Wedding cake panic - sugarpaste or ganache

by Alison
(Bolton, UK)

Hi,
I love this site and hope you can help me. I've been asked by a friend to make her wedding cake. She's sent me a picture of the one she wants, it's 3 tiers, cream, with white chocolate cigarillos around each tier. I had planned to use sugarpaste (fondant) to cover it and then attach the cigarillos (hadn't quite worked out how) but have since been told the cigarillos won't stick to sugarpaste and that I'll need to use white chocolate ganache...have never made ganache in my life!! What would you advise I do? It's 3 tiers (12", 9", 6"). If I do use ganache how on earth do you work out how much to make to cover each tier. I'm really stressing over it now.

My other panic is do I stack it before I transport it (it's going on a long drive) or put each tier in a box and stack it when I get there.

Help!!

Alison

Hi Allison, Thank you! I'm glad you love my website :-) If the cigarillos will be covering the entire sides of the cakes, then I will suggest you do use a ganache, or a buttercream. Ganache is super easy to make. I have a chocolate ganache icing recipe. Just substitute white chocolate for dark. It is basically cream and chocolate melted with a little bit of corn syrup. you then cool it and use it as a frosting.

Buttercream would be the easiest route to go. You could do fondant /sugarpaste and then use royal icing to stick the cigarillos on with. But why use all of the fondant and not be able to see it. I hope that helps you out. Don't panic :-) Just take a deep breath and give yourself plenty of lead time, do as much as possible ahead and little bits each day.

As far as delivering the cake goes, If you have a long drive then I would suggest waiting until you get to the venue to stack it. Store each cake in a box on a flat surface and use the air conditioning to keep it cool in the vehicle. The only way I would suggest you stack it first is to use what I use The Cake Stackers. Good Luck and please let us know how it went by adding a picture and a story about your cake at my Wedding Cake Pictures page.

Thank you so much for visiting and for asking some really great questions!