Sara Beer's original cake design.
The showpiece of any celebration is the sweet treat. Cakes can come in simple packages with decadent icing, or as an elaborate masterpiece stacked with layers and intricate designs. In order to successfully decorate a cake, you have to do most of the work before any icing reaches it. Here are a few steps to successful cake decorating.
Instructions
1. Bake a flat cake. The first step to successful cake decorating is achieving a smooth, level cake. Cool completely. Most professional bakers freeze cakes prior to decoration. Freezing helps cakes keep their shape and retain moisture once they are decorated.
2. Decide on filling, frosting and colors. Buttercream may taste good, but it melts in heat and humidity. Fondant creates a smooth, perfect look and will not melt under oppressive weather conditions. When decorating with colored icing, mix it a few shades lighter, because the icing dries darker. Mix more icing than you need of a particular color; it’s impossible to match the exact color again.
3. Pick the correct pastry tips for your design. These are metal cones through which the icing is squeezed to create a shape or design. Round tips are used for outlining, details, writing, string work, beads, dots, stems, vines and flower centers. This tip creates a round, smooth tube. The star tip provides stars, zigzags, shells, puffs, rosettes and scrolls. This is one of the most popular designs, and ranges in size from small to extra large. Petal tips create a variety of flowers, ribbons, bows and swags. The basketweave tip makes smooth or ribbed basketweave designs.
4. Shape the decorations. A variety of substances can be used to create cake decorations. Gum paste is pliable and can be used to shape flowers, leaves, figures and shapes. Fondant can be rolled out and cutters used to create various shapes and designs.
5. Apply decorations. To apply fondant shapes, use a sticky mixture of ready-to-use fondant and water. Brush the mixture onto the back of the shape and apply to the cake. Icing can be used to attach shapes as well. Follow a few guidelines when decorating with icing. First, apply bottom borders, swags and bottom decorations. Next, add top borders and any top decorations. Writing is the last decoration added to any cake.
6. Use your imagination. Cake decorations consist of everything from confectioner’s sugar to edible flowers to premade cake toppers. Cake pans resembling cartoon characters, animals and shapes are available. These cakes make decoration easy, using a pastry bag and special tips to create rosettes, shells and borders.
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