I'll add ribbon to the edge of the board (like the Zebra cake in my photos - pink ribbon is a little hard to see against that tablecloth), or cover the board in a paper, center scrapbook paper to match the theme of the cake and then cover it in contact paper (like the motorcycle gas tank or tiki cakes in my photos). I like the scrapbook paper because the posibilities are endless.
Any of the suggestions given will look much better than foil. Just one work of warning, some of the colored foils that are sold by cake supply places is actually florist foil and is not food safe. They don't always tell you this - you have to check the packaging and descriptions yourself.
After all the hard work you put into decorating your cakes, just that little extra effort can really make a big difference. My guess is that after you start dressing your boards that you will wonder why you waited so long to start doing it.
Keep up the good work and I can't wait to see what you come up with!!
i would love to improve on this too! i just really dont know how! do you buy heavy duty boards from the hardware store (like, for larger cakes?) or just cover the cardboard boards with fondant? i love the look of ribbon around the board, but the cardboard is never high enough for ribbon. whats the secret?
or cover the board in a paper, center scrapbook paper to match the theme of the cake and then cover it in contact paper (like the motorcycle gas tank or tiki cakes in my photos). I like the scrapbook paper because the posibilities are endless.
like so:
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1423902
You can also buy the foam board in different colors and then add some fondant details to the board instead of covering the entire board with fondant.
Now the biggest problem here is that we don't get clear contact paper thats food safe. I really like the idea of using the gift paper and then covering it with the contact paper but I guess I wont be able to do that.
I have used fondant before , but thats like using SOOO much fondant . Im gonna try sourcing the contact paper.
I think the cake board is an extremely important part of the presentation. I usually cover my board with fondant, and then often times decorate that. It can be as simple as embossing some flowers in the fondant around the outside edge of the board or it can be as extreme as making the cake board part of the cake like I did with my Old Lady in the Shoe or toybox cake. I usually like to finish off the edge of the board with a coordinating ribbon. I use the 1/2" foam core for my boards, and like the board to be 2" to 3" larger than the cake all way around. I have used wrapping paper and covered that with clear contact paper, but I just like the look of the fondant covered boards. On my penguin cake, I covered the board in blue fondant. I wanted it to look like ice, so I painted the fondant with confectioners glaze. At the edge of the board I used royal icing and let it drip down over the edge of the board to represent snow.
Now the biggest problem here is that we don't get clear contact paper thats food safe. I really like the idea of using the gift paper and then covering it with the contact paper but I guess I wont be able to do that.
I have used fondant before , but thats like using SOOO much fondant . Im gonna try sourcing the contact paper.
what if you wrapped plastic wrap over the scrapbook paper and taped in underneath just like you would the foil?
If you want to try using royal icing, just thin your icing (to the consistency of syrup), color it to accent the cake, pour onto the board, smooth with a spatula and let it dry for 24 hours. After it's completely dry you can still add ribbons and other decorative things to go around the cake board.
Your cakes are wonderful, and adding simple decorations to the cake board gives a lovely final touch
I use a piece of wood or MDF (particle board, masonite, whatever), and cover with white contact paper. I like to put my smaller cakes on a marble or ceramic tile. Really pretty. Please stop using foil
I cover mine with scrapbook paper then contact paper. Ribbon on the sides. The cake is under a board and doesn't come in contact with the contact paper.
I tend to use wood boards that are 12 x 12 or foam core. I use cake drums occasionally as well. I've covered with fondant but these days I like the look of the paper more.
this is one I used striped 12x12 paper to coordinate
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1608892
Mug - a - bug : Don't worry very soon I will be out of the world of foil covered boards
I have one question when covering the board with fondant. Do you decorate your cake first and then add a band of fondant to the remaining area of the board or cover the entire board first and then ice the cake?
Say Cheese: I will try to use plastic wrap but I doubt it with stick as smooth as contact paper.
Rainyone : So if you think thts not a problem, as in to use contact paper ( non food safe) and then have a cake board under the cake that's the same size of the cake. We do get the non food safe contact paper which is used in stationeries. This seems like the perfect option then in addition to the one with covering the board with fondant.
Thank you everyone for all your feedback. I think to date this is my best answered post DD and I hope I'll get my boards looking better really really soon !!!
Thanx a ton !
Lorraine Mckay has a tutorial on covering a cake board with fondant:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/extra-icing/sets/72157594575839118
She uses a band of fondant to cover the exposed board.
You can also cover the board with melted candy melts, cheaper than fondant and there is an array of colors that can be matched to the cake design.
Arwa, she basically rolls out a very long piece of fondant, cuts one side to have a straight edge. Then, she loosely rolls it up and unrolls it around the board, then trims the edge. Here's a youtube as well:
A lady who has stopped decorating cakes recently gave me a tip. Freezer paper is grease resistant so it makes a nice clean white suface for a cake board. It's food safe and not too expensive. I did my last cake on freezer paper covered foam core board and it looked simple and clean. I am going to look for ribbon the width of the foam core and start adding that as a finishing touch.
I also use a oversize board, I'll cover the extra board with fondant or even icing then what ever decorations I use on the cake I'll extend those to the board. Then I attach ribbon around the edge.
arwa - You can cover the whole board and then take a cake cardboard the size of your cake and use that as a guide to cut out the center of the fondant where your cake will sit. That gives you a nice seamless covering of fondant on your board. You can also use the way Lorraine shows in her tutorial. I use both ways. It just depends on the cake I'm doing and my mood!
For those of you who cover your boards in fondant, do you ever have problems with people trying to cut through the board and mistaking it as part of the cake? I made a cake (when I was first starting out) and the board was the same color as the cake; I had to explain that it wasn't meant to be eaten and got a lot of confused looks, so i'm a bit hesitant about using fondant this time around.
No, I've never had them try to eat the board!
It does sound pretty funny when you say it that way I'm making a cake for them again this Easter, hopefully things will go better this time
I tried using the fondant on a cake yesterday and it looked great ! So Im surely using that . I'll try to cover it with wrapping paper and plastic wrap and see how that will look.
Thanx everyone !!
In the area I live decorating the board would be a greater expense....I only do this if a alot of the board will be showing.....I usually just use the dull side of the foil on the board....people around here dont want to pay alot for their cakes...
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