I prefer to use buttercream on my cakes. It is what I have learned to use, and what I like to eat! I use ABC, and SMBC. My favorite is the Swiss. It is just so delicious and silky looking. If I were to get a booth at a bridal show, how would I showcase the SMBC? Will it hold up on a dummy for any length of time? I know I could use a crusting BC, but it does not have that beautiful sheen that SMBC has. Has anyone used SMBC on dummies if even just for a few days?

Yes you can use butter cream on display cakes. You have to obviously handle it with great care as you would if it was cake under the butter cream. Try to keep it cold, avoid heat, etc... It will hold up for a couple of days, yellowing as the butter gets warmer.

There is 'perma ice' that simulates butter cream for display cakes. If you thin it and give it a hint of yellow, it can look like real buttercream.

It''s a lot easier to decorate the dummies in fondant and just put a sign up that you do buttercream because trying to keep the cake cold during a show, keeping brides fingers out of the buttercream (they always ask if they can touch the demo cakes), and keeping the icing on the cake during travel, just isn't worth it. You can lead them to your web site where you have several buttercream cakes displayed and promise them buttercream samples during their taste test.

For a single day event, why bother with a dummy?

Run a raffle for the display cake from all the names/addresses that you collect. Bonus for you is a plie of names and addresses.

.......Run a raffle for the display cake from all the names/addresses ........

Great idea!! Make a couple of small 2 tier cakes and have pix of others - especially bigger ones.