What kind of wire is used for the "bursts" coming out of a cake? Where do I get it from? Which would be better for attachments? Gumpste or fondant? And how are they attached...just sliding the wire in or some special technique?
Thanks.

The best thing that is in Duff's new merchandise line is probably the wires you are looking for.

Although a little expensive (4.99 for 10 I think) They look sturdy and already in a curl shape.

You can, however, go to the local hardware store and pick up some wire like for hanging pictures. They have a variety of different guages to pick from.

I have used both fondant and pastillage on them... both worked fine. I cut my pieces thick enough to run the wire in, yet not so thick they weigh the wire down really bad. First I put a small loop at the end, then slide it in while the fondant / pastillage / gumpaste is soft. Let them dry and they should be stuck on pretty good.

When putting them in the cake, you can slide a small coffee straw on the end of the wire so that it doesn't touch the cake and is easy to remove. That way the cake doesn't touch non food safe material.

I have been told Jewelry wire. I bought some but have yet to use it.

HTH

I have used the heavier gauge wire in the floral section of my local craft store (Michael's), but definitely want to try Duff's curved wire since it's already shaped & looks a little shinier.

I generally use the hardware- or craft-store variety, 30 gauge and above, depending on how much flexibility I need. The important thing is never to stick those, or any other, wires directly into the cake, but put them inside straws of some kind or other first. Another suggestion is to coat them in melted chocolate or candy melts to keep the wire away from the cake, but these coatings tend to come off as you stick the wires down into the cake, so this doesn't work too well. You might want to put all the wires together with floral tape before putting the burst into a straw (floral tape isn't food safe, either, so you still need the straw) so that the burst is distributed evenly. I've had all my star- or ball-tipped wires lean over to the same side on more than one occasion without this!

There is a "sticky" at the top of this forum with pages and pages of discussion about using wires in cakes. Many types of wire are not food safe and should not be stuck directly into the cake.

I realize that wire isn't food safe, but is the Duff product food safe? That would make sense... JW

Someone posted in the sticky thread that the instructions on the packaging of the Duff wires said to insert them directly into the cake so their impression was that they were food safe.

That's exactly what I was just about to post... this is directly from the Micheal's website:

Add some bling to your cake with these fun wire add-ons! Cake wires add dimension and extra style to your cakes.



Package includes a total of 8 wires that are 9-inches high.


Tip: Simply insert into your cake or add a decorative element for additional fun.

I use floral wire I purchase at Michaels or Walmart. If you are looking or white Walmart has the best price. I have never had any problems from sticking wires into my cakes. Several of my pictures use wires. I wouldn't purchase wire from a hardware store but then that's just me.