How to Make Decorative Cakes

Whether you are hosting a graduation celebration or you are in charge of bringing the cake for the office party, you can spice up the event by decorating the cake yourself. Many cake decorators work out of their own personal homes, making cakes for friends and relatives. If you have an oven, cake pans, an electric mixer and some inexpensive cake decorating tools, you can put together decorative cakes that will win the admiration of everyone at the party. Follow these steps.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cake pans
• Oven
• Baking ingredients
• Icing ingredients
• Cake turntable
• Long offset spatula
• Icing bags
• Decorator tips
• Additional decorating tools (optional)

1. Choose your cake recipe with care. Although some cake decorators start with a cake mix, they alter the recipe to produce a sturdy crumb cake that will hold up to cutting and carving. One popular alteration is to use a regular white boxed cake mix and combine it with four egg whites, ½-cup of cool water, ½-cup of vegetable oil, one small package of instant white chocolate pudding (or vanilla pudding) and 1 cup of sour cream. Beat all the ingredients together for two minutes and bake in greased and floured cake pans for the times suggested on the cake mix box for your pan size.

2. 
    
   Cake leveler

   Level your cakes before filling and icing. Notice the elegant cakes in a bridal magazine or in the window of a cake decorating shop, they are perfectly flat. Cake decorators achieve this by cutting off the rounded tops of each layer before filling. You can purchase an inexpensive cake leveler or stick toothpicks in the side of your cake layer at the same height and use them as a cutting guide.

3. Whip your icing until it is smooth and silky. When the consistency is correct, the icing will hold its shape and still be soft enough for you to spread with ease. The lightweight airy icing found on decorative cakes often contains meringue powder, which allows it to whip easily. Use a decorative icing recipe instead of opting for a canned icing. See the Resources section for a link.

4. 
    
   Icing bag

   Pipe decorator icing with special bags and icing tips. To cover the entire cake, use a large icing tip and pipe the icing on top and on the sides before smoothing it with a long offset spatula.

5. 
    
   Spatula

   Heat the spatula for an ultra smooth finishing on your cake. One of the best kept cake decorating tips is the use of a hot spatula. After you have initially smoothed the icing, dip your spatula into hot water and quickly wipe it dry before using it to smooth the icing. The heat from the spatula will slightly melt the shortening or butter in the icing and leave a silky smooth finish on your cake.

6. Pipe borders around the top edge of the cake and where the cake meets the cake plate for a finished look. Try piping a shell pattern or a rope pattern, using a smaller tip for the top cake border and a larger one for the bottom border.

7. 
    
   Hand-formed icing flowers

   Finish your decorative cakes with piped on writing, hand formed flowers or even fresh flowers inserted into special cake prongs to keep them from making contact with the icing.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can't take a cake decorating class, buy the books or check them out from the library and go through the steps on your own.
• As with all food products, follow safe baking and food handling techniques and your cakes will taste as good as they look.

Resources

• Find decorative icing recipes
• Purchase cake-decorating supplies online
• Join an online cake-decorating forum and learn from the pros

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