yet another sugar sheet question
I have pretty much decided that I would attach a partial sugar sheet to the part of the cake that would be a dummy cake so that I could do that part in advance. I’m wondering if ants might be attracted to a dry sugar sheet since this part might be left out for even a week or two in advance.
I have never had problems with ants and dummies coated in sugarpaste, but I once mistakenly used buttercream to unite 2 dummies … and the result was horrid and needed to be tossed. Trying to avoid another event like that!
So if any of you have used sugar sheets on demo cakes, I’d appreciate hearing about your ant or non ant experience. Thanks all :)
The Garden Baker
6 Replies
I am stumped. I’ve had chocolate and fondant sculptures setting out for years and never seen any ants, but I’ve not used sugar sheets. Maybe it could be stored in a plastic bag? I know that does not work for some types of confections.
Sugar Sugar by SSmiley
Oh, I just realized you may be talking about the sugar sheet for wrapping tiers made from granulated sugar and corn syrup. If so, I would think it would be an ant magnet! I was thinking of the sugar sheets used for printing edible images.
Sugar Sugar by SSmiley
Well, for the first time ever, we’ve had an invasion of teeny tiny little ants in my kitchen. I bought ant traps and they were literally swarmed with 100’s of ants. My husband went to get a oreo cookie from the cookie jar. All of the cookies were covered with ants!! Inside and out. Obviously, thrown away. I had to keep my grandson’s bday cake upstairs in my spare room where I knew positively there were no ants!! So my advice is a cool, dry room, as far away from the kitchen as possible. I have two dummy cakes covered in hard bc/royal icing in my basement. Perfectly fine. No ants, nothing has touched them.
Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God. Clarky's Cakes 😎
Oh my!!! Maybe I can help a bit with your ant problem, June, even if I may not have found the solution to my potential problem. In Israel we have this gel type substance that comes in a tube. You put down 2 or 3 drops in the area where you know that there are ants. The workers are attracted to the stuff, gulp it up and bring it to their queen and it kills off the entire nest no matter where it is hidden. The stuff is called “Queen Gel”. Maybe there is something similar where you are. It is pet and children safe and can be used near foodstuffs.
Yes, Sandra I was talking about the sugar sheets made of sugar and corn syrup. I really don’t want to chance an invasion. This cake is for mid September so I still have time to problem solve :)
The Garden Baker
Oh the ant poison I have is working fine. Both the gel and powder. And we had about all but eliminated them. Then, boom, a new crop of ants!! 😫😫 Perhaps a new nest. Definitely you have to kill the queen, or ants just move and start producing again.
Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God. Clarky's Cakes 😎
This may sound crazy, but if I get ants in the kitchen, I find the entrance and surround it with ground cloves. Ants hate cloves and will not come near it. It does look messy on the counter, but it is always toward the back and out of the way and it does smell yummy to me! Of course, perfectly safe for everyone.
Sugar Sugar by SSmiley
