How to Decorate Cakes
Learn how to decorate cakes to save money and impress your friends and family. Bring out your creative side for the next birthday party or baby shower while adding your personal touch. Follow the steps below to learn the basics of decorating your own cakes.
After choosing your design, be sure to gather all the needed supplies and tools. For most designs you will need a decoratoring bag and several tips. Most craft stores sell a beginner’s kit that will be sufficient for basic cake designs.
Be sure to prepare extra frosting in each color and thickness needed for the design. It is difficult to get an exact color match if you run out of frosting in the middle of decorating your cake.
Thick frosting is used for stand-up decorations such as roses. Medium consistency frosting is used for borders, stars and flowers that lay flat. Icing the cake and writing require thin frosting.
Prepare the cooled cake by leveling all layers and removing any crumbs. If you do not have a cake leveler, you can mark the sides of the cake with toothpicks at equal heights and use a large knife to cut through the layer.
Before filling the layers, use a large round tip to pipe a ring of frosting around the outside edge of the bottom layer. This ring will keep the filling from leaking out between the layers. Spread the filling into the center of the bottom layer. Place
How to Decorate Cakes
the next layer on top and repeat until all layers are assembled.
To ice the cake, place a large amount of thin frosting on the top of the cake. Smooth the frosting across the top and around the sides. Be careful not to scrape the cake with the spreader which will result in crumbs in your frosting.
Fill a decoratoring bag 1/2 full with the appropriate frosting for the first step of your design. Practice the techniques on a clean plate until you have the desired look. Each technique requires you to hold the bag in a different angle and position. The amount of pressure you use will determine the size and thickness of your design.
Stars and dots are a popular technique to add interest or fill in character or shaped cakes. To make stars or dots hold the bag at a 90 degree angle to the cake just above the surface. Squeeze the bag and allow the star or dot to form. Stop squeezing and lift the tip away. Continue to make stars close together to fill in the shape.
Write a message by using even pressure with the tip slightly off the surface, allowing the piped line to fall to the cake. Stop squeezing and touch the tip down at the end of the letter. It is helpful to trace the message onto the cake surface using a toothpick or writing press purchased from a cake supply or craft store before piping the frosting.
Add a border to give your cake a professional look. You can use a variety of tips with medium consistency frosting to apply the border. To make a the popular shell border use a star tip held at a 45 degree angle. Place the tip to the cake, squeeze the bag firmly allowing the shell to form then gradually release pressure as you pull the bag towards you. Repeat around the bottom of the cake.
Remember that you can use other items such as crushed graham crackers or cookies and candies as a simple way to add interest to your designs.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 8:05 pm and is filed under Cake. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.