Cake dummies are useful for practising cake decorating, creating display cakes or testing designs before working on real cakes. Here's how to use them effectively.
How to use cake dummies
Choose your cake dummy
First, you need to choose the best cake dummy for your decorating. We have a range of polystyrene cake dummies to suit your needs, including popular ones like square cake dummies and round cake dummies.
Prepare the cake dummy
Clean the surface with a damp cloth to remove dust and debris, and let it completely dry. Then, you need to secure it. Attach it to a cake board using a small amount of royal icing, buttercream or double-sided tape to keep it stable. Then, choose your icing.
Can you use buttercream on a cake dummy?
Yes! Buttercream adheres well to the foam surface of cake dummies, making it an excellent option for decorating them for display cakes or decorating practice. Alternatively, you can use royal icing or fondant.
How do you get icing to stick to a dummy cake?
Different icing requires different techniques to help it stick to your cake dummy. But first, you need to prepare it. The key to getting your icing to stick is to gently roughen up the surface of your cake dummy with sandpaper to help the icing adhere better. Don't forget to brush off any sanding debris.
Fondant
Create a sticky base layer for fondant icing by lightly spritzing the cake dummy with water. You can also use a piping gel or a thin layer of buttercream to make it tacky.
Buttercream or royal icing
If you're using buttercream or royal icing, pipe or spread a thin crumb coat of buttercream for these options. Chill briefly to set the layer before your main application.
Application
Fondant
Roll out your fondant as you would for a normal cake and drape it over the cake dummy. Press firmly to ensure it adheres to the surface. Smooth it down, starting from the top and working your way to the sides with a fondant smoother.
Buttercream & royal icing
Over the crumb coat, spread or pipe the icing over the cake dummy, smoothing it with a spatula or icing smoother.
Decorate
Now it's time for the decorations. Add edible flowers, piping patterns, stencils or edible paints as if you were decorating a real cake for practice, to show a client or as a window display.
Cleanup and long-term displays
To reuse, simply scrape off the icing or remove the fondant and clean for a fresh start. For longer-term displays, use shortening-based buttercream or fondant that won't spoil.
Our cake dummies (also known as polystyrene or styrofoam cake dummies) are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, including dummies for cake pops. Cake dummies are very versatile; perfect for professionals to showcase their designs to clients and at wedding fairs (an alternative to real cakes which would perish), allows you to perfect your cake covering skills if you need practise and gives you the opportunity of adding an extra tier or two to a celebration cake even if you don't need the extra quantity of cake. See our Cake Equipment section for a larger selection of tools and equipment.
Have a look at our great range of polystyrene cake dummies - perfect not only to practice your cake covering skills on but also to show off your designs to clients at wedding fairs or when you need to add that extra tier or two to a celebration cake without having the extra quantity of cake! Use piping gel to secure your sugarpaste/roll-out-icing to the dummy's surface. Available in a variety of shapes, sizes and depths, from round to square, topsy-turvy to birdcage, including cake pop dummies, why not check out the full range here.
