Baked and frosted cake layers are only the beginning: you need to stack the tiers and add the décor to build a beautiful wedding cake.
Once you've transported the frosted cake layers to their final destination, you're ready to stack the tiers and add the finishing touches.
1. See Assembling a Wedding Cake for step-by-step instructions on filling and frosting the cake layers. For more information, refer to our other Cake Decorating articles.
• Decorating Cakes: Finishing Touches
• Decorating Cakes: Advanced Décor
• Decorating Cakes: Advanced
2. Before you stack the cake tiers, you need to add extra support. You can simply stack the cake layer--still on its cardboard cake round--onto the layer beneath it, but the cake will be easier to disassemble and cut if you use cake supports to give your spatula a little extra room to maneuver between the cardboard and the buttercream.
• You can buy cake supports or simply cut plastic drinking straws to the proper length
• Straws should extend no more than a quarter of an inch above the cake's top surface.
• A pair of tweezers can help you grip the straws and pull them out if you need to trim them further.
The style shown here is a "flush stacked" wedding cake: the layers are stacked directly on top of each other, without pillars separating the tiers.
3. Is your base layer flat? Place a clean cardboard cake round on the straw supports and crouch down to eye level to check. A small carpenter's level is a great tool for your baker's kit.
Carefully lower the next tier onto the base layer. Stand directly over the base layer to make sure it's centered. (This is easier to do if you've got someone helping you.) A long off-set spatula can help you avoid digging fingertips in the icing.
4. When all of the cake tiers are in place, it's time to touch up any flaws and to hide the gap between the layers with piped frosting. You can pipe a shell border or round pearls. For an extra-special touch, you can use a parchment cone for fine detail work.
5. If you don't have a traditional cake topper, you can decorate the top tier with sugared fruit, flowers, or intricate piping.
Cornelli designs look like intricate lace patterns, and are made by piping a single fine squiggly line that loops back and around but never touches or crosses over itself. (Practice on a plate or sheet of parchment paper if you've never tried it before.)
6. Add flowers or fruit that corresponds with the season, the cake's flavors, or the color scheme. Be sure to use pesticide-free nontoxic flowers.
• Marzipan Candy
• Candy Strawberries
• Austrian Peach Cookies
• Frosted Cranberries
• Frosted Grapes
7. Before serving your masterpiece, be sure to watch our Cutting a Wedding Cake video--and meet the baker who decorated our beautiful cake!
• Cutting a Wedding Cake (Video)
Cake Decoration Icing 101 - Make Your Choice
When it comes to the world of cake decorating, your bread and butter is the icing. Icing is king in the world of cake decorating. You simply can't decorate a cake without icing, can you? Here is a brief overview of the many different kinds of cake icing. These are the most common kinds of cake icing, although there are certainly many more. Cake icing can be as simple as an easy to make glaze, or it can be complicated as an elaborate fondant. Whatever it is that you are working with, here are some of your more popular choices when it comes to the world of cake decoration and cake icing.
Butter, Sugar and Flavorings
The most common type of cake decoration icing is an icing made with the basic ingredients: butter and icing. This is a simple yet classic icing that you can whip up at the last minute. After all, all cake icings are fundamentally created from a mixture of sugar, butter and flavoring. You can use this simply icing to cover your cake, or you can spread it inside the cake and use it to layer the cake, kind of like "gluing" the different layers of the cake together. It is important to use just the right amount of icing. The last thing you probably want is to avoid overdoing it with the cake icing.
The Classic Cake Decorating Icing - Butter cream
Butter cream icings are classic - these are the icings that have been most identified with cake decoration from the very start. A butter cream icing has a buttery, sweet flavor. The texture of a butter cream icing is creamy and smooth and many pastry chefs generally favor these butter cream icings because it is so easy to work with. Butter cream has a great overall consistency that makes it a favorite icing base for many pastry chefs. Like most icings, butter cream can be either thinned or thickened according to use. You can make butter cream thicker, for instance, if you need to create stiff mold figures.
Royal Icing - The Other Popular Choice
Royal icing is another popular icing type. The biggest mark of royal icing is that it is made using meringue powder. Royal icing also has a sweet taste and flavor, but it is very different from butter cream icing in that it dries much faster and harder. Royal icing is generally reserved for creating mold figures and lace work. Royal icing is well suited for making figure piping, creating flower decorations, and filigree designs. This is the kind of icing that you see on gingerbread houses in order to achieve small details and delicate borders. Royal icing tends to harden and 'hold' parts together. Royal icing is common used in Europe, where it is used to ice many different kinds of fruit wedding cakes.
Welcome to the World of rolled fondant icing. Rolled fondant icing has a consistency that is similar to play dough. It is a smooth and flat icing that can be rolled, as the name implies. In fact, rolled fondant icing is generally rolled out like dough and then it is molded over the cake. It has a soft, pliable consistency. Rolled fondant can be notoriously difficult to work with, and only experienced pastry chefs tend to work with this kind of icing. Another popular form of fondant icing is known as poured fondant icing. As the name implies, this is type of rolled fondant icing that begins as a liquid. It is poured over the surface of the cake and then it dries. The poured fondant icing is known as a generally easy type of icing to work with that even the beginner can use with relative ease.
Butter, Sugar and Flavorings
The most common type of cake decoration icing is an icing made with the basic ingredients: butter and icing. This is a simple yet classic icing that you can whip up at the last minute. After all, all cake icings are fundamentally created from a mixture of sugar, butter and flavoring. You can use this simply icing to cover your cake, or you can spread it inside the cake and use it to layer the cake, kind of like "gluing" the different layers of the cake together. It is important to use just the right amount of icing. The last thing you probably want is to avoid overdoing it with the cake icing.
The Classic Cake Decorating Icing - Butter cream
Butter cream icings are classic - these are the icings that have been most identified with cake decoration from the very start. A butter cream icing has a buttery, sweet flavor. The texture of a butter cream icing is creamy and smooth and many pastry chefs generally favor these butter cream icings because it is so easy to work with. Butter cream has a great overall consistency that makes it a favorite icing base for many pastry chefs. Like most icings, butter cream can be either thinned or thickened according to use. You can make butter cream thicker, for instance, if you need to create stiff mold figures.
Royal Icing - The Other Popular Choice
Royal icing is another popular icing type. The biggest mark of royal icing is that it is made using meringue powder. Royal icing also has a sweet taste and flavor, but it is very different from butter cream icing in that it dries much faster and harder. Royal icing is generally reserved for creating mold figures and lace work. Royal icing is well suited for making figure piping, creating flower decorations, and filigree designs. This is the kind of icing that you see on gingerbread houses in order to achieve small details and delicate borders. Royal icing tends to harden and 'hold' parts together. Royal icing is common used in Europe, where it is used to ice many different kinds of fruit wedding cakes.
Welcome to the World of rolled fondant icing. Rolled fondant icing has a consistency that is similar to play dough. It is a smooth and flat icing that can be rolled, as the name implies. In fact, rolled fondant icing is generally rolled out like dough and then it is molded over the cake. It has a soft, pliable consistency. Rolled fondant can be notoriously difficult to work with, and only experienced pastry chefs tend to work with this kind of icing. Another popular form of fondant icing is known as poured fondant icing. As the name implies, this is type of rolled fondant icing that begins as a liquid. It is poured over the surface of the cake and then it dries. The poured fondant icing is known as a generally easy type of icing to work with that even the beginner can use with relative ease.
How To Find Quality Cake Recipes on the Internet
As you'll see, really good cake recipes aren't all that difficult to find on the Internet, but you do have to know where to look and what to look for and have some time to spend researching.
Once you have a recipe with promise, be sure that you understand and follow it diligently. The rewards will be sweet, especially the "mmm's" and sighs emanating from those partaking of your scrumptious cakes.
Where do you find cake recipes on the Internet that are deserving of your time? A good place to start of course is at a quality site that offers cake recipes, such as the FoodNetwork.com or MarthaStewart.com.
When you come across a recipe posted by a fellow Website visitor, rather than say by Martha herself, be sure to check the reviews. Many of these types of sites have a review element that allows you to see what others who have tried the recipe have to say about it, or at the least how many stars they've given it.
Until you've got enough experience to discern a great recipe from a poor one, look for the quantity of reviews, especially if it's just going by stars, so that you're not just taking one or two persons' word for it.
Here's one thing that is a mark of a quality recipe: quality ingredients. This may seem to go without saying, but by quality ingredients, we mean that the ingredients in the recipe will be the more natural and real forms. For example a quality cake recipe will have:
Real butter instead of margarine
Real whipping cream, in liquid form, not out of a can
Extracts and/or zests instead of artificial flavors (with the exception of icings such as snow white buttercream that calls for clear vanilla and butter flavor)
And when you make a cake from a great sounding recipe, be sure to do it justice and use fresh ingredients. You will notice the difference in taste!
So in general, the best cake recipes use the freshest and more natural forms of ingredients. This doesn't of course guarantee the excellence of a recipe, so remember to read those reviews!
Speaking of ingredients, if you can't find it in your local stores, shop online. Sites such as Candylandcrafts.com carry hard-to-find ingredients.
Once you've found a cake recipe you want to try, be sure to follow it diligently. If you're not familiar with a term, look it up, so you know you've got it right.
Here are a few basic terms. These are shortened excerpts from the "Cake Decorating Made Easy!" Video Books.
Blend: Combine two or more ingredients until they are equally smooth. If blending by hand, 100 strokes generally equals one minute with the electric mixture.
Beat: Similar to blending, except the goal of beating is to aerate as well. So beating calls for vigorous mixing, blending or circular stirring.
Cream: This very important step, often the first in a cake recipe, means to beat together ingredients, usually including a fat, such as butter with sugar until a fluffy mixture forms. Creaming incorporates air into the mixture (the sugar granules cut into the fat forming air bubbles), which makes it very important to a cake's tenderness and rising.
Fold: To combine a light ingredient such as whisked eggs whites into a heavier mixture. Generally this is done by passing a rubber spatula very gently through the batter.
Butter and eggs are best used at about 65 to 67?F or about room temperature in cake recipes. So remove them from the fridge about 15 to 30 minutes ahead of time.
And here's one more cake recipe tip: The unsalted butter (sweet cream butter) is the preferred choice of bakers, but salted butter is fine. However, never substitute with whipped butter in a cake recipe because the lower fat content can ruin your recipe.
Once you have a recipe with promise, be sure that you understand and follow it diligently. The rewards will be sweet, especially the "mmm's" and sighs emanating from those partaking of your scrumptious cakes.
Where do you find cake recipes on the Internet that are deserving of your time? A good place to start of course is at a quality site that offers cake recipes, such as the FoodNetwork.com or MarthaStewart.com.
When you come across a recipe posted by a fellow Website visitor, rather than say by Martha herself, be sure to check the reviews. Many of these types of sites have a review element that allows you to see what others who have tried the recipe have to say about it, or at the least how many stars they've given it.
Until you've got enough experience to discern a great recipe from a poor one, look for the quantity of reviews, especially if it's just going by stars, so that you're not just taking one or two persons' word for it.
Here's one thing that is a mark of a quality recipe: quality ingredients. This may seem to go without saying, but by quality ingredients, we mean that the ingredients in the recipe will be the more natural and real forms. For example a quality cake recipe will have:
Real butter instead of margarine
Real whipping cream, in liquid form, not out of a can
Extracts and/or zests instead of artificial flavors (with the exception of icings such as snow white buttercream that calls for clear vanilla and butter flavor)
And when you make a cake from a great sounding recipe, be sure to do it justice and use fresh ingredients. You will notice the difference in taste!
So in general, the best cake recipes use the freshest and more natural forms of ingredients. This doesn't of course guarantee the excellence of a recipe, so remember to read those reviews!
Speaking of ingredients, if you can't find it in your local stores, shop online. Sites such as Candylandcrafts.com carry hard-to-find ingredients.
Once you've found a cake recipe you want to try, be sure to follow it diligently. If you're not familiar with a term, look it up, so you know you've got it right.
Here are a few basic terms. These are shortened excerpts from the "Cake Decorating Made Easy!" Video Books.
Blend: Combine two or more ingredients until they are equally smooth. If blending by hand, 100 strokes generally equals one minute with the electric mixture.
Beat: Similar to blending, except the goal of beating is to aerate as well. So beating calls for vigorous mixing, blending or circular stirring.
Cream: This very important step, often the first in a cake recipe, means to beat together ingredients, usually including a fat, such as butter with sugar until a fluffy mixture forms. Creaming incorporates air into the mixture (the sugar granules cut into the fat forming air bubbles), which makes it very important to a cake's tenderness and rising.
Fold: To combine a light ingredient such as whisked eggs whites into a heavier mixture. Generally this is done by passing a rubber spatula very gently through the batter.
Butter and eggs are best used at about 65 to 67?F or about room temperature in cake recipes. So remove them from the fridge about 15 to 30 minutes ahead of time.
And here's one more cake recipe tip: The unsalted butter (sweet cream butter) is the preferred choice of bakers, but salted butter is fine. However, never substitute with whipped butter in a cake recipe because the lower fat content can ruin your recipe.
Cake Ideas
Have you browsed online for cake ideas lately. Not all of the latest and greatest cake designs are complicated. Many of these cake ideas for birthdays and other celebrations look like just plain ol' fun! And if you've visited with wedding cake designers lately, then you know that the times are a changin' in this area.
Party Cake Ideas
Whether it be a guitar for a teen musician's birthday, a ship for a going away party or a Scooby Doo cake for a child's birthday; the character or novelty cake continues to be a favorite, especially the kind that is so easily made with a mold cake pan. Character and novelty pans are sold at large craft stores and baking supply stores. You can also find them online from well- known suppliers.
We're seeing more and more castle cakes at parties now too, from Cinderella's castle to enchanting sculptures for Renaissance events.
The more unusual birthday party cakes are getting lots of attention lately, such as the volcano cake. It's not your typical chocolate lava cake that's for sure! This one steams and spews lava, thanks to dry ice and one of the fun cake recipes from the "Cake Decorating Made Easy!" Video Books.
Another unique and fun cake idea is the beach pail cake. A variation of the flowerpot cake (a fun one for a gardener or kids by the way), the beach pail cake is a big hit with toddlers who enjoy really digging into their cakes. A plastic beach pail is filled with pudding cake and topped with a thin layer of cookie crumb sand. Vanilla sandwich cookies are a good choice for this because the filling adds some moisture to the crumbs. And when the cake's "all gone" your toddler has a new toy!
Speaking of toys, doll cakes continue to please. Barbie type dolls featuring a real doll with a cake and icing dress are popular not only with young school age girls, but grown up girls as well. Creating this type of cake appeals to the fashion designer in us!
And last but not least, buttercream and royal icing roses continue to be a top request for cakes from a young girl's birthday to a grandmother's retirement party.
Wedding Cake Ideas.
The word from wedding cake designers is "Less is more." Today's bride prefers a far less ornate design. Whether classic or whimsical, understated is often preferred. Fondant continues to be a favorite cake covering because its satiny smooth finish lends itself well to the wedding cake ideas that brides are bringing to their cake decorators. Many of the more popular cake ideas are coming from an Asian influence, such as white decorations on white icing, accented lightly with red.
Popular wedding cake ideas are also influenced by the current wave of colors that are replacing the white fondant and buttercream. Ice blue, light blush, rum pink, and lavender
are providing the backgrounds for quietly elegant or whimsical decorations such as
silver polka dots, sugar crystallized fruits and daisies. Roses, orchids and lilies continue to be part of today's wedding cake ideas.
Of course, decorating alone doesn't make a great cake. Taste and texture count too!
To learn more, check out our article on cake recipes.
And here's one more cake idea: For an easy to make castle cake, use empty paper towel tubes and ice cream cones (the sugar cone variety) for the turrets. Or just the cones alone can be used. Cover them first with icing and glue with royal icing to a graduated square or round, stacked cake (use two or more graduated square pans to create the cake). Fly colorful flags off the top of the turrets. These can be made with construction paper, cut in triangular shapes and attached with icing or glue to toothpicks. If you have enough ice cone turrets to go around, you could even fill the cones with icing - that is if you do this just before serving!
Party Cake Ideas
Whether it be a guitar for a teen musician's birthday, a ship for a going away party or a Scooby Doo cake for a child's birthday; the character or novelty cake continues to be a favorite, especially the kind that is so easily made with a mold cake pan. Character and novelty pans are sold at large craft stores and baking supply stores. You can also find them online from well- known suppliers.
We're seeing more and more castle cakes at parties now too, from Cinderella's castle to enchanting sculptures for Renaissance events.
The more unusual birthday party cakes are getting lots of attention lately, such as the volcano cake. It's not your typical chocolate lava cake that's for sure! This one steams and spews lava, thanks to dry ice and one of the fun cake recipes from the "Cake Decorating Made Easy!" Video Books.
Another unique and fun cake idea is the beach pail cake. A variation of the flowerpot cake (a fun one for a gardener or kids by the way), the beach pail cake is a big hit with toddlers who enjoy really digging into their cakes. A plastic beach pail is filled with pudding cake and topped with a thin layer of cookie crumb sand. Vanilla sandwich cookies are a good choice for this because the filling adds some moisture to the crumbs. And when the cake's "all gone" your toddler has a new toy!
Speaking of toys, doll cakes continue to please. Barbie type dolls featuring a real doll with a cake and icing dress are popular not only with young school age girls, but grown up girls as well. Creating this type of cake appeals to the fashion designer in us!
And last but not least, buttercream and royal icing roses continue to be a top request for cakes from a young girl's birthday to a grandmother's retirement party.
Wedding Cake Ideas.
The word from wedding cake designers is "Less is more." Today's bride prefers a far less ornate design. Whether classic or whimsical, understated is often preferred. Fondant continues to be a favorite cake covering because its satiny smooth finish lends itself well to the wedding cake ideas that brides are bringing to their cake decorators. Many of the more popular cake ideas are coming from an Asian influence, such as white decorations on white icing, accented lightly with red.
Popular wedding cake ideas are also influenced by the current wave of colors that are replacing the white fondant and buttercream. Ice blue, light blush, rum pink, and lavender
are providing the backgrounds for quietly elegant or whimsical decorations such as
silver polka dots, sugar crystallized fruits and daisies. Roses, orchids and lilies continue to be part of today's wedding cake ideas.
Of course, decorating alone doesn't make a great cake. Taste and texture count too!
To learn more, check out our article on cake recipes.
And here's one more cake idea: For an easy to make castle cake, use empty paper towel tubes and ice cream cones (the sugar cone variety) for the turrets. Or just the cones alone can be used. Cover them first with icing and glue with royal icing to a graduated square or round, stacked cake (use two or more graduated square pans to create the cake). Fly colorful flags off the top of the turrets. These can be made with construction paper, cut in triangular shapes and attached with icing or glue to toothpicks. If you have enough ice cone turrets to go around, you could even fill the cones with icing - that is if you do this just before serving!
A Plethora Of Cake Decorating Ideas To Create The Perfect Cake
Cake decorating is an art form all to itself. There are many different styles and patterns to choose from. Cake decorators attend special culinary arts schools to perfect the art that they have chosen. For those who are just starting out with cake decorating, you probably do not realize that it is not as easy as it looks. It takes long tedious, painstaking hours to create a masterpiece that you can be proud of.
While there are several different styles of cake decorating, the two most popular cake decorating techniques are American and European.
The American form of cake decorating is the standard form of decorating. It is what you see in bakeries and grocery stores. Where there is no dispute that these cakes are incredible. The European form of cake decorating takes years and years of training to master. The legendary le cordon bleu academy in France teaches the intricate art of cake decorating in three different courses.
The first course is an introduction, the second course is intermediate or a full course of cake decorating and the third course is an expert or superior course. These courses are not easy; there are a lot of practice sessions and long hours in study kitchens. It is not like other schools, you progress through the courses according to your skills. Making figurines out of pulled sugar and making wedding cakes are a few of the skills that you will master.
The most difficult but satisfying cake to make today is the wedding cake. The attention to detail that is required is astounding. A wedding cake can be made of anything from plain vanilla to fruit filled. Most often the cake is decorated with floral designs made out of fondant. It is recommended that if you are going to take on the task of making a wedding cake that you have this art mastered.
If you do not have the time or the money to go to the le cordon bleu to master cake decorating, there are some essentials that you can learn to achieve the look of a masterful wedding cake.
It is really pretty easy. It's all in the icing. When you are making the icing for a wedding cake, or any other cake for that matter, the consistency of the icing is extremely important. Depending on the decoration that you are making, the right thickness of the icing is essential.
If you are making leaves for rose petals, the icing needs to be a little bit thin. If you are using icing and not fondant to make the rose petals, the icing needs to be thick enough to shape with your hands. The piping that goes around the cake has to be somewhere in the middle. It needs to be firm enough to hold its shape on the cake. If you are making stems for the roses or writing on the cake, the icing needs to be very thin.
The next step is just as essential as the all the rest and that is of holding the icing bag in the correct position. Each decoration that you want to make requires the bag be held at a different angle. When you are writing a message on the cake, hold the bag at a forty-five degree angle. This will allow you to write your message and not destroy any borders or piping that you have created. When you are creating decorations, the bag should be held at a ninety-degree angle.
When you are creating the decorations for the cake, steady pressure on the icing bag is needed to keep the decorations consistent. A good rule of thumb is to count to three and stop. This creates long elegant strokes of icing.
Cake decorating is an art form that takes years of practice to perfect. There are culinary institutes that teach this art. There are colleges that offer basic courses, but if you want the full benefit of learning cake decorating, check into the culinary institutes.
If you want to learn step-by-step basics, a simple Google search will yield thousands of links to cake decorating. Some of these websites will have instructions as well as pictures to teach you. You will need to exercise patience when you are decorating your cake. It is not a fast or ease process. It will require time a lot of concentration to make your designs perfect.
Summary:
There is a plethora of cake decorating ideas to create the perfect cake. There are thousands of books that line the shelves of bookstores to assist you in ideas. If you have your own idea, that is even better. You can also visit your local cake supply store to get some ideas.
While there are several different styles of cake decorating, the two most popular cake decorating techniques are American and European.
The American form of cake decorating is the standard form of decorating. It is what you see in bakeries and grocery stores. Where there is no dispute that these cakes are incredible. The European form of cake decorating takes years and years of training to master. The legendary le cordon bleu academy in France teaches the intricate art of cake decorating in three different courses.
The first course is an introduction, the second course is intermediate or a full course of cake decorating and the third course is an expert or superior course. These courses are not easy; there are a lot of practice sessions and long hours in study kitchens. It is not like other schools, you progress through the courses according to your skills. Making figurines out of pulled sugar and making wedding cakes are a few of the skills that you will master.
The most difficult but satisfying cake to make today is the wedding cake. The attention to detail that is required is astounding. A wedding cake can be made of anything from plain vanilla to fruit filled. Most often the cake is decorated with floral designs made out of fondant. It is recommended that if you are going to take on the task of making a wedding cake that you have this art mastered.
If you do not have the time or the money to go to the le cordon bleu to master cake decorating, there are some essentials that you can learn to achieve the look of a masterful wedding cake.
It is really pretty easy. It's all in the icing. When you are making the icing for a wedding cake, or any other cake for that matter, the consistency of the icing is extremely important. Depending on the decoration that you are making, the right thickness of the icing is essential.
If you are making leaves for rose petals, the icing needs to be a little bit thin. If you are using icing and not fondant to make the rose petals, the icing needs to be thick enough to shape with your hands. The piping that goes around the cake has to be somewhere in the middle. It needs to be firm enough to hold its shape on the cake. If you are making stems for the roses or writing on the cake, the icing needs to be very thin.
The next step is just as essential as the all the rest and that is of holding the icing bag in the correct position. Each decoration that you want to make requires the bag be held at a different angle. When you are writing a message on the cake, hold the bag at a forty-five degree angle. This will allow you to write your message and not destroy any borders or piping that you have created. When you are creating decorations, the bag should be held at a ninety-degree angle.
When you are creating the decorations for the cake, steady pressure on the icing bag is needed to keep the decorations consistent. A good rule of thumb is to count to three and stop. This creates long elegant strokes of icing.
Cake decorating is an art form that takes years of practice to perfect. There are culinary institutes that teach this art. There are colleges that offer basic courses, but if you want the full benefit of learning cake decorating, check into the culinary institutes.
If you want to learn step-by-step basics, a simple Google search will yield thousands of links to cake decorating. Some of these websites will have instructions as well as pictures to teach you. You will need to exercise patience when you are decorating your cake. It is not a fast or ease process. It will require time a lot of concentration to make your designs perfect.
Summary:
There is a plethora of cake decorating ideas to create the perfect cake. There are thousands of books that line the shelves of bookstores to assist you in ideas. If you have your own idea, that is even better. You can also visit your local cake supply store to get some ideas.
Cake Decorating - How To Get An Smooth Even Icing On Your Cake
Cake decorating takes years of schooling and practice to become a master. Once you have become a master and have made a name for yourself in the industry, the world is yours. If you have a creative nature, this is an asset in cake decorating.
When you envision the finished cake, you want it to be something worthy of a first class bakery. It is not as easy as frosting a cake and sprinkling candy gems on top. There are steps to follow to make the perfect cake.
When you are making the cake, whether it is from scratch or store bought, be sure that you level the batter in the pan before putting it in the oven. Check the cake every twenty minutes and turn the pans if one side is higher then the other. If, when the cake is cooked and one side is still higher, use a bread knife and even it off. This needs to be done when the cake is still warm.
It is recommended that a cake be cooled for at least a day before you attempt to do any sort of cake decorating. While the outside may be cool to the touch, a cake can remain warm on the inside for hours after it comes out of the oven. If you try cake decorating while it is still warm, it will ruin the decorations.
Once the cake has cooled overnight, you can create a base layer with icing. It is a good idea to turn the cake upside down to avoid getting any crumbs on the knife and icing. Make sure that the icing is smooth and even.
The frosting or icing is the most important part of the cake decorating. The frosting needs to be very stiff. You can always thin it out for other uses. Make large quantities of frosting because you will need it for the cake decorations. Have plenty of food color to make different decorations.
There is specific equipment that you will need when you start cake decorating. A pastry bag and tips are needed for the icing. The tips are what create the different shapes. All of the tools that you will need can be found at your local cake supply or craft store.
When you begin, choose the tip that you want to use and put it in the pastry bag. Use the icing one-cup at a time. Put one cup of icing into a bowl and if necessary thin it out with one teaspoon of milk. Add one half teaspoon of milk until the icing is the consistency that you want.
It should be thin enough to go through the tip of the pastry bag, but thick enough hold whatever shape you choose. For first time cake decorators, it is recommended that you practice making your shapes before you work on the actual cake.
When you are applying the icing, you need to hold the bag and apply steady pressure. This assures that the icing comes out in an even bead. Count to three and stop squeezing. When you stop squeezing, lift the tip of the pastry bag up quickly away from the decoration. If it is what you want, then move to the next one. If not, continue practicing. If the shape is what you want, but does not hold together, then the icing is too thin.
There is a specific list of equipment that you will need before you start your cake decorating. These can be found in any pastry supply or craft store. Several pastry bags, along with the essential tips. A cake stand would be very helpful to lift the cake up closer to you. A sharp knife and a baking tray are also a must-have.
Even the most seasoned professional cake decorator will tell you that cake decorating can be very frustrating. Anything can go wrong at any given time. Patience is essential, as is attention to detail.
Summary:
Cake decorating is an art for that takes years to master. It is a combination of imagination and patience. It is necessary to have the proper equipment. With a little luck and imagination, you can create your own works of art.
When you envision the finished cake, you want it to be something worthy of a first class bakery. It is not as easy as frosting a cake and sprinkling candy gems on top. There are steps to follow to make the perfect cake.
When you are making the cake, whether it is from scratch or store bought, be sure that you level the batter in the pan before putting it in the oven. Check the cake every twenty minutes and turn the pans if one side is higher then the other. If, when the cake is cooked and one side is still higher, use a bread knife and even it off. This needs to be done when the cake is still warm.
It is recommended that a cake be cooled for at least a day before you attempt to do any sort of cake decorating. While the outside may be cool to the touch, a cake can remain warm on the inside for hours after it comes out of the oven. If you try cake decorating while it is still warm, it will ruin the decorations.
Once the cake has cooled overnight, you can create a base layer with icing. It is a good idea to turn the cake upside down to avoid getting any crumbs on the knife and icing. Make sure that the icing is smooth and even.
The frosting or icing is the most important part of the cake decorating. The frosting needs to be very stiff. You can always thin it out for other uses. Make large quantities of frosting because you will need it for the cake decorations. Have plenty of food color to make different decorations.
There is specific equipment that you will need when you start cake decorating. A pastry bag and tips are needed for the icing. The tips are what create the different shapes. All of the tools that you will need can be found at your local cake supply or craft store.
When you begin, choose the tip that you want to use and put it in the pastry bag. Use the icing one-cup at a time. Put one cup of icing into a bowl and if necessary thin it out with one teaspoon of milk. Add one half teaspoon of milk until the icing is the consistency that you want.
It should be thin enough to go through the tip of the pastry bag, but thick enough hold whatever shape you choose. For first time cake decorators, it is recommended that you practice making your shapes before you work on the actual cake.
When you are applying the icing, you need to hold the bag and apply steady pressure. This assures that the icing comes out in an even bead. Count to three and stop squeezing. When you stop squeezing, lift the tip of the pastry bag up quickly away from the decoration. If it is what you want, then move to the next one. If not, continue practicing. If the shape is what you want, but does not hold together, then the icing is too thin.
There is a specific list of equipment that you will need before you start your cake decorating. These can be found in any pastry supply or craft store. Several pastry bags, along with the essential tips. A cake stand would be very helpful to lift the cake up closer to you. A sharp knife and a baking tray are also a must-have.
Even the most seasoned professional cake decorator will tell you that cake decorating can be very frustrating. Anything can go wrong at any given time. Patience is essential, as is attention to detail.
Summary:
Cake decorating is an art for that takes years to master. It is a combination of imagination and patience. It is necessary to have the proper equipment. With a little luck and imagination, you can create your own works of art.
Fondant Cake Decorations - 7 Tips For That Perfect Wedding Cake
Whether you make it yourself or buy it from your local supermarket, rolled fondant icing is a very popular choice for wedding cakes and cakes for those "special occasions". Drying to a smooth matt porcelain finish, it can be used to ice cakes of any shape and makes the ideal base for the most inticate or simplest of decoration.
Fondant icing is a soft sugar-based icing that is generally rolled out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch, draped over the cake and pressed and smoothed into place before being trimmed for a perfect fit.
Despite the fact that fondant cake decorations are perfect for wedding cakes, fondant icing is not always easy to work with so here are just a few tips to help you get that perfect result.
Tip 1. Fondant icing should be stored in a plastic bag (or covered in a non-permeable plastic wrap such as Sara wrap) and placed in a tightly sealed container to prevent it from drying out. Fondant icing should also be kept at cool room temperature and should never be refrigerated. If the icing dries out and harden it can often be revived by popping it into a microwave oven for a few seconds and then kneading it back to life.
Tip 2. Fondant icing should not be refrigerated and should always be used at room temperature.
Tip 3. Fondant icing can dry out very fast and needs to be applied to the cake quickly (within as little as 5 minutes) after it has been rolled out. Once applied, the cake can be stored quite happily for several days at room temperature.
Tip 4. If the cake has a number of tiers, each tier should be iced separately prior to assembling the cake. It is also a good idea, when the final design permits, to store the tiers separately and to assemble them just before the cake is needed.
Tip 5. Make sure that you start with a clean working surface, clean rolling pin and washed hands to achieve that perfect, flawless finish. fluffy clothing, long fingernails, long hair and jewelry on your fingers or wrists could all cause problems.
Tip 6. Before covering the cake with fondant a thin layer of icing should be applied to the cake as a "crumb coat". This will create a tacky surface for the fondant to stick to.
Tip 7. To get a professional finish, and to cover any rough edges, create a decorative border to go around the cake and, in particular, to hide the join between individual tiers.
When looking for the quantity of fondant icing needed try to have too much icing rather than too little, as excess icing can be stored for use at a later date.
Generally speaking, for 3 1/2 inch high cake layers a 10 inch diameter round cake will need about 2 1/2 pounds of icing, while a 6 inch diameter square cake will need about 2 pounds of icing.
Some people feel that fondant cake decorations, in spite of their tremendous appearance, are somewhat bland and this can be addressed by adding flavoring, often accompanied with coloring. There are a wide variety of flavorings available and typically to flavor one pound of icing you can add 2 to 4 ounces of melted bittersweet, milk or white chocolate , 2 teaspoons of grated orange or lemon zest or 1/3 cup of hazelnut or peanut butter.
Fondant icing is a soft sugar-based icing that is generally rolled out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch, draped over the cake and pressed and smoothed into place before being trimmed for a perfect fit.
Despite the fact that fondant cake decorations are perfect for wedding cakes, fondant icing is not always easy to work with so here are just a few tips to help you get that perfect result.
Tip 1. Fondant icing should be stored in a plastic bag (or covered in a non-permeable plastic wrap such as Sara wrap) and placed in a tightly sealed container to prevent it from drying out. Fondant icing should also be kept at cool room temperature and should never be refrigerated. If the icing dries out and harden it can often be revived by popping it into a microwave oven for a few seconds and then kneading it back to life.
Tip 2. Fondant icing should not be refrigerated and should always be used at room temperature.
Tip 3. Fondant icing can dry out very fast and needs to be applied to the cake quickly (within as little as 5 minutes) after it has been rolled out. Once applied, the cake can be stored quite happily for several days at room temperature.
Tip 4. If the cake has a number of tiers, each tier should be iced separately prior to assembling the cake. It is also a good idea, when the final design permits, to store the tiers separately and to assemble them just before the cake is needed.
Tip 5. Make sure that you start with a clean working surface, clean rolling pin and washed hands to achieve that perfect, flawless finish. fluffy clothing, long fingernails, long hair and jewelry on your fingers or wrists could all cause problems.
Tip 6. Before covering the cake with fondant a thin layer of icing should be applied to the cake as a "crumb coat". This will create a tacky surface for the fondant to stick to.
Tip 7. To get a professional finish, and to cover any rough edges, create a decorative border to go around the cake and, in particular, to hide the join between individual tiers.
When looking for the quantity of fondant icing needed try to have too much icing rather than too little, as excess icing can be stored for use at a later date.
Generally speaking, for 3 1/2 inch high cake layers a 10 inch diameter round cake will need about 2 1/2 pounds of icing, while a 6 inch diameter square cake will need about 2 pounds of icing.
Some people feel that fondant cake decorations, in spite of their tremendous appearance, are somewhat bland and this can be addressed by adding flavoring, often accompanied with coloring. There are a wide variety of flavorings available and typically to flavor one pound of icing you can add 2 to 4 ounces of melted bittersweet, milk or white chocolate , 2 teaspoons of grated orange or lemon zest or 1/3 cup of hazelnut or peanut butter.
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