Sequined tiers continue to be an elegant trend in cake decorating. There are a few different ways to achieve this dressed-up look, but today I'm going to show you our favorite method! We are also sharing an oversized wafer paper flower that is not only beautiful with it's layered petals, but also very simple to make! Enjoy the tutorial! -
Materials:
While this method would be beautiful in any size and shape of cake tier, we are using a 6" double barrel cake construction. (If you have questions about double barrel cakes, you can find everything you need to know in our Double Barrel video tutorial. This construction involves two cake cardboards, and 4 supports within the bottom half of the tier.)
Buttercream (We used our fluffy vanilla buttercream recipe which is a medium consistency.)
White Chocolate Chips - We used Nestle (two 12 oz packages)
Gold Luster Dust (edible/non-toxic) -*see more details in notes below
Vodka or lemon extract (a high alcohol content allows the gold "paint" to dry quickly)
Soft paintbrush for applying gold paint
Coloring Gel- We tinted our buttercream with Americolor Gold for a golden/ivory shade.
For the Flower:
Wafer paper - 3 sizes of petals...plan on approx 6 petals each.
Lollipop stick for anchor
ball of gum paste or fondant
Dragees or your sugar pearls/sprinkles of choice for the flower center
Pearl Dust (optional)
Table knife for curling petals
toothpick (or sharp tool)
Notes
*Make sure that your gold luster dust is edible/non-toxic. I used Rolkem Super Gold. If you have other favorite brands of edible gold luster, I would love to hear! While I really love the gold sheen of this brand, I haven't been able to find a US vendor--only Australia--so it takes a bit longer to arrive! ;0) The container itself does not say edible/non-toxic...but the site that I ordered from did and so that's what I'm going with! Use whatever luster you'd like...silver, gold, pearl, would all be very striking.
*The chocolate chips do make for a heavy cake (much like a thick ganache), so make sure to use sturdy supports if doing a tiered cake!
*At the end of the tutorial, I demonstrated using confetti sprinkles (glued to fondant with piping gel) which were then painted. On the plus side, sprinkles can be applied much more quickly to the cake by the handful (over a pan to catch the excess!) - However, I really liked the look of the chips because of the larger and therefore more reflective surface...plus, the white makes for easy paint coverage. Both are great options though. Kara Andretta of Kara's Couture Cakes has a great YouTube video for very realistic gelatin sequins also if you are interested in researching other options!
Hi Melissa, I'm planning to make this today and I was wondering if this cake will be okay on a 100 degree weather. You think the chocolate chips will melt? Thanks!
Hi Luna- Will the cake be outside? I would chill the cake before transporting and keep the cake indoors for as long as possible. You wouldn't want to keep it in that kind of heat for long. (Same with buttercream frosted cakes.)
My sequence cake
Hi Nelka, Your cake is lovely, you did a great job!!
Thanks BeBe :)
Hi! I made this cake in silver and used it as the top tier of a 25-th Anniversary cake. The silver "paint" made from vodka and luster dust didn't cover as well as the gold in your video. But, I went and got a spray can of Wilton silver spray color and did a couple of coats of that after the paint dried, and it looked great in the end. Thanks so much for this tutorial!
What a gorgeous cake! Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your photo! xo
looks amazing can i use mocha frosting instead of food dye?
Hi Adina, Yes, it is fine if it gives you the color you like.