The goal behind cake decorating is to turn an ordinary cake into a spectacular food art. Decorating a cake can be as complicated or easy as you want it to be. While simple decorating can be very effective, you don't have to worry about not having the skills necessary to be good at decorating – it's mostly about applying your creativity with a little knowledge of effective decorating.
Step
Step 1. Visit a cake decorating seller
It's helpful to browse cake decorating stores to see what's available and what you like best. If there's an item you'd like to learn how to use, try talking to a shop assistant and making a decision about what to try at home.
Step 2. Choose the correct type of cake to decorate
Decorating a cake requires additional effort, so the reasons for decorating it must be good. It is futile to try to decorate a cake that is eaten warm from the oven, such as a cake sprinkled with syrup or gravy. The purpose of the cake was there; well it was as good as it could be. And some cakes are fine without decorations or with decorations, such as fruit cakes, and usually the event helps you decide whether to decorate. Suitable cakes to decorate include:
- Cupcakes
- Christmas Cake
- wedding cake
- Kids party cake
- Special age birthday cake
- Doll cake (in the cake decorating world it is called “Dolly Varden” cake)
- Goodbye cake
- The latest “geek” cakes, usually based on computer, electronics, science fiction, etc., themes, sometimes tricky work!
- Gift cake
- Cakes for fundraising at bazaars, fairs, galas, etc.
- Photographic cakes – cakes photographed for special occasions, blogs, Flickr photos, instructional articles, etc.
- The cake entered in the competition.
Step 3. Decide what type of frosting or icing you want to use
It's important to be comfortable with the frosting or icing techniques needed to decorate cakes, some are more complicated than others and if you're just starting out, it's recommended that you don't undertake any difficult decorating projects until your confidence builds up. Typical frosting or icing styles include:
- Buttercream or Vienna cream – this is an easy-to-use frosting that fills in gaps and covers all sorts of bumps and holes! It looks like whipped cream and can be softened or shaped into tops. The buttercream frosting is very easy to color and flavor, with typical flavors including chocolate, vanilla, lime, coffee, and strawberry.
- Fluffy frosting – this is a frosting made by beating with an electric mixer. It must be used on the day of serving; It has a marshmallow-like consistency. In storage, the frosting becomes slightly crunchy and loses its luster.
- Sugar paste (sugar paste) – sugar paste is a rolled fondant. These are usually easiest to buy ready made from a cake decorating seller.
- Royal icing – this is similar to sugar paste and is usually available ready made.
- Pastillage – this icing is available from cake decorating vendors in powder form and is usually very useful for complex decorating jobs that you need to keep in shape. It is a dough or sugar paste gum and can also be made. Icing dries very quickly, and when it dries, it will be so hard that it will "break" if bent. It has a high ability to withstand destruction in the presence of moisture. The downside is that you have to use it very quickly, before it dries. If you want to use pastillage for modeling, you will need to mix it 50/50 with the sugar paste.
- Petal paste – this icing is ideal for making flowers, as it produces very fine details. It's a good idea to wet your fingers a little while using this paste.
- Sugar glue – this is not icing but the “glue” that allows you to attach the formed icing.
- Modeling paste – this is a combination of sugar paste mixed with tragacanth gum to make an edible shaping paste.
- Ready-made icing sheets with printed designs – these are very popular for children's cakes and are available in designs such as movie, cartoon, and television show characters. Follow the instructions provided on how to apply it to the cake's surface.
- Dusted icing sugar – although very simple, it can be very effective on the right type of cake, especially cakes that are already rich without adding icing or frosting (such as flourless cakes or dessert cakes).
Step 4. Think beyond icing or frosting
There are many ways to decorate a cake other than icing or frosting. You can use something with a combination of icing, or put it directly on the cake. This includes:
- Fruit – fresh fruit pieces, dried fruit, fruit formed into flowers or animals, fruit with icing (with jam, etc.), dipped in confectionery, crystallized fruit peel, etc.
- Edible flowers can make a cake look very elegant.
- Cream – thick cream can be formed into a quenelle, spread over cakes, used as a filling or applied using a pipe.
- Candy – all kinds of candy can make beautiful cake decorations.
- Chocolate drops – dripping, or in a certain pattern.
- Cocoa powder or other cocoa – chocolate circles, sprinkles, chunks, shapes, etc.
- Nuts – especially chopped, chipped, or grated.
- Streusel sprinkles – baked, you don't need to decorate other than a little cream nearby to serve.
- Strands, chunks, or shapes of candy – you'll need to practice making this until you get used to it but candies are very useful as a decorating element on cakes.
- Coconut (grated or dried) – coconuts can be colored using food coloring (use wet hands or use wet gloves to rub the dye); Coconut can also be roasted.
- Jam or preservative.
Step 5. Learn the other essential techniques needed for cake decorating success
There are several helpful techniques that can help your cake decorating experience:
- Paint on sugar – use food coloring and a small, soft paint brush to paint colors on sugar paste, petal paste, pastillage, and royal icing. The brush should be slightly moistened, to avoid the color flowing on the icing or sugar model.
- Draw dots – use a medium-sized paintbrush to paint dots on the smooth icing surface.
- Pipe on icing or frosting – using a pipe is a great way to create designs on cake surfaces. Designs can include flowers, hearts, letters, frames, patterns, etc. Plumbing kits can be purchased at the store, or you can make pipe bags using paper or plastic at home.
- Cake shaping – the ability to create beautiful cake shapes means forming square, rectangular or round cakes by “carving” and reshaping them into the desired shape. Use a sharp, serrated knife to cut regular butter or madeira cookies into desired shapes, following recipe instructions. If you accidentally cut off more than you want, "glue" it back with buttercream.
- Always decorate the edges of the cake unless this makes your decorations worse. Take a piping bag and make a decorative design around the cake. In general, leaving the edges and sides of the cake without icing makes the cake look "unfinished".
Step 6. Use color creatively
When choosing a color theme for your decorating cake, consider the following to help you choose the right color:
- Is this cake for someone who likes a certain color?
- Is the cake a character cake that needs to be colored in a certain way? Most children's cakes will be like this, and you can use internet pictures to guide your color choices.
- Is the cake for a special occasion, such as a graduation party? For example, you might want to use the colors of his future university!
- Use sprinkles, another color of frosting, or another type of chocolate for extra color.
Step 7. Learn how to turn ordinary food into something decorative
There's not enough space to explain the art of making decorations out of candies, dried fruit, vegetables, other cakes, etc., but it's important to be creative when you're trying to make features for cakes. For example, you could make a mouse using dates with two small candies as ears and long licorice as a tail. When placed on the cake, it looks like a realistic mouse. Or, use round candies as portholes, iris marshmallows as flower petals, button candy as keyboard buttons or phone pads, make white frosting balls as golf balls, and many candies can be used as eyes, mustaches, noses, tails, etc.
Use online searches for cake decorating (photos, blogs, etc.), to inspire new ideas for creatively using food in your cakes
Step 8. Use ready made decorations
While you don't have to overcomplicate the cake with something inedible, sometimes adding plastic or paper decorations can add a special touch that the previous methods couldn't. Some examples include:
- Wedding cake top decorations such as the depiction of the bride, bells, doves, or gates.
- Animals for the farm, game park or zoo. While making all these animals using modeling paste might take too long or be frustrating, it's very easy to use plastic models. Just make sure to clean thoroughly first.
Step 9. Use a beautiful serving plate
Making sure the cake plate matches the design will ensure the final decorating touch of the cake.
- Plates with patterns should not clash with the design of the decor. However, with cakes that are just plain decorated, patterned plates are perfect.
- Plain white plates are very elegant and easy to match with all decorating styles.
- Light plate colors can be used as long as they don't clash with the base color of the cake.
- Very beautiful glass plate with cake decorations; there is an antique effect with a cake on a glass plate.
- The cake stand is perfect for many cake decorations; it will lift the cake for easier viewing and as a centerpiece of the table.
- If you don't want to use a cake plate or stand, consider using a cake board. The cake board makes it easy to control in transport, whether it's from the kitchen to the dining room, or from your kitchen via car to anywhere else! These can be made at home using cardboard or thin wooden planks covered with foil, or they can be purchased ready-made from a cake decorating seller.
Tips
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Color mix as follows:
- Orange = yellow + red
- Purple or violet = blue + red
- Aqua or teal = green + blue
- Light green or lime = yellow + green
- Gift wrapping for cakes can be considered as an element of cake decorating, and can be as complex as you want, even match the cake design if desired. Some wrapping presentations to consider include candy bags for cookie cutters, cellophane bags or wrappers, baskets, cloth, glass containers, and wooden boxes. Whatever you choose, make sure it's food-grade, non-toxic, and will load the cake nicely.
- If you are unsure about the design, always ask for a second opinion before presenting the cake.
- Food coloring is available in powder, liquid, or paste form. Powders and pastes are usually lighter in color than liquids. Dissolve the powder in a little hot water before using, while the paste and liquid can be added directly to the frosting and icing. When entering colors, always be careful and add if necessary.
- Taking culinary and baking classes can increase your knowledge of cake decorating.
- If you like cake decorating, consider buying used and new cake decorating books on online auction sites or from bookstores, to increase your decorating knowledge.
- You can make a piping bag simply by taking an airtight bag or food bag and squeezing the icing to the end and cutting it to the desired length.
Warning
- Food coloring stains. Be sure to wear an apron or other covering to protect your clothes. Wear latex gloves when handling; although washable, it will take some time before this happens.
- Do not use hard candy or small toys on cakes of children under 3 years of age. This can be choking, even if you intend to take it off – attention is very easily distracted at parties,
- If you don't want to use an egg white-based icing, use pasteurized egg white, or an equivalent egg substitute.
