It’s lovely… question… and this is a question that I’ve been wondering about for a long time… but how do you cover the sides of cakes with pearls like that. You didn’t place them all individually, did you? I just wonder how it’s done without getting pearls bouncing all across the kitchen – or in my case sanding sugar EVERYWHERE! For a winter themed cake I did a while back I wanted to cover the sides with sanding sugar, but couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to accomplish it. I thought about freezing my frosted cake and then rolling it in the sugar once it was firm, but I hate freezing cake, and I was nervous to roll a 10" cake on its side! Anyway, just wondering… thanks!

Hi there! Thanks so much for your note. This is what you do: create a sugar paste. I make it at least a couple hours in advance of using it. Take a piece of gumpaste (even an old, hard lump will do) and put it in a little bowl. Add water, just to the top of it and allow it to dissolve. I don’t have an exact measurement but you have to assume that the less water there is, the more sticky it will be. In time, you’ll have the perfect sugar paste. I use this formula to put my handmade fondant decorations and flowers together and it’s the same good-stuff I used to cover this cake in pearls. I first covered the cake in fondant. Then I applied the glue with a food-safe brush, one section at a time. I put the cake on a pedestal, over a pan to collect all of the pearls that would fall off as I was putting them on by the handful. Eventually, I had the whole thing covered and this was the result. It’s super easy and fun. Enjoy and take care! Mili