
Curious about cake dummies but not sure what they are or if they are right for your wedding? First let me explain what a cake dummy is. It’s a faux cake tier, most commonly made out of Styrofoam. The idea is that they are a flawless part of your wedding cake design, covered and decorated just like the layers of cake around them. Why would someone use a faux cake tier on their cake? That’s a great question that I’m going to talk about in this blog.

Dummy tiers are perfect for adding depth, detail and drama to your design. Sometimes the overall look you are striving for really benefits from an imitation tier or two for that true story book wedding cake. My cherry blossom cake that is pictured here with the cut-out heart is a dummy cake. You can easily have the bottom tier as real cake and the rest as a dummy. The cut-out heart gives such a beautiful design!
Some couples prefer a more quaint, smaller wedding for various reasons. It could be that they desire only close family and friends to share their special day with, it could be for financial reasons, it could be the couple would love to invite as many people to celebrate with them as possible, however long-distance travel could be an issue for everyone to get to them. Regardless of the reason, the couple will need to make adjustments in many areas of their wedding planning to downsize to a smaller guest list.
One thing that is typically downgraded is the wedding cake. Couples feel that their only option for a wedding cake with a small wedding is a one or two tier simply designed cake. They may think their dream wedding cake with many tiers, flowing flowers and beautiful toppers may have gone out the window.
It doesn’t have to be that way! You can have the beautiful 3,4,5 tier wedding cake that you have always dreamed of! In comes….. cake dummies. If your wedding cake table is adorned with many flowers and other décor, a simple one or two tier cake can look lost sitting at that table, making it look even smaller.
Another great advantage of a dummy cake is having a full dummy cake with only the top tier being a real cake just for cake cutting photos and then have a kitchen cake in the back sliced for the guests. Many couple are heading to this trend because it’s easy to slice kitchen cakes (double sheet cakes) and serve than to bother with taking each tier apart for slicing.
Now, let’s talk about price. One thing that is terribly annoying to me is when I see articles and blogs on the internet that are telling brides that using cake dummies in your wedding cakes will cut the cost down. So not true!
I recently had a couple come to me for their cake design. They wanted a specific look but were having under 50 guests. I explained to them that I can create that look using cake dummies for the extra height. I sent them a sketch of the design I was going to create. They loved it…until they saw the price quote. They could not believe that I was charging them for cake tiers that were inedible servings! Maybe I was unclear in my messaging, or maybe they read somewhere that cake dummies are cheaper than real cake. Allow me to clarify.
First, let’s talk about the cake dummy itself. I have two vendors that I order my cake dummies from. I will typically order in bulk because the shipping costs are prohibitive. Shipping costs are a part of the cost of the cake dummy. Now, dummy tiers are relatively inexpensive but as I mentioned, the shipping is almost the same price of the dummies. The reason is that dummies are bulky items and require specific sized boxes for them to fit in. It’s not like they can be folded and squeezed into a box. The size is the size.

Once I receive my cake dummies, I prepare them for usage. The edges are typically very sharp so I will use a nail file or pumice stone to smooth the edges and get rid of any dents. Very sharp edges may cut or break the fondant when covering them. They are then covered with a film of shortening to adhere the fondant. Once the fondant is applied and has covered the cake dummy, I let it dry overnight before decorating.
Time to decorate! The real cake and cake dummy tiers get stacked together (at this point, the real cake has already been stacked, filled and covered). Now it’s time to work on the overall design of the wedding cake.
So you see, the cake dummies are treated as real cake, the only difference is that I didn’t have to bake, fill, crumb coat. I still have to do all of the decorating as I would a real cake.
Big take-away: The majority of the price of a wedding cake is not in the ingredients and baking, it is in the design process. Factors that are included in the price are my years of experience, training, artistic talent, time involved and professional skills. Regardless if your wedding cake is entirely real cake, all dummy cake or a little of both, you are paying for design, not edible servings.
Interested in scheduling a cake tasting and design consult with me? Complete this wedding cake inquiry form and lets get started!

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