I'm working on a few "brick" panels for the outside of a building for this weekend, but am trying to figure out the best way to achieve the look I'm going for. I'm using an impression mat and making fondant panels, leaving them to dry for the sides of the building.

So! Would you vote for my a) making the fondant panels out of brick-colored fondant, and then reicing over the edges of the bricks with white icing later; (b) making the fondant panels out of brick-colored fondant and NOT icing later, just leaving the one color; or (c) cream-colored fondant panels, rubbing in brick-colored petal dust later onto the brick part and hopefully sparing most of the creases between the bricks?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

I'd use modelling chocolate since it holds the impression better than fondant, and I wouldn't do anything to it once I impressed the design onto it. Regardless of whether you use the fondant or not, I'd just do it one color, because when you try to go back and add an extra color to something that small it's going to get messy!

After your panels have dried out a bit and while you still have them flat before assembling, paint over the whole surface with a mixture of alcohol and petal dusts. The trick is getting the mixture right, if you add enough alcohol to the petal dust then when you paint it the colour will just settle in the grooves between bricks rather than over the whole surface. I would use a colour slightly darker than the brick colour, rather than white for this.

Or you could make you bricks out of fondant panels and pipe on white icing, and then go back and remove the icing off the top and leave only what is in the crease. That would make it look like "struck" mortar between the bricks. Sorry "struck" is a mason's term. When they lay out block the mortar between the block bulges, so they go back with a tool and smooth out the bulge (this they call striking the block). You could "strike" the icing from your fondant bricks so to speak.

Thanks guys! This IS a lot of detail work, so I'm leaning upwards not doing the icing mortar (I even learned a term, though - "struck"! Thanks!). Costumeczar, I believe you were working on a brick facade yourself a week or two ago, right? Did you ever take a picture? I don't typically work with modeling chocolate, and would hate to not get to practice first, but I'm working at the hospital again tonight so my time is pretty limited and fondants may not dry quite right in that time. So it might just be the bed wayti go. How long does modeling choc take to dry, btw?

Thanks again!

Wow, fantastic job in your cake!! Mine won't be nearly that ambitious ... I'll be happy if it looks half that good . How did you do the flag, though, and its staff? I need to make one for mine as well, and have been messing around with ideas. And I love how nice and straight your tan "stone" is toward the top of the building and overlapping the sides ... Another thing I'm going to have to figure out, how to get the trim and ledges straight and sharp. Thanks to all your pointers, everybody!

The flag was gumpaste that I dried over a dowel to give it the wave. The flagpole was a wooden skewer that I covered with modelling chocolate, then when I was going to attach the flag to the pole I cut a slit in the modelling chocolate and glued the gumpaste flag in with melted chocolate.

I realize you are working on brick panels but just to give you an idea, when I did the bricks on my windmill cake, I used the impression mat but then cut out the bricks, hand placed them and let them dry. After they dried, I piped the mortar in with royal icing and then wiped it off with a damp paper towel. I used grey icing for the mortar, I would not use bright white.

Now before ya'll say I'm crazy (and I might be) the reason I cut them all out was due to the shape of the windmill. I couldn't just wrap the fondant around that cone shape and keep the bricks level so I have very little options other than cutting each individual brick out and placing it.

Here is a link to a picture of the windmill: http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1903325&sub=1903327&done=1

MissLisa, I was thinking of suggesting doing them individually, so I'm glad that I'm not the only one who would think to do it like that if need be!

MissLisa, SO BEAUTIFUL!!! And I LOVE the look of the gray! If I end up doing the piping, I will certainly use your suggestion. I'm not quite sure yet of what I'll be doing ... cake's for tomorrow, and it depends on how much I can get done tonight, since I don't want to do a ton tomorrow morning. I'll post a picture when it's ready, and I;ll be sure to give you an update of what I ended up doing. Thank you all for your help!!

-Emi.

Here's the finished product! I was pressed for time, so didn't end up doing the grout, or the flag (can't wait to do it on a more detailed cake at some point, though ). Thanks so much for all your help, guys!

Okay ... had some trouble the first time I tried posting it, but nothing hubby couldn't straighten out for me . Here's the finished product, then! Thanks again to everybody on this thread!!!

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1908374

That came out really well!

Thanks for all your help!