birthday cake ?

suzy_g

Hi I have decided to have a go at making a birthday cake for my 3 year old granddaughter even though I have no experience of this.
I looked on line and saw how to make a great ballerina topper out of ready to roll coloured icing, but it never showed how to stick the ready rolled icing on the cake in the first place?I am also going to buy a thing which makes and cuts out nice butterfly shapes out of the ready to roll ,
can any give me a complete novice:o any advise thank you. sue

mumtosix

I crumb coat my cakes (thin layer of buttercream) - this hardens, then a thicker layer of buttercream then fondant ice. YouTube is great for showing you this. Happy decorating :-)

suzy_g

hi whats fondant ice? and is that the coluerd slabs that you can roll ? sorry I told you I know nothing about cake making (i am a coeliac never bothered before)also the balllerina I am making will she stick to the icing or do i use a bit of water ?

sooty&sweep

Hi
Yes fondant icing is the icing you can roll out.
Butter cream is a mixture of butter & icing sugar.

The birthday cake sounds lovely I hope it goes well

Jen

mumtosix

Sorry, fondant ice I meant icing - you can use the ready roll or block - tescos sell it quite cheaply. You can use water, or a small amount of buttercream. I use edible glue, which I use when making figures too. Just a little tip if the ballerina is a standing 3d figure rather than a cutout flat 2d one I would make at least 7 days in advance so she can dry out properly.

Sounds lovely & homemade is great :-)

gsymoo

I assume the ballerina is sitting down, so you may just be able to place it on top of the cake. Otherwise things like flowers, butterflies you can stick to the cake with a dab of water (or use golden syrup slightly watered down). A clean paint brush is great for this (I have one hidden in my kitchen just for this!)
One other thing I didnt realise when I did my first cake (using fondant roll out icing) is not to put the finished cake in a sealed airtight box (a cardboard cake box is fine). If its in a sealed box it can make the fondant sweat and become sticky, remember, the cake won't go stale as its covered in icing. Good Luck!

AnnieO1234

I personally don't use buttercream (especially if it's in the cake as I find it too sickly sweet), instead I melt a little jam down with hot water and that works absolutely fine to stick icing down.

Xxx

pigpen

I use a smidge of apricot jam the taste of the cake disguises the apricotiness and it isn't visible unlike red jam... roll icing and flop on top .. lots of icing sugar of worksurfaces stops it sticking when you roll it.

You can buy ready rolled icing.. if that helps.. only in white though I've seen..

kathrynha

Lots of good tips above.
One to add to it is don't roll the icing too thin. It is easier to get it over the cake and smooth if it's a bit thicker.
Use plenty of icing sugar when rolling out, then once it is smoothly over the cake you can polish the icing sugar off with your hand.

suzy_g

Thanks very much for your replies, the ballerina is a sit down on , they used a cocktail stick to help keep the head on, all your tips re much appreciated thank you sue

mumtosix

You can also use dried spaghetti instead of cocktail sticks; you will still need to 'glue' the head to body etc for extra stability, a touch of water will be ok. Hth