Scared To Death! A Few Different Questions Inside
Decorating By shar7599 Updated 27 Jul 2011 , 10:26pm by Cakeonista
I am going to be making my first wedding cake in about 6 weeks for a friend. She wants a simple 3 tier cake. Her colors are ivory, turquoise and black. I normally make MMF for my cakes, but for a wedding cake, I want something that has a nicer finish so I think I am going to order the satin ice in ivory. Now, what's the best site to order it from. I've found a few that even with shipping it's about $25 less than my bakery store here in town. But, right now they are sold out of the ivory. No biggie, I have time, but wanted to see what other sites people use. Does the satin ice really taste good? It says this one is vanilla flavored.
Question 2: I am going to try to post a rough draft of what it may look like, but what I am thinking is ivory fondant, with turquiose ribbon around the bottom of the layers, then in the middle layer do some kind of black design, then top the cake with the monogram cake topper. I have offered to bling it up for her if she prefers. Anyway, I'm scared to pipe black onto the ivory fondant. I don't have a super steady hand, and I don't really know if I can just go free form. Any tips? I have seen edible images in that diamond damask print that may work nice, but I don't want the design all around the layer. You can go to www.cakecarousel.com and see the print, Has anyone used this? Can I cut it down? Can you tell it's a print once it's on the cake? I don't want a film behind it like those wilton cupcake stickers you get at walmart!
PLEASE, PLEASE HELP!
Okay, so I can't add an attachment. Is that ever going to get fixed? LOL
Hasn't worked since I've been here...it'd be great if they'd fix it (that, and the avatars! 
)
In the meantime, if you want a photo to show up in your post, here's how:
First upload the photo into an online photo site like Photobucket (getting a photobucket account is easy and FREE) then just copy the photo's image code (IMG Code) from photobucket and paste it into your post (on a line by itself, so it doesn't have any other text or punctuation against it). Then when you hit 'submit comment' the photo will display in the thread. Easy. 
Photobucket is here: http://photobucket.com/
I'm pretty sure you can also use Flickr like this too - just look for the image code (IMG code) and copy and paste it.
Yay! It worked, now we are not sure if we are going to do flowers around the monogram, or if we are going to just glue rhinestones to it and make it sparkle and keep it with just that. She doesn't want anything too out there. The detail on the middle layer is just something I got from clipart to see what it would look like with something there. this is the print that I was looking at, but if you go in my photos and look at my princess cake, you will see those wilton stickers I used, you can see the white behind them and I'm wondering if this one will look like that too? I wonder if I can cut it down and just do a design like on my draft pic on the front and back of the cake. Or maybe I could do stencil? Any tips would be great!
I've used Satin Ice and have been pleased. I've heard others hate it, though I'm not sure why. I'm by no means a fondant connoisseur, but I've tried Duff's (horrible), Wilton's (horrible), MMF (okay, but a pain to make, I would prefer to just buy), Pennitinice (fine), and Satin Ice (pleasant taste, easy to work with). I've found those others I mentioned handle fine once I get it to the consistency I like. If some are too soft, I knead in powdered sugar. If they're too hard, I knead in shortening and microwave for about 5 seconds at a time until it's workable. The couple times I've tried Satin Ice though I've been able to just knead it for about 5-10 minutes out of the package and it's fine.
My next one to try is ChocoPan. I hear it is super yummy and easy to use.
Your design is wonderful. I use Satin Ice for most of my fondant cakes and I get it from http://www.cakesupplies4u.com ...they are wonderful....fast service, great help ( a real person answers the phone and emails promptly), and good prices.
When I'm doing a really special fondant cake, I use Massa Grischuna White Chocolate from Albert Uster at http://www.auiswisscatalogue.com/505026.html. It's pricey but worth every penny. It handles beauifully and the color is the softest ivory that seems to glow. The taste is fantastic.
I have used black royal icing on fondant (Satin Ice) with a stencil. The picture is posted. It was so much easier than I imagined.
Good luck on your first wedding cake. Your niece is so lucky.
I've used Satin ice and think it's really tasty! It also works well,but warning: it dries out fast so keep it covered with saran while you are working with it. I LUV your design ideas. Maybe a cake tatoo could work for youk. I have heard Duff's work well, but not sure he has damask or anything that feminine.. Please post 'after pics,
Thank you so much for the replies! I think I'm going to go for the stencil and see how it goes. I will have to do some practice. I'm one of those if it's not perfect, I will rip the fondant off and start again type of people. Sometimes that still doesn't work out!!
Southerncross....what recipe did you use for your royal icing? Your cake looks like it went on smooth and didn't leave a mess behind. Did it bleed onto the white? I will be doing it friday night and dropping it at the reception site the next morning. Do you mind telling me how you did it?
And I will post pis when it's done. I'm going to spend the next 6 weeks obsessing over this cake for sure. Thankfully the grooms cake is fondant free..... just chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and some strawberries!! Speaking of, anyone got a good chocoate mousse recipe? I've never made it, I can ice the whole cake in that right?
Southerncross....what recipe did you use for your royal icing? Your cake looks like it went on smooth and didn't leave a mess behind. Did it bleed onto the white? I will be doing it friday night and dropping it at the reception site the next morning. Do you mind telling me how you did it?
I'm certainly not an expert but let me share my experience.
I bought a stencil from http://www.stencilease.com/db/index.asp?catagory=border&all=1 The prices are lower and they have a huge selection.
I used the standard royal icing recipe but used meringue powder in the photo... I've found that using egg whites seems to leave the dried icing with a bit of a sheen. I played with the icing (adding powdered sugar or water) until it had the texture of plaster.
My cakes are 4" high with fondant and torting. I trimmed the stencil so that it was flush with the bottom of the cake and the design was in the right placement.
My daughter aided by holding the ends of the stencil against the fondant (I let the fondant firm up over night).
I used a plastic bench scraper and put a fair amount of icing down the length of it. Holding the scraper at a 45 degree angle to the stencil, I smoothed the icing over the stencil. then we carefully lifted the stencil away from the cake and there you have it. In the photo you can see that I put the icing on fairly thick so that it had a raised effect.
I practised on test sheets of fondant, first laying it flat then on a dummy cake to get the hang of it.
The black icing didn't bleed but you must be very careful not to smear any on the white fondant where you don't want it!...I'm very clumsy so that was a real challenge for me. Whenever I decorate any cake, I seem to end up with frosting on my elbows, forehead etc.
I've been thinking of stencilling with the standard method used in home decorating: mixing a very loose royal icing about the consistency of paint then tapping a stencil brush (and tapping excess "paint' off on a paper towel) then tapping on the stencil design. I think that would produce a subtle effect.
Best to you.
My cheap 2 cents. Most the time the best price for online Satin Ice is Global Sugar Art, but when teaching I have found many students have problems with it since it is a nice soft product and tends to tear. They use Pettinice much easier. I agree with Southerncross on white chocolate, but that is spendy.
Another penny thought: Do not experiement on this cake! Practice, practice, practice before doing the actual cake. Do not pipe the design if your hand is not steady. Do not stencil if you have never done it before. Of course unless you practice, practice and practice. My students do best using molds. You may want to look for one similar to your design as they are really quite easy to use, look elegant, and will cause the least amount of headaches.
Are you making the topper out of gumpaste? If so, create two just in case on breaks. "Glue" it with melted white chocolate onto a popsickle stick. You will want to make it thin so the cake can hold it up. If you make them now you should have plenty of time to bling them out. HTH
Edited for spelling and I probably still missed errors.
I've used Satin Ice twice. The first time it worked ok, but i got it to thin and it ripped a little. But i must say the taste is very good for store bought fondant. The second time I used it it was waaaay to soft and my decos completly fell apart. While i was working on one deco, the rest of the mound of foundant would dry out really bad and leave the outer crust unworkable. I had to get rid of the ruined crust and just use some of the fondant from the middle of my mound.
Is the satin ice any harder to use than homemade MMF? That's what I'm used to working with and it seems to tear if you aren't careful. I have the Mat from sweetwise, so that helps in transfering it to the cake. I do plan to practice, A LOT before I even try putting it on the cake. I'm scared of black on ivory so I've got to get it right!!
The topper is not going to be edible, it's going to be black metal, but I'm thinking of doing the rhinestones on it to make it sparkle 
Thank you all for this thread! I have my first cake order in a few weeks and I wanted to try a damask stencil. The order is for a 10 inch round covered in white fondant with black scroll work. I've done it before and she specifically picked that from my cake photos. But after she dropped off the napkins for the party, the wheels started turning and damask would be perfect! Since I have time, I wanted to make a test cake and try this out to see if she would like it better.
Is the any harder to use than homemade MMF? That's what I'm used to working with and it seems to tear if you aren't careful. I have the Mat from sweetwise, so that helps in transfering it to the cake. I do plan to practice, A LOT before I even try putting it on the cake. I'm scared of black on ivory so I've got to get it right!!
The topper is not going to be edible, it's going to be black metal, but I'm thinking of doing the rhinestones on it to make it sparkle
I have generally stuck to MMF since the Satin Ice really didnt seem to work for me. I haven't have any issues with MMF except the finish isn't always as smooth as I would like. It seems to have more divits and pockmarks in it than the store bought Satin Ice, but the Satin Ice tears and sags on me. MMF is the lesser of two evils to me, but since Im basically making cakes for my own pleasure and not for sale, I can afford to go with the cheaper one (MMF) with a few imperfections. 
I havent read any of the other replies so I apologize if this is repetitive. I bought Satin Ice and used it after trying MMF and having good success, to see the comparison. I really didn't see a significant difference in the finished product at all. I also didnt note much of a difference in the base taste, except the satin ice seemed a little more processed tasting (like any food item that sits in a plastic container).
As far as the damask goes, that print is lovely and you can most certainly cut it. You can either cut the print itself and apply it directly to the fondant, or you could apply the print to a fondant strip and then cut the shape you want to have the damask stand out a little from the cake.
If you're going the edible image route (that damask image is made by Lucks) you may think about picking up their edible ribbons, they have a turquoise color. They look like ribbon but are totally edible. I always like my cakes to be 100% edible the way they are. 
I havent read any of the other replies so I apologize if this is repetitive. I bought and used it after trying MMF and having good success, to see the comparison. I really didn't see a significant difference in the finished product at all. I also didnt note much of a difference in the base taste, except the seemed a little more processed tasting (like any food item that sits in a plastic container).
As far as the damask goes, that print is lovely and you can most certainly cut it. You can either cut the print itself and apply it directly to the fondant, or you could apply the print to a fondant strip and then cut the shape you want to have the damask stand out a little from the cake.
If you're going the edible image route (that damask image is made by Lucks) you may think about picking up their edible ribbons, they have a turquoise color. They look like ribbon but are totally edible. I always like my cakes to be 100% edible the way they are.
That is the color ribbon I need! I will have to look at that, I didn't even know they made edible ribbon!!!
Is the any harder to use than homemade MMF? That's what I'm used to working with and it seems to tear if you aren't careful. I have the Mat from sweetwise, so that helps in transfering it to the cake. I do plan to practice, A LOT before I even try putting it on the cake. I'm scared of black on ivory so I've got to get it right!!
The topper is not going to be edible, it's going to be black metal, but I'm thinking of doing the rhinestones on it to make it sparkle
I have generally stuck to MMF since the really didnt seem to work for me. I haven't have any issues with MMF except the finish isn't always as smooth as I would like. It seems to have more divits and pockmarks in it than the store bought , but the tears and sags on me. MMF is the lesser of two evils to me, but since Im basically making cakes for my own pleasure and not for sale, I can afford to go with the cheaper one (MMF) with a few imperfections.
Yeah, that's why I wanted to do store bought fonadant instead of making it myself. My MMF usually comes out pretty good, but with it being a wedding cake, I wanted it to be perfect. Hmmm, now I'm rethinking that route though. I normally make the cake the night before and then loosely put a plastic bag over it and leave it like that until I need it the next day, I'm wondering if the satin ice will get too dry if I do that!
I find pettinincethe best fondant that I have tried and I have tried almost all of them. It rolls much nicer than Satin Ice and doesn't tear as easily. If you buy on-line try pettinince I think you will be happy.
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