Fondant belt decor help / advice (1 Viewer)

[kay97]

Hello everyone complete newbie here to the site.

I'm pretty new to cake baking/decorating in general i just do it for fun but so far i've made 2 cakes to date 1st one for my daughters birthday in July 2024 & one for my mums birthday in Oct 2024. Both were vanilla sponge with vanilla buttercream & jam filling and decorated with buttercream on the outside.

Now I'm making my partners 30th birthday cake which is for his party this Saturday 14th coming. I'm doing a red velvet sponge with beuno Flavoured bhttercream filling and also using it to decorate the cake with also but I'll be colouring it black. Now my advice is needed for the boxing belt I'll be making using The Sugar paste already coloured in black. I've not used or worked with sugar paste before. So any tips would be helpful. I've already baked the cake sponges and frozen them but I won't be decorating the cake until Wed/Thurs this week so the cake is as fresh as possible for serving on Saturday, but i was going to pre make the fondant belt and cover the cake board in the same fondant too. Now i know fondant needs time to dry out which I believe if I were to make the fondant parts today that would be enough time to dry out. My only concern is how would I then add the belt around the cake like shown in the photo as it will dry flat and I dont want to break or crack the fondant belt when I come to add it to the finished cake?

I did think about decorating the cake then making the fondant belt and adding it to the cake whilst it's still soft but I've heard you then can't store the cake in the fridge as it'll make the fondant go soft and soggy again once taken out and I can't leave the cake at room temp for too long due to it having buttermilk in the sponge.

So I'm at a complete loss as to how I go about it all? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou in advance

 

[Angie]

Hi @kay97

Welcome to the site.

Congratulations on making your Mum's and Daughter's cake and tackling your partner's 30th!

Grab a brew and a biscuit...Now, to all your questions:-

With regards to the belt/board, I have the following options for you, depending on what you want to do.

If you want to pre-cover the board, you can leave it to dry naturally or you can bake it in the oven to harden it quicker. Yes I did say bake it in the oven!

Thread 'How to bake a cake board.'

Jan 7, 2022

Have you ever wanted to know how to prevent your icing fondant covered cake board from scratching? Then check out this tutorial!

We've all done it, scratched it, dented it, or marked it, but how about not doing it anymore? This is a fabulously easy way to foolproof your boards, even at the last minute!

The simple solution is by baking it! Yes, you heard me correctly; you can bake a fondant covered board in the oven; what this does is dry it out, leaving you with a rock hard board that you can work on without the fear of destroying it!



Heres' how!

Now there are a few rules...

• Angie
• bake a board bake cake board cake board cake decorating tutorial
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Cake Decorating and Model Toppers

• 

If you bake it or let it harden ahead of time when you stick/place the cake on the board, the sugarpaste won't go soggy underneath when you cut the cake as it's had time to harden.

The Belt - You can actually pre-make the belt and dry it in a curved shape as you would just drape the cut-out belt over your cake tin (that you have pre-covered in clingfilm and the one used to bake the cake) and allow it to dry to a curved shape. You would have needed to add a tiny touch of tylo powder to the sugarpaste to stiffen it up slightly so that it holds its shape. If you were placing the belt on the top of the cake then that is what I would have suggested, but because you are wrapping it around the pre-baked cake, the pre-made belt will be too small as the cake you have baked will then be covered in buttercream and fondant thus making the circumference of the cake slightly thicker than that of the cake tin due to the extra layers. So once you start trying to put the belt around the cake, it will crack because you'll be stretching it out.

(You're also making a sponge cake so if you did put the belt on the top it may cause dips in the cake depending on the weight of the topper).

Ooh...but if you put a layer or so of kitchen roll and then clingfilm to pad out the edge of the tin and then drape the sugarpaste this may give you enough room to slide over the cake, but that's a 'you' choice of whether you want to do that or not. I'm just trying to give you options. You could make a couple of belts let them dry out and then see on the day if they fit, if not you could then just start from scratch if they don't work out but again that's up to you.

I quickly mocked this up so you could see what I meant.





As you are putting the belt around the cake I would suggest making it on the day and adding some tylo powder to it so that it will hold its shape better for you and be more pliable for you to work with. If you are rolling the sugarpaste out, then use icing sugar to roll out on as cornflour can leave dusty marks on your sugarpaste and be very careful when sticking the black to the white sugarpaste as the black colour bleeds when wet and will dye your hands and the white icing so be very careful.

If you pre-made the belt, you would have a better structure to work with as it will be dry and hard, but if you do it on the day it's pliable to go exactly where you want it to go but can also be a little floppy. So again, it is your choice.

Saracino Modelling Paste is very good for shaping/modelling and still gives you some leeway when making toppers so this would have also been a great option for your belt and you would probably still have a bit of 'give' in the belt as it doesn't dry rock solid. The only problem is that it's made for models/toppers and isn't great to eat and you have to really knead it and I mean knead it. It's like crumbly icing so you really need to knead to get it to go pliable but once you do, you could shape it how you want, even after it's been left to dry. I know you have pre-bought your sugarpaste but again it's another option.

Yes, you are right, icing/fondant sweats in the fridge and will leave residual moisture on it.

As the buttermilk is baked into the cake then it's fine at room temp and covered in fondant; it's only if you add it after the cake has been baked like a très leches cake that you would have to refrigerate it.

I hope the above makes sense.

If you are making the gold paint, then I would use gold lustre and vodka mixed together.

I think that's everything, but if you need anything else then just let me know.

Good luck!


Angie

 

[kay97]

Hi Angie, firstly thankyou so much for your indepth advice & options you have given me i greatly appreciate them and they've taught me a few useful things I was unaware of!

I've just ordered some tylo powder which will arrive tomorrow in preparation for the belt. I did think of the option of wrapping it around my cake tin used to bake the sponges but then had the same thought that it would be slightly off due to the huttercream layer that will be added. So I think I might avoid that option and just make the belt on Thurs as I'll have the tylo powder to work into it when I make it.

So if I were to fully stack, crumb coat and final coat my cake with buttercream could I leave it in the fridge until I need to add the belt Thurs and then add the belt Thurs as leave the cake wrapped/covered on the side at room temp and it'll be perfectly fine to eat Sat/Sun?

Just want to get it all made and decorated in enough time between working etc and everything else I've still yet to do in preparation for the party sat. (There's still alot ).

The tip for covering the board is very useful! So thanks for that, I think im gonna get the board covered tonight and leave that to set naturally at room temp then I know at least that's one job done! & I think I'm gonna stack, crumb coat & final coat the cake. Wrap it leave it in the freezer until Thurs then ill make the fondant belt, take the cake out of the freezer and allow to thaw add the belt and then leave on the side so the belt will dry out at room temp and leave it boxed up ready for sat. Would this be okay? Or would I be best to add the belt last fri night or sat morning? If I get everything else done on the cake before hand? So sorry for all the questions!

I've got some dipping solution/rejuvinator spirit to mix with luster dust for the gold so that's sorted!

Thanks for the tips on the recommendation for a different sugar paste I'll be sure to make note for future reference!

Hope my questions make sense and thankyou again for your help and tips they really are appreciated!

 

[Angie]

Hi @kay97

You're most welcome my dear, I didn't want to bombard you with info but just wanted to make sure you had enough options.

When adding tylo powder to your icing just stick your finger in the pot and lightly coat your index finger, then rub your finger in your sugarpaste and knead it in. Less is more; as the more you work the icing, the slightly more stiffer it will become. If you add too much tylo, you can't take it out, so lightly add in stages until you get a consistency that you're happy with. Make sure you roll it thick enough to make a decent belt but thin enough that it isn't too heavy and will weigh down on the cake.

I didn't realise you were only going to buttercream the cake I actually thought you were going to sugarpaste the cake with white icing. Which is why I said you could leave it out of the fridge. (Because effectively, you would have a sealed cake). Plus sugarpaste sticks to sugarpaste much better and will hold in place and dry out.

However, you can leave a buttercream cake out of the fridge for a few days. Note - When you buttercream a cake, air pockets can form in the cake when you seal it and place in the fridge and then when you bring to room temperature sometimes the cake can slump, also cracking can occur when you transfer the cake from freezer to fridge to room temp as the cake contracts and expands so please be aware of this. (See my post to another member).

Post in thread 'Buttercream bulge help'

May 28, 2022

Hi Jane

There can be many reasons your cake may bulge slightly, especially when going from chilled to room temp. My first thought is air pockets/air escaping, which usually happens when the cake acclimatises from cold temps to room temp. Other factors are gravity, too much filling, no dams, and even too much topper weight causing the cake to buckle under its own weight.

To try and prevent this from happening, there are a few things you can do.

• When filling the cake, don’t overfill the layers, as this can cause sliding and bulging when you start adding height to the cake and start...

• Angie

For you I would leave the cake in the fridge as long as possible because it's heating weather at the minute so temps tend to fluctuate a lot in the house, that is, unless you can box it up and put it in a cold conservatory.

Another problem you may find is that buttercream 'eats through' or can make the sugarpaste soggy due to the moisture in it so again, something else to take into consideration. I once put too much buttercream on my cake then covered it with sugarpaste and it just dissolved the sugarpaste.

Best option would be to leave the cake as long as possible, let it acclimate properly, then attach the belt giving it time to set properly in place and less chance to bleed or slide or move.

In an ideal world the belt would be pre-made put on as a topper and then the rest of the cake would be decorated in other decorations. Which means the cake could be kept in the fridge and the topper would definitely be set and made without any stretching required but I appreciate that you want what you want.

I hope the cake turns out wonderfully for you but just wanted to make you aware of some of the issues you may encounter due to temperature and cohesion of different textures.

I hope this helps.

 

[A Guy]

Welcome to Help Me Bake @kay97

A Guy

 

[kay97]

Welcome to Help Me Bake @kay97

A Guy

Thank you for your welcome message. It's much appreciated

 

[kay97]

Hi @kay97

You're most welcome my dear, I didn't want to bombard you with info but just wanted to make sure you had enough options.

When adding tylo powder to your icing just stick your finger in the pot and lightly coat your index finger, then rub your finger in your sugarpaste and knead it in. Less is more; as the more you work the icing, the slightly more stiffer it will become. If you add too much tylo, you can't take it out, so lightly add in stages until you get a consistency that you're happy with. Make sure you roll it thick enough to make a decent belt but thin enough that it isn't too heavy and will weigh down on the cake.

I didn't realise you were only going to buttercream the cake I actually thought you were going to sugarpaste the cake with white icing. Which is why I said you could leave it out of the fridge. (Because effectively, you would have a sealed cake). Plus sugarpaste sticks to sugarpaste much better and will hold in place and dry out.

However, you can leave a buttercream cake out of the fridge for a few days. Note - When you buttercream a cake, air pockets can form in the cake when you seal it and place in the fridge and then when you bring to room temperature sometimes the cake can slump, also cracking can occur when you transfer the cake from freezer to fridge to room temp as the cake contracts and expands so please be aware of this. (See my post to another member).

Post in thread 'Buttercream bulge help'

May 28, 2022

Hi Jane

There can be many reasons your cake may bulge slightly, especially when going from chilled to room temp. My first thought is air pockets/air escaping, which usually happens when the cake acclimatises from cold temps to room temp. Other factors are gravity, too much filling, no dams, and even too much topper weight causing the cake to buckle under its own weight.

To try and prevent this from happening, there are a few things you can do.

• When filling the cake, don’t overfill the layers, as this can cause sliding and bulging when you start adding height to the cake and start...

• Angie

For you I would leave the cake in the fridge as long as possible because it's heating weather at the minute so temps tend to fluctuate a lot in the house, that is, unless you can box it up and put it in a cold conservatory.

Another problem you may find is that buttercream 'eats through' or can make the sugarpaste soggy due to the moisture in it so again, something else to take into consideration. I once put too much buttercream on my cake then covered it with sugarpaste and it just dissolved the sugarpaste.

Best option would be to leave the cake as long as possible, let it acclimate properly, then attach the belt giving it time to set properly in place and less chance to bleed or slide or move.

In an ideal world the belt would be pre-made put on as a topper and then the rest of the cake would be decorated in other decorations. Which means the cake could be kept in the fridge and the topper would definitely be set and made without any stretching required but I appreciate that you want what you want.

I hope the cake turns out wonderfully for you but just wanted to make you aware of some of the issues you may encounter due to temperature and cohesion of different textures.

I hope this helps.

Oh your certainly haven't bombarded me with too much info at once it's been very helpful and learnt me a few things!

I should have said its going to be a 2 tier cake and this cake is the bottom tier hence why I need the cake belt to be wrapped around the cake instead of being a topper. The top tier is going to be a completely different style ( liverpool fc cake) and the bottom tier is a boxing style cake 2 of his favourite sports and things in life haha! Yes it's going to be covered in buttercream. I think im gonna leave the belt until Friday night and allow the cake to aclimate and be fully finished aside from the belt being added and get it all done for Thurs. Then I will allow the cake to come to room temp in hopes of avoiding any airpockets etc by following your advice on the other followers post. & add the belt Friday evening and box it up and leave it in the coldest part of my house where we don't have any central heating to affect room temp.

Fingers crossed it all turns out okay! So many things to learn and mistakes to be made to learn from with baking but it's all a fun process never the less.

Thankyou again for your help I really do appreciate it.

I shall post a photo of the finished cake once it's all done and complete and attached to this thread.

Thankyou again

 

[Angie]

@kay97 - Yeah, you have a plan and schedule to work to which is great!

Ah, yes, now I understand the dynamic of the cake and the two tiers for his favourite things.

If you are making a two-tier cake out of sponge, please ensure you use dowels to support the weight of the top tier.

I think that's pretty much everything, and you're covered for every eventuality, so good luck, be confident, and make an AMAZING cake! I can't wait to see all your hard-earned efforts come to fruition!

Here's a quick dowel link for you in case you need it. - 50th Birthday Cake (3-Tier Flower Design)

 

[kay97]

Yes absolutely hopefully it all works out well in the end!

Thankyou again so much for your help and yes I've got some dowels to support the top tier cake it'll be a 6 inch on top so I've got some of the bubble rod dowels and I'll place 6 into the bottom tier cake to support the weight.

Thankyou again

 

[Angie]

Fabulous! Good luck and I'm sure you'll make a beautiful cake that he'll love.

 

[kay97]

Hello just a reply with an update on the cake & the finished result as promised.

It held up perfectly, and me and my friend (who made the top tier) are absolutely over the moon with the end result! Consideding its both our 3rd cakes weve ever made. My partner & everyone who came to his party couldn't believe how good the cake looked and also tasted the full top tier and half of the bottom tier was gone at the party. We got it there in one piece fully stack with no mishaps thankfully. & everything held up perfect. Couldn't have done it with out your tips & help! I made the boxing gloves that are sitting on top with fondant, the boxing belt & also the little football hex patterns on the football cake. Which couldn't have turned out better for my first attempt and all by hand (didnt even have a cutter for the hex shapes) the tylo powder really helped, and I also made some tylo edible glue to attach the belt to the fondant which worked a treat! Left it boxed up at room temp and thankfully no air pockets, or slumping or cracking of the buttercream and thankfully the buttercream didn't eat into my fondant belt.

Once again thankyou for all of your help and advice it really helped and i learnt a few things for next time. ( I have a 2 tier wedding cake to make for a friends wedding in June so i may be back for advice on that ) least I've now had some experience with stacking a cake also so I know what to do for next year!

 

[Angie]

Aww, @kay97, that's fabulous! I'm so proud of you!

Thanks for giving me an update. I was wondering over the weekend how you got on.

When a cake flies off the shelf and there's barely any left you know you've done a good job and you and your friend have indeed. Considering you've only made a couple this is a proper triumph for the pair of you!

Yeah, the transportation of the cake is the worst bit because you never know what's going to happen with traffic!

Thanks for the appreciation, that's very kind, but you did all the hard work; I just gave you the tools and advice on putting it together. I'm especially loving the freehand!

See, commission for another cake already, yeah I'm here happy to help as and when you need it.

Thanks again for the pics and the update, that's the best part of my job seeing you guys flourish.

Take care and have a lovely Christmas.

 

[A Guy]

Awesome!

A Guy