I just posted a new tutorial in You Tube. This is a basic tutorial on how to cover a board but I wanted to add a bit more detail on how to decorate it too. I love how a cake looks when the board is decorated. It brings the cake to another level.
I worked so many years decorating cakes and adding fondant to a cake board used to be something you do as an extra detail for high-end cakes. These days, although the regular people who buy cakes don’t necessarily know about this detail, the cake community has expectations for all cake boards to be decorated.
I will add fondant to cakes that are high-end. Most of those cakes are well paid and they do require a finish look. With that said there are other times that I don’t cover a cake board unless I am paid for. Package cakes for example, are cakes that are part of a deal that some venues add as part of the contracts with brides for their weddings. These cakes are low-budget cakes and in here that time that you might spend covering a fondant board will be used more wisely in making another cake that will make more money.
Covering a basic cake board can be done fast. But add the time of looking for the fondant, coloring it, kneading it, rolling, placing it on the board, cutting the excess, smoothing it and either the time that it needs to dry or the oven time you have to use to make it dry faster. All of this is time you use in making a board. Let’s say it takes 15 minutes overall to do all this, ( that’s without taking in consideration drying time). In those 15 minutes I use to cover that cake board, I can torte and ice a cake and with 10 more minutes I can finish a basic cake that I can charge around between $30 to $60 dollars depending on the size of it.
So taking all of that in consideration and adding to that you may have many other cakes to make, you do have to take in consideration that time and the cost of your time that needs to be paid.
I love a cake board covered. It makes a huge difference. But I do make sure I get paid for this. If it’s not in the budget of the bride, then is not in my budget either. I have had times where I have done a cake that the bride didn’t had the budget for the board and I decided to add the fondant to the board just because I wanted a great picture. But that I did because I wanted a great photo for me.
Boards are supposed to be covered for cakes that are high-end or cakes that are part of a cake competition, or simply just for show. But don’t feel bad if you are doing a cake for a bride on a budget that couldn’t pay for the board or just for a simple party cake. At the end of the day a custom cake shop need to make sure rent, paychecks and supplies are covered more than anything else.
For low-budget cakes, I use your regular cake drum that
you still need for a cake,
so the cost won’t make a difference when it comes
to that. If you are covering homemade boards with fancy foils, make sure to find the big rolls that are sold wholesale and much cheaper than the ones you get at craft stores. Some people use pretty papers and cover them with contact paper but be careful with this. Contact paper is not food safe so the cake should not be in contact with it at all.
At the end of the day, everyone has their own option. If you have the time and preference to cover your boards, go for it. If on the other hand youfeel that it needs to be paid as part of your time and not all people can afford it, then don’t stress about it. In 22 years of making cakes I have never had a person complain about it.
If they want a cake board covered, they will pay for it. If they don’t have the money, they won’t care about it. As long as you make them a beautiful and delicious cake, they will be happy.
If you make cakes for fun, go ahead and cover your cake boards and make your cakes look more amazing with the finish look. I know it makes me happy to see a finished cake from top to bottom, but I do understand why sometimes boards are not covered. There’s a whole different angle when it comes from smaller shops that are starting to make cakes or maybe are located in an area that pays less money and they need to count each penny they earn and use. Running a bakery is not an easy task and only those who are successful at running one, know the reality behind it.
Click here or in the photo to go see the tutorial. In the website I posted links for the products I used in making this tutorial in the tutorial page.
I hope you enjoy this tutorial and Blog.
Until next time, ta ta!
Edna 🙂
Design Me a Cake 