I will be attempting the lipstick cake for a Mary Kay friend of mine and I want the cake to be shiny. I bought the silver, gold and pink dusts, but have received differing opinions on what to apply it on. The two sales ladies at the local cake store were almost arguing in front of me today about being able to put it on buttercream. So I thought I'd ask all you at CC.
If it is possible to paint it on buttercream, without TOO much trouble, I'd rather do that. If I have to use fondant, I will probably make MMF, but it's just so much hassle and I still like buttercream better. Help please!!!!
Oh...and do either the fondant or buttercream need to be colored before adding the dusts?
Thanks in advance. ANY help is appreciated.
Up to you if you want to color the BC first. There is a very good crusting buttercream recipe on this website. I would suggest doing a search and finding one you like best. A regular buttercream would crust a little but not enough to do any nice painting, in my opinion. Maybe others feel differently about it, though.
What she means is that she just dipped a brush in the powder dry, and brushed it over the crusted buttercream. That is one option and and is useful for getting a nice sheen on something. For that you would most certainly need to make the lips out of colored frosting first before dusting.
To use the luster dust wet, just mix with a little bit of vodka or vanilla or other extract with an alchohol base, then paint it on with a small paintbrush. Do not try to do it with just water or it will be absorbed in a funky way into the frosting.
If this is your first time mixing luster dust with an alchohol base, try just starting off with a spoonful of the alchohol and then tapping in some of the powder, so you get an idea of the ratio. A little goes a long way. You want it concentrated enough to paint on so you can't really see whats underneath, but not so thick that you have problems with the dust clumping in the liquid. I always use something small like a ramekin or a little 1/4th measuring cup to mix the stuff in. Stirring a little with the brush each time I dip into it helps keep it from getting clumpy. (Because it's alchohol, it evaporates fast).
Sort of an example is in my photos. The giftbox cake has super pearl dust brushed dry onto the white ribbon. It doesn't cover it up, just gives it a pearly sheen. My dinky little wedding cake picture has pearls and leaves painted in wet silver luster dust. Originally the pieces were white MMF but as you can see, the silver completely coats everything. Same thing for the silver medallions on the Christmas cake.
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