Cake Decorating Community - Cakes We Bake

I'm looking for interesting methods, themes, items, papers, etc to cover cake boards.  Does anyone want to share their ideas?

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A friend of mine who is a superb cake decorator uses wallpaper off cuts to cover her boards. It looks fantastic and the vinyl papers are washable. See a sample of what I mean here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31395646&id=1108480881#!/photo.php?pid=6021096&id=680763501 and here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6296279&id=680763501
Oh Wow, Eileen! That's a great idea! I've always wondered what to use, myself!

Eileen S said:
For large boards (like the guitar cakes I do), I use those inexpensive single-color plastic tablecloths. They don't show grease stains from the buttercream and they come in all kinds of colors.
Oooooh.... I was thinking about using the Vinyl Table cloth that someone mentioned, but whay you're saying makes sense! Think I'll stick to the fondant covered boards! Thanks! :-)

Jeanne said:
Vinyl table cloth isn't food safe... contact paper isn't technically food safe either. They aren't meant to be held against foods for any length of time. I use cake drums covered in fondant since it is 100% food safe. You can pretty it up by embossing it or cutting shapes out of it and filling it in with another color fondant... finish it off with a coordinating ribbon and you have a very professional finish. It takes minutes to cover a board in fondant, and even under a BC finished cake it looks great.

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Well I use to just get parchment paper that my local store supply store sells that fit the boards. Sometimes I would wrap it sometimes I would just place it. Then I read, on here, about the the drums and making them yourself. So I took two boards and taped them together and used some heavy duty aluminum foil.... I crumpled it up, them flatten it again, it made it look a little fancier. I also use freezer paper. I think if I really wanted it to coordinate with the cake I would put some sort of colored paper, then those parchment sheets (some are cut with scollops and some are just straight) over it to protect the cake, and the colored paper will still be able to be seen.

Jeanne, I love how you put the red/white/blue ribbon on that patrotic cake you made. That does make a cake board look finished.
Just a further note about the food safety issue of vinyl and other materials ... if you make a habit of placing your cake directly onto a THIN cake board (like the ones we use in Australia and New Zealand), then you can use whatever material you want to really, so long as it's not toxic, as the cake does not come into contact with the base board.
This is what we use at my shop as well. We coordinate the fondant board with the color of the base fondant of the cake. These boards are made with an inexpensive fondant a week in advance so they will harden. We cover in wax paper when we split and fill the layers as not to get icing on the fondant board. It works very nicely and it is beautifully finished. I learned this technique from my good friend Nicholas Lodge. The edge of the board is finished with a coordinating ribbon or a beautiful cording. Hope this helps. Oh, we use commercial cake drums.

Jeanne said:
Vinyl table cloth isn't food safe... contact paper isn't technically food safe either. They aren't meant to be held against foods for any length of time. I use cake drums covered in fondant since it is 100% food safe. You can pretty it up by embossing it or cutting shapes out of it and filling it in with another color fondant... finish it off with a coordinating ribbon and you have a very professional finish. It takes minutes to cover a board in fondant, and even under a BC finished cake it looks great.

=]


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That's my feelings too. I was not sure contact paper it's safe or not. I dont use it anyways, but I hear lots of people do.
I rather cover with fondant too. And if a bride doesnt want to pay for that, I just leave the drum simple.


Jeanne said:
Vinyl table cloth isn't food safe... contact paper isn't technically food safe either. They aren't meant to be held against foods for any length of time. I use cake drums covered in fondant since it is 100% food safe. You can pretty it up by embossing it or cutting shapes out of it and filling it in with another color fondant... finish it off with a coordinating ribbon and you have a very professional finish. It takes minutes to cover a board in fondant, and even under a BC finished cake it looks great.

=]


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I have used foil, fondant and contact covered custom papers. When I use the contact though I usually either put the cake on a cardboard cake board or baking paper cut to the exact size of the cake. Makes all the fuss about food safe obsolete then.
I made a collage of headlines and pictures from World War I for the ANZAC cake I made. It included a picture of my grandfather in his uniform, so it was pretty special. I printed it off and then covered the cake board THEN covered the whole thing with contact. I cut a piece of baking paper to the size of the base of the cake and positioned it on the cake board (I use icing, or sugar glue or ganache depending what I am making at the time) then the cake.
If in doubt place a barrier between the cake and the surface it will be sitting on then you're only limited by your imagination!
Although I am concerned on food safety, i put all my cakes on Wilton cardboard first, so they never "touch" the covering. I would think Plastic/vinyl tablecloths would have to have some type of "food quality" sincu u do cover a table to eat on...I know most of us use plates, but i remember the days of my little ones and any surface became covered in food! LOL. My bigger concern w/ all the paper and such is when u cut the cake. Most of these coverings will not stand up to knives and all those tinny shreds of plastic/paper can get into your cake. I usually use fondant to cover my bases, but on some I will use Wilton foil...bt like i said I always use a cake board between :D

What are "cake drums?"

I sometimes use the vinyl tablecloth also but since not food safe I always have the cake on a cake circle.  This way the cake does not actually come in contact with the tablecloth.  If I have leftover fondant, I will use that or buy with a coupon Wiltons fondant to cover the board and use any leftover for mixing with gumpaste for flowers.

Susie - they are the thick (usually 1/2) disposable boards a lot of us use.  They are economical and can be dressed up.  You can make them yourself by hot gluing about 4-5 plain cake rounds together and then covering them with foil, or you can buy them.  I get the Wilton brand from Michael's all the time, or I order from Global Sugar Art.  You can see one being used in this photo:

http://www.cakeswebake.com/photo/dora-tickled-pink?context=user

I usually put a 5/8" ribbon around the perimeter.

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