The buildings are gumpaste painted with pipping gel and dipped in black sugar to give it the "sparkling at night" look. The big Empire State building is a dummy cake out of styrafoam due to timing (I had to do it before my Yellowstone trip) and structure concerns. I carved it, covered it in silver fondant then put the pre-cut and dried gumpaste sides on. I actually learned a TON from doing this cake. It was about 33 inces tall!