Hi everyone! This is my 1st official post here. I just found this website and i am in love! I just started decorating cakes...I am a beginner...very basic. I have 3 cakes so far. No cake decorating classes near me that I have found yet. Anyways...my daughter is graduating high school in June. She is going to college to study sharks (marine biology). I am planning on doing her cake myself...trust me..i have gotten looks already. I have been talking to a few cake decorators already. Here is my plan...1/2 sheet (choc), i have gotten some shark stencils and need to copy them on cardboard so i can trace them onto pound cake. But I also am going to try using rice krispies and fondant..which ever works better for me. I am making shells, other fish, and turtles out of choc (with the help of molds) and those will be placed on the cake and on the tables. My major issue I haven't worked out yet was how i want to do the ocean and coral. one of the cake decorators said they had just seen something on the food network channel about melting sugar and pouring it onto kosher salt then covering with more salt and letting it go i think overnight. idk..can't find the episode. She kept raving about it though because it had the grooves and indents of real coral...has anybody seen or heard of this? I saw that a lot of people here use RI to make coral...will have to try that as well. I was thinking about using blue cotton candy and spreading it on the bottom. I would love to have some ideas!!! I am also having issues with frosting...will address that issue later! Thank you!!!

Didn't Buddy do a huge aquarium cake and make coral in an episode of "cake Boss" that looked good? maybe someone remembers how it was done, didn't seem too complicated.

She may have been referring to an episode of Cake Boss, I caught a repeat of it yesterday on the Cake Boss marathon. Buddy used isomalt dyed different colours to make the coral for an aquarium cake. Not sure if you can view past episodes or not, but hopefully this will help you narrow your search. Good luck!

Great minds think alike, Spuddysmom, we must have posted at the same time

I think poured it over ice, removed it immediately....all I know is it can't go in the fridge, or it'll melt, lol...

i did originally on cakeboss...that's how i got the idea! but i searched youtube for the episode and couldn't find it...i am not sure how he did the coral...i do remember that if it went in the frig...it turned into liquid.

where do i get isomalt? I have a cake and candy place near me along with a micheal's. Would i be able to find it at either of those places do you think? Any ideas on how to do the "water"? Now, let's talk buttercream frosting...lol. I have found a receipe that is good. I am going to try the ones that have been recommended here, but here is an issue that i am running into..its not stiff enough to decorate with. it gets too soft...what do i do? the cake and candy place near me has a dairy free frosting that you just whip and its supposed to hold its shape, same with their buttercream frosting. i just used the frosting for my daughter's b-day cake...it seemed to soften up...my roses came out good...but they weren't firm. Any suggestions on that? Thanks everyone in advance!!!

I got the idea from someone here on CC to pipe RI over grape stems to create coral. It was easy, looked great, and on my photo, someone who claimed to be an actual "coral biologist" said it was "awesome"

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=299143

kellym..thats a really cool idea...how do i do it though...make RI (know of any good receipes for that?) and just pour it over it and then let it dry and keep doing it until the desired size? Like I said at the beginning...a very much newbie! lol

Here's a good basic RI recipe: http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Royal-Icing

I loaded it in a piping bag with a smallish round tip (maybe a 5-7), and just began piping it over the stems. You can't get the whole thing covered at once, so I did it in about 2-3 stages. Cover as much as you can without it getting all over your hands and falling off. Then let dry on wax paper for 12-24 hours, then start again, covering as many bare spots as you can. Lather, rinse, repeat. Just keep building on the previous layer and covering the exposed stem. There's no "wrong" way to do it.

I can't wait to do this cake! Thank you everyone...what great ideas and very helpful hints!!! Can anyone tell me where i can get the receipe for indydebis's bc? I tried doing a search but didn't come up with anything. i am probably looking it up wrong. i keep seeing that it is probably one of the most popular bc here.