AKelsey, I know others would probably disagree, I always cover the board, round of square, its expensive I know, but I do try and use what I have, I coloured my board today red, I had a large amount of pink SP left over from another cake, I coloured it red and used it to cover my 14" square board, it just finishes it off.

AI always cover too nanny but I'm scared of it messing up when I add the cake. How do you get around it?

AI cover the board, leave it a day to dry, always crumbcoat my cakes on a lazy Susan I bought from Ikea, the cake is always on a cake card the next size down from the cake size, I cover my cake on the lazy Susan too, leave the harden, then slide it off and using a palette knife put it on my board with RI. Hope this makes sense.

AUsing a cake card, and even though yours is a t-shirt, you can still cut one to size, just find you can use your hand under it to transport to the board.

AGot it! How would I do a tshirt size though? Scared the arms would fall off hahah!

I also always cover the entire board.  I just like the look better (I've tried a couple of times and can't get on with the 'bandage' method for covering the board afterwards).

I always cover my board AT LEAST 24 hours before I need it.  That way the sugarpaste is dry and you don't smoosh it (technical term, that one!) when you transfer the cake onto it. 

What I tend to do is fill and cover my cakes off the board -  then transfer onto the board and then finish the decoration with it on the board.

ARight. I think I will have to find something to cut down as I don't have timers go get a 14" cake card lmao

Eeek - excited! It's Downton o'clock!!!  We let it record for 10-15 minutes, THEN start watching it so we can skip through the adverts.

Laters!

ASuzanne, we do exactly the same on technique.

You all amaze me with your cakes and much of this sugarpaste talk is going over my head (I do my xmas cakes once a year and occasionally have done birthday cakes, but that's it). I break into a sweat just thinking about covering a square cake with sugarpaste! I'm feeling inspired between joining here and also receiving Pierre Hermé's Pastries and Modern Art Desserts books for my birthday.

I have a couple of niggling questions about this wedding cake - yep, again! How do I work out how much ganache and swiss meringue buttercream for a 6" x 4" cake (3 layers of SMBC, 4 layers of cake)? Do I need to do anything in terms of crumb coating before pouring ganache over or is it ok as long as I make sure the sides are straight? I might need to ask more about stacking ganached cakes, but I think I'll leave that until I'm at that stage. I need someone to switch the parental control on my laptop to stop me looking up anymore info on ganache!

AThat's what I do too Kelsey. I always cover the board 24hra or so in advance. I tort, fill and crumb coat my cake on a spare random board that's bigger than the cake as I use that to get straight sides (Ish!) and I then just use a spatular to whip it across onto the covered board when it's ready. I don't use a cake card under the cake but it's never done any damage doing it like that and transferring it quickly.

A[IMG]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3287503/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

Finished, hope you like it, kinda pleased with as the car is RKT, first time to use, defo use again.

AThanks for the advice guys I always know where to come lmao!

Nanny that is amazing! Wow! Well done because that car is wicked!!

AThanks Kelsey, it was easier than I thought it was gonna be, probably because I used RKT rather than trying model it out of SP.

A[IMG]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3287508/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

Close up of the car.

AThat's fantastic nanny really well done!

AHi guys. :-) I can't believe I've got on, I've been trying all night but it wouldn't let me. It was saying I was signed in but there was no box to write a post. I was starting to panic! Hope I remember everything cos I ain't scrolling all the way up and down in case I lose the box again!

Lovely peppa cake jo, Leah would love it.

Aaaaaargh I've just lost most of my post!

Nanny - the car is absolutely brilliant!!!  Love it!

I meant to say, I DO use a thin card (gold card...  I think they're called gateau cards?) under my cakes.  If it's an odd shape, I cut it.  I worry about the sugarpaste under the cake going gooey.  I stick the cake to the card with buttercream, and then put a blob of royal icing on the covered cake drum to stick the card/cake in place!

Sorry, I've never poured ganache so I can't offer any advice. x

ATry a flipping gain then shall I?!

Siany I should've phrased that better I think, I meant I love their lovely puppy smell. Lush one cake, looks huge, cupcakes are cute too.

Suzanne of course I saw where it doesn't meet properly at the back but it's the back. I don't see how you could've avoided it, if it doesn't match up it doesn't match up. I wouldn't have noticed the teeny splodge if you hadn't pointed it out. It's more than passable, it's fabulous. I can't believe it's your first attempt!

Speaking of firsts, fantastic car nanny! RKT frighten me!

Kuuushi I do the same as nanny and, erm, Suzanne I think it was with my boards. I use old leftover bits of SP and I don't think it uses much more than if I wrapped it around the cake tbh. I don't know about anyone else but I roll it a bit more after it's on the board so it gets much thinner than I'd get it otherwise.

Sock monkey I think you're doing yourself a disservice saying all this goes over your head. Most of your posts about this wedding cake go over mine, I have to be honest I haven't got the faintest idea what you're on about sometimes, way too advanced for me.

I will go and check I haven't missed anything but I'm posting this before I lose it again. CC has been a nightmare today, or maybe it's my phone, either way it's done my head in!

AJust did my numbers and rugby balls for the cake tomorrow.

[IMG]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3287527/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

They look more like pokéballs to me

I like the way you've outlined the numbers, Kelsey...  makes them 'pop'!  Because I'm on my phone and not the computer, the balls look like those yummy filled dates! LOL!  Sorry....  on a proper screen they're fab, I'm sure!

ABarbara the car turned out great! I absolutely love it! RKT is good isn't it? So easy too. Gonna put the coffee on and catch up now! Kathy

Kelsey, by the way, I sometimes (particularly for big boards), I cover the board, then cut out SP where the cake will go. For example for an 8" cake, I get an 8" cake card, place on the middle of the drum or wherever the cake is going to be (sometimes I put it off centre), cut around the cake card with a knife and lift it off. I save the cut out SP for gumpaste figures etc. 

AMorning All!

Hope up you all had lovely weekends :-) You've certainly been busy by the looks of things!

Suzanne for the Jewellery cakes my instinct was I prefer the pastels, but seeing the pic of the bright necklace Kuushi posted I really like that too! I think it might come down to design, more modern jewels would look fab on bright, but more traditional would perhaps pair better with pastels? BTW thanks for the heads up on the cream cheese flavouring, I'll give that a miss!! The stencilled cake looks really pretty! As the others have said, the background colour is beautiful, and it doesn't look like the stencil affected it at all when you went over it?! Yes there are a few imperfections, but nothing that's glaring, it's nice and even, and if that's your first go, then you are going to be perfect with just a little practise!

Kuuushi all your cakes look amazing! Well done you for getting through such a busy week with such great looking cakes! Isn't your holiday soon? You certainly deserve it after all that! Oh and you asked about board covering, I always fully cover my boards, I can't do the wrap method to save my life, always get cracking!. I also add a bit of Tylo or gum trag (whatever comes to hand first!) to my sugarpaste, then cover the board and leave it for a couple of days to set. It goes nice and hard so when I place my cakes on (which I always make on their own board or drum, stuck on with ganache or royal) nothing happens to the board. I use the palette knife method for placing, then slowly lower it on and pull the knife out.

Hi SockMonkey, I use the ganacherator too for quantities! I never use poured ganache for covering cakes though? I always let the ganache set up until you get a loose 'peanut butter' texture and then spread it on, otherwise you can't get it straight? As others have said if you watch some videos you will see the texture. I do do a very thin crumb coat using buttercream on the outside of the cake before ganaching, but it's literally a scraping, just to trap the crumbs and stop it mixing in with the ganache when you apply that. I fridge the cake after the crumb coat, then when that's set a bit I add the ganache. I have to say though, I don't use SMBC much for my larger cakes, and tend to stick with traditional buttercream. In terms of stacking, a ganached cake is no different to a normal one. I cover my cakes in SP after the ganache has hardened then dowel each one as normal.

Nanny the car looks brilliant! Really nice and smooth too, did you carve the RKT?

Sugar, the Planes cake looks brilliant!

Siany your '1' looks great! Love all the explosion details! And Olaf and the balloon look fab too!

Jo (I think?!) the Peppa Pig is really cute :)

Right, better get on I suppose! Hi everyone else, catch up again later!

PS Marvel hope you aren't too covered in black if you coloured your FP yourself!

AThanks for the help on the board guys! I'm gonna wing it with the wrap method for this cake that needs to be finished tonight but my next cake which is a fireman Sam cake due for the day before I go away I will cover the board a few days before!!

Back to reality now and back to work. I think I might call O2 in my lunch and check when I'm due an upgrade. I want an iphone 6 lol

AThanks all.

No Mel, I didn't need to, I let it cool and just moulded it, did cut out the wheels,then I covered it in white choc, cant remember who said to do this, let it harden, I put a thin layer of red over it first, then a a thicker layer, just smoothed it with my hands, I used a the PME glaze to give it a nice shine.

AMorning all. :-)

Am I the only one who never works out how much ganache/buttercream I'm going to need? When I used to bake but not decorate I knew how much BC I needed to fill a sponge, when I started decorating I'd increase the amount but would invariably be short. I hated that, I hated having to get everything out again to make more when i just wanted to get on and do it. I also hate my kitchen turning into an icing sugar cloud more than once! Now I make sure I overestimate so I only have to make it once and freeze what's left over. The happy side effect of that is there's always something in the freezer for emergency cakes.

Kathy can I ask how difficult the silhouettes were on your (and daughters) engagement cake? My SIL came up for the day Saturday, to do wedding organising she looked at some cakes so I've got an idea of what she likes but I've since seen a cake with silhouettes of the couple on each tier. She hasn't seen it but I know she'll love it. Her colour scheme has changed from burgundy to black and white with burgundy accents now, I thought it would look lovely with a few burgundy flowers on top. (She says knowledgeably!) anyway, if you think I could do it I might asj her what she thinks, don't want to say anything to her if I can't do it tho.

Kuuushi I've heard the iPhone 6 is huge, I don't get on with big phones, I like to be able to text with one hand. I'd love to see it in your hand if you get it.

ALmao Kathy, I'm itching to make a frozen cake! And how inconsiderate of your company to block photo bucket!