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toAll My Fellow Cake Decoraters! Please Help!

In summary, a group of friends are planning a surprise disco themed party for their friend's 30th birthday. The party will be a week before her actual birthday. One of the friends is a novice cake decorator and wants to make a disco ball cake for the party. They plan to use a batter bowl to create the round shape and frost it with a silvery colored frosting, possibly adding toothpicks for texture. They also plan to use silver sparkles for a glittery effect. The friend has asked for suggestions and advice, including what color food coloring to use to make silver frosting and where to find silver candy for decoration. Some suggestions included using edible silver paint or gum paste tiles, but the friend is not interested in using fondant
kcmckay
Gold Member
704
Ok so a good friends 30th birthday is coming up and my friends and I are throwing her a disco themed surprise party. She knows a party is happening and dropped a hint about wanting a disco party so we decided to roll with it. The party is a week before her actual birthday. So I'm a Novice cake decorater. I've done it professionally but the place I worked at was very particular in the cakes it made so didn't get to be super creative. But I enjoyed it for awhile. It is now more of a hobby for me.

Anyway I was thinking of attempting (I plan to practice) to make a disco ball cake. I think it would be cool and fun. I think to make the shape I'm going to make 2 cakes in my batter bowl and put them to together to make the ball shape. I'm pretty confident that I can just frost the cake with a silvery colored frosting and use toothpicks or something of the like to make the indentations of the ball itself.

I looked at Michael's today and found some silver sparkles that I think I may use as well. But I want to mostly use them just for the glittery effect.

My questions are basically this:

Do you think this will work?

What color food coloring will make a silver? I was thinking of just using a little black but that's going to be more grey. So does anyone know of somewhere that sells silver food coloring?

I'm open to any and all suggestions. I'm not interested in fondant. I've never used it and I don't like the way it tastes. I prefer to use buttercream, however the birthday girls wants whipped cream! I'm going to make it work one way or another but could use some suggestions and words of encouragement.

Thanks.
 
I do some cake decorating myself. I have never seen a silver food coloring. I have however at specialty stores seen a edible paint that is silver. You could do a white fondant over the ball, then brush on the silver paint, then sprinkle on the silver sparkles.

I know you said you don't fondant, but I dont know if on a round cake you would be able to get the same effect with whipped cream. Good luck and please post pics so we can see how it came out. :)
 
paulas.jpg


No, I could never make that, either.
 
How fun! I love the idea of using 2 batter bowl cakes to make the ball. Like Leslie, I've never seen silver frosting. However, you could easily frost the cake and then press silver candies all over it. Most of the mirrored balls I've seen up close have white showing between the mirror tiles. Frosting the cake with white frosting before adding the candies should work fine.
 
There are silver food grade tints available, mainly created specifically for cake decorating. Just do a Google search and you should be able to find some resources. The only thing is, I think most of it is either liquid for airbrushing, or powder for brushing on.

If you're not interested in fondant, something you could try is creating the tiles with gum paste and painting them silver with the powder color, then sticking them on the frosted cake.

No, I'm not a cake decorator, just a hobbyist like yourself, but that's the first thing that came to mind when I though about your dilemma.
 
I know you said you didn't like fondant but have you ever tried Marshmellow Fondant? Its super easy to make, CHEAP and actually taste pretty good. All my customers love it!! If you were open to using it, it would actually be really easy to make the cake that was posted above. You could use the whipped icing place the fondant squares on, paint on silver pearl dust and sprinkle with the glitter you already have. If you have any further questions just let me know, i am a pastry chef and would be happy to help.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #7
raebates said:
How fun! I love the idea of using 2 batter bowl cakes to make the ball.

Like Leslie, I've never seen silver frosting. However, you could easily frost the cake and then press silver candies all over it. Most of the mirrored balls I've seen up close have white showing between the mirror tiles. Frosting the cake with white frosting before adding the candies should work fine.


Rae have I told you lately that I love you!! ;) LOL.

You hit the nail on the hammer with understanding I really want the cake to be what I'm comfortable making and I think this is great! However, do you know of any candy that is silver? And where I can get it??

I appreciate everyone elses responses regarding fondant but it's just not me and I like my cakes to be me. So I'm going to make it work my way but do appreciate the feedback and am still open to suggestions as well.
 
Have you ever heard of Choco-pan? It is a fondant made of white chocolate. YUM!! Its like candy! A lady developed it here in INdianapolis and sells it worldwide. I can eat it by the sheet! (don't but could, hehe)

I think there are edible pearls too... maybe you could get some of them in silver. We have used the edible paints too..but always on the choco pan, never on buttercream. You'd just have to try to see if it would work...

Good luck! Sounds like a great idea!
 
I did a Google search, and found some online candy stores that sell silver candies. This one has silver jordan almonds:

Silver Candy

Maybe you could take those and stick them onto butter cream or whipped cream frosting.
 
  • #10
I'm fairly certain I've seen silver candies at Michael's and/or Hobby Lobby in the wedding stuff.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #11
raebates said:
I'm fairly certain I've seen silver candies at Michael's and/or Hobby Lobby in the wedding stuff.


Awesome I was going to go there tonight anyway I'll have to make sure to look at wedding stuff! Sadly I was there last night and didn't even register to look there and I almost always look at wedding stuff no matter what I'm shopping for!:rolleyes::confused:
 
  • #12
Also..I don't know how much you are willing to spend..BUT..some candy stores have M&Ms in odd colors..and I know that I have seen Silver.
 
  • #13
I was thinking that too, and did a search for silver m&m's and found them on one site for something like $57 a lb!!!!! I was pretty sure she didn't want to invest that much:yuck:
 
  • #14
straitfan said:
I was thinking that too, and did a search for silver m&m's and found them on one site for something like $57 a lb!!!!! I was pretty sure she didn't want to invest that much:yuck:

WOW..I have NEVER seen them for that much..that is rediculous..I know where I get my special colored m&ms..they are $8.99/lb which is a lot..but not nearly what you found them for..LOL
 
  • Thread starter
  • #15
actually I did pick up the silver m&m's I was thinking of those. I have two ideas I'm going to try them both out and see which I like better. Don't worry I'll post pics and ask which is preferred. I'm feeling better about it now.

However,

I've never baked anything in my batter bowl before. Do I just mix up the cake mix and put it in the oven? I need to put it on a sheet pan right?

Thanks for all your help with this!!!!!:)
 
  • #16
No need to put it on a sheet pan.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #17
So I made my practice cake. I made one cake and frosted half with each of my ideas. I decided to save some resources.

So just to reiterate I'm not a professional and this was just practice.

I'm going to go with the one without m&m's. I don't like the m&m one. I'm also going to make the frosting more silver, I need to make the color better. I'm ok with the one I want personally just still want feedback. I'm also going to round up the top more as well. Thanks
 

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  • #18
Looks cute, you might want to carve it a bit tomake it look more like a ball, a bread knife works great for doing this!
 
  • #19
I'm impressed. Was it fun to eat?
 
  • #20
freeze the cake first, then when you want to carve it, it will be easier to handle. After you carve it though, it will be crumby, so take some of your icing and thin it down and spread it over the cake (called a crumb coat), let it dry, then put on more icing. Otherwise when you go to smooth the icing you can pull up the crumbs and it will be all bumpy.
 

1. How do I make buttercream frosting for my cakes?

To make buttercream frosting, you will need 1 cup of unsalted butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 2-3 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream. First, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Once combined, add in the milk or heavy cream to achieve your desired consistency.

2. What is the best way to smooth out the frosting on my cake?

The best way to smooth out frosting on a cake is to use a bench scraper or offset spatula. Hold the scraper or spatula at a 45-degree angle and rotate the cake while holding the scraper against the side. Repeat until the frosting is smooth and even. You can also use a hot knife to help smooth out any imperfections.

3. How do I prevent my cake from sticking to the pan?

To prevent your cake from sticking to the pan, make sure to properly grease and flour the pan before pouring in the batter. You can also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper for extra insurance. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes before attempting to remove it from the pan.

4. What is the best way to store a decorated cake?

The best way to store a decorated cake is to place it in an airtight container or cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. If the cake has perishable fillings such as whipped cream or fruit, it should be stored in the refrigerator. If it is a non-perishable filling, it can be left at room temperature for a day or two.

5. How can I make my cake decorations more vibrant and colorful?

To make your cake decorations more vibrant and colorful, you can use gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring. Gel food coloring is more concentrated and will give you a more intense color. You can also use edible food spray to add a metallic or glittery finish to your decorations.

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