I am making a birthday cake and want to put a stuffed elephant on top. The cake will be iced with buttercream so what can I do to the top so the icing doesn't get on the stuffed animal.
I would make a flat disk of fondant/gumpaste that is just a little smaller in diameter than the top of the cake. I'd make it fairly thick.... may 1/4 inch. You could use an impression mat to pattern the surface. Or put a "stitching" trail close to the outside edge. You could also place it on the top of the cake and do a royal icing "snail-trail" border around it to make it a real part of the cake. Otherwise, when you set up the cake, place the flat disk on the top and then set the elephant on top of it. If you want it all attached to the cake, then put some buttercream or royal icing on top of the cake and attach the disk. I do this all the time when I make fondant/gumpaste figures for toppers, partly because it helps distribute the weight of the figures. It also allows whomever the cake is for to remove the topper and save it as a keepsake.
If you do this, you need to make the disk at least a day before to let it dry and get hard.
It turned out great. Thanks for the help. Here is a picture of the topper and finished cake.
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