How to use cake dummies
Cake dummies are a perfect way of adding height to your cake without increasing the cost. Using a dummy is perfect for adding in an extra tier on a wedding cake, creating a show or exhibition cake, to show your skills without having to make a real cake every time you decorate. Another great reason to use cake dummies is that we are reducing waste, making practicing cake decorating more sustainable. Cake dummies are so versatile, they are useful for beginner bakers to practice new skills and also professionals who want to show off their work and build more of a portfolio or present at a fayre or exhibition.
Choosing the correct dummy
We offer two different types of edge of dummy, the bevelled and the straight edge. The straight edge offers a crisp straight edge, this is more of a right angle to the top of the cake. The straight edge is more suited to royal icing or buttercream. Whereas bevelled edge dummies have a curved edge, this type of dummy is more suited to covering cakes with sugarpaste.
Prepping your dummy to cover and reuse
There are a number of ways to prep your dummy. You can simply use a small amount of water over the sides, use gel or edible glue.
Another popular way of prepping dummies is to wrap them in cling film. This is a great trick if you are planning on reusing your dummy. To re-use dummies you can carefully remove the decorations and rinse under hot water to remove excess icings.
Another pro of using a cake dummy is that you can use whatever icing that you would on any usual cake. You also don’t need to create a crumb coat layer when using buttercream, you can go ahead and get started with your final coating straight away!
Products we recommend for starting out using cake dummies:
Rolling Pin
A rolling pin is an essential in a cake decorators kit!
We have plenty to choose from there are a wide variety of rolling pin to choose from/ Whether it’s a 6” rolling pin or a 20” we have these and everything in between! A great add on to your rolling pin are guide rings! Simply pop these on the ends of your rolling pin to measure quickly and easily how thick your sugarpaste is! This is super helpful when you need an even roll.
Fondant / Sugarpaste
At VV we pride ourselves on having a great selection of fondant / sugarpaste. We have a range of different textures and price points so there really is something for everyone.
One of our most popular sugarpaste is The Sugar Paste! This comes in 250g, 1kg and 6kg quantities. This is a great sugarpaste for covering cakes minus the elephant skin! They have a range of different colours available and also the white is perfect for colouring!
Another one of our top sellers in sugarpaste is the classic Renshaw Ready to Roll icing! Renshaw offer a fabulous selection of colours in 250g packs. Everything from baby pinks and blues to Emerald green to the original white.
A great addition to sugarpaste is a roll out mat, this is ideal for knowing the size to roll your icing to. Our VV roll out mat also offers a handy guide with how much sugarpaste to use to begin with!
Piping Gel
Piping gel is a super versatile product and has some great uses for cake decorating. We have two brands that have a piping gel option: PME and Simply making!
Some of its uses include making paint by adding food colouring, adding to royal icing to make it thicker, use this to create water effects such as pools, streams and dew drops on flowers, and it can also be used as a glue to stick sugar decorations to cakes and perfect for sticking sugarpaste to dummies.
Turn Table
A turntable is an essential when cake decorating, an absolute must for any skill level. Turntables are used to spin the cake while you decorate, this is a great way of spreading buttercream straight and precise using a smoother or scraper. Elevating the cake while you decorate makes it so much easier to turn and see your whole design as you go. Our most bought turntable is the culpitt professional aluminium cake decorators turntable. This turntable is approximately 120mm high x 310mm diameter, sturdy and strong turntable that will last, has Circular markings to help centre cakes perfectly and also Doubles as a presentation stand.
Smoothers and scrapers
Smoothershelp you to reach the super slick finish on your bakes (or dummies). Some of our most popular scrapers are from PME, they offer a great selection. PME have plastic and metal scrapers, some have edge patterns such as scalloped, pleat or striped. These edge designs are great for being more creative with your buttercream.
Other dummy types
Dummies can come in all shapes and sizes! There is the standard round and square shape, but they also come in hexagon and heart. We don’t currently offer shapes, but we hope to in the future!
We also have cake pop dummies if you wanted to display and practice cake pop designs. These are also great for creating bubble cakes!