Make-a-Cake Series: Gumpaste Bow, Part II

It looks like this:

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However, I had a few bumps along the way.

The instructions below are for a larger bow than the bow that I actually used on the cake above.
After I made the bow (and took all of the pictures for this tutorial) and then assembled it on top of the cake, it cracked in half! I almost cried. I had a backup bow but it was a smaller size. So the finished cake received the smaller backup bow. 

These instructions will work for all size bows. But the instructions are for a large bow.
So adjust the measurements to make it work for you.

Here is what you need to make a present bow cake topper.

Roll the gumpaste out to over a foot long.

Turn your rolling and roll the gumpaste to 3-4 inches wide.

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Then cut your gumpaste into a rectangle. For my large bow I cut my gumpaste 13 inches long by 3 inches wide.
For the small bow I cut the gumpaste 6 inches long by 1.5 inches wide.

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This bow went on top of a 7 inch cake. When I made the loop shape of my bow I did it on top of my 7 inch pan as a size reference. This way if the bow was a little big or long, I could adjust it while the gumpaste was soft.
Its a nightmare to find out the bow is too big or small after the gumpaste is dry and hard.

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Ball up saran wrap or a paper towel to the size and shape you want the bow.
**HINT**I have used both saran wrap and paper towel for this task. The saran wrap gives me a more oval shaped loop and a paper tow a more circle shaped loop.

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Lay the gumpaste over the saran wrap and glue the two ends together with a bit of water.

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Add more water to the top of the gumpaste end and pinch together, pleating as you go.

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Set this loop aside to dry for 24-48 hours. Now make the other loop for a set.
I would advise making at lease one extra!

You are ready to assemble your bow when everything else on your cake is done. I only had the border left to pipe when I put my bow on top.

Make tails for your bow out of fondant and lay them on top of your cake, attaching with a little water.
I made mine so I had one on each side of the cake and the bow in the middle, facing front.

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Next, make a pleat out of gumpaste that is 5-6 inches long. This is for the middle of the bow. Set this aside until you need it.

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I wanted my bow to tip forward a bit and not to lay flat on the cake.
If you would like your bow to lay flat, skip this step.

I made a pile of buttercream on top of the cake to support my bow tipping forward. This worked for the large bow (until I broke it). When I did this again with the small bow I just used two small balls of fondant under each loop. Both methods work…………use what seams easiest to you.

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Remove the saran wrap carefully from your loops. Trim the ends with scissors to make the loops shorter.
Lay them close together on top of the cake.

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Take the piece of gumpaste you pleated and then set aside and work it in between the loops to create the middle. You have to tuck it under the bottom a bit and all the way around the back.

This is where it all went wrong for me.

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Do you see the crack? In the bottom right corner?
When I tried to tuck the loop broke in half and I had to start over.
Ack, so be careful! :)

Luckily, I made more loops in a smaller size.
Here is my finished smaller bow after I successfully tucked the middle pleat under.

Your bow is done!

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I had even made a third set of loops for the cute bow on the bottom of the cake.

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I think it turned out for the better. I really liked the smaller bow.

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With every cake I make, I am learning more about this art.

It does not always go as planned.
But we are all learning together, right?

Happy Decorating!