Hello,

I have to make a 3 tiered buttercream cake with pearls/dots cascading down each tier, similarly to how this cake below is decorated:

I can't tell if the "pearls" on this cake are sugar pearls that are individually placed on the cake, or if someone piped these dots. It seems crazy labor intensive to try to "glue" each pearl to the cake, and if that is the technique that was used here, does anyone have any suggestions on the fastest/best way to do this? (Again, the cake I will be making is 3 tiers, iced in chocolate buttercream).

Would it be better to pipe the dots on the cake with buttercream (not sure if royal icing dots would stick to buttercream?) instead of hand placing sugar dots?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Michele

I would make fondant pearls.   They are so easy using Earleen Moore's method :)   Id do it while watching t.v.   Just roll out some fondant so it is even then use a round tip to cut into circles which you roll in your hands into balls.  Of course the smaller the round tip, the smaller the finished pearl.  You can very lightly dust the rolled out fondant w/powdered sugar &/or cornstarch so the cuts don't stick together.  Piping b'cream  dots could take as much time as placing fondant balls.   Some people don't know how to wipe off the 'tip' when piping b'cream balls and then I think the cake looks awful. 

I would say in the pic that tip 10 &/or12 was used for the bigger dots, with tips 3 or 4 for the medium ones, then probably 2 for the smallest ones.

Thanks for your reply, kakeladi. I just looked up Earlene's directions for making pearls.....yikes, I think this process will take forever .

As for attaching the pearls to the cake, I was thinking of brushing a very light coat of piping gel on the crusted buttercream on the areas of the cake where the pearls are the heaviest, and then placing the varying sizes of pearls before the piping gel dries. Is that what you would recommend?

Thanks again!

I would pipe that -- I would use royal icing with gum arabic* mixed in for shine-- get it to that perfect consistency where it pulls the tale of the dot in automatically and forms a perfect beautiful pearl -- easy peasy

*available online inepensive

Is there a special way to pipe the pearls so they don't have the "tip"? I always seem to get that little tip that needs to be tampered down when I pipe dots/pearls.

michele, yes -- add water to your already prepared royal icing so that when you you pipe back into the bowl or just let it drip off the spoon -- it completely disappears by the count of ten or something -- i think it's ten -- just mess around with it and y'know pipe and see how it does -- i promise you can get this -- it's not hard -- i read this in toba garett's book -- i can go look it up to see if it's ten --

but be sure to try the gum arabic for the shimmer & shine -- it's like magic to squeeze the piping bag once and get a stunner pearl all round and pretty -- no brushing with pearl dust afterwards and it getting all over the cake -- it's like eating all the calorie free chocolate you could ever want -- it's like the heavens parting and hearing a booming voice saying these are my pearls in which i am well pleased -- it's purely magical -- powerful fun fulfilling fabulous ethereal

i'm gonna go look it up...

ok it is even easier than i remembered ~~

"to check if the icing is the right consistency ~~ take an offset metal spatula and dip it into the royal icing (with a little water added) touch the surface lightly and pull up the spatula ~~ if the icing rolls back to a small ball and holds its shape ~~it is the correct consistency ~~ if a peak forms at the top of the icing ~~ you need to add more water"

toba garrett, the well decorated cake page 63 in swiss dots

They do make sugar pearls in different sizes which would stick right into the buttercream. Pretty sure Micheal's has pearls in different sizes and colors if you did not want to make them from fondant. I am all for shortcuts if I can get away with it. If you have plenty of time then go for it and make your own.

Please post picture!! I am sure you will do just fine!!

.......Is there a special way to pipe the pearls so they don't have the "tip"? I always seem to get that little tip that needs to be tampered down when I pipe dots/pearls...........

This is what I taught back wehn :)   The 'tips' are caused by continued pressure on your piping bag when you think you have stopped squeezing.   Sooooooo stop pressure by opening your hand on the bag but don't drop the bag - be sure to continue to hold on to the bag - and count to three before lifting away from the piped pearl with a comma like motion - wiping away that tip :)