DIY Wedding Cake Decorating

A simple wedding cake is perfect for any wedding.

So you've decided to save some money and decorate your own wedding cake. As fun as cake decorating can be, it is a challenge, especially for those that have never decorated a cake before. If you fall into the category of people that have little experience or have never decorated a cake before, your wedding cake is not a good place to start, you will more than likely not be very happy with the results. However, if you are the adventuresome type, here are some simple tips to make your wedding cake look special.

Things You'll Need

• Cake
• Off-set spatula
• Pre-made buttercream frosting
• Pastry bag
• Small round tip
• Food coloring
• Rubber spatula
• Damp towel
• Plastic containers
• Chef's knife
• Turntable

Instructions

Splitting, Filling and Frosting

1. Cut all of your cakes in half. Make sure that you split it them as close to directly in the middle as you can. The best way to do this is to lay the cake flat on the turntable, bottom side down. Take your chef's knife and slice directly into the middle, width-wise of the cake, slowly turning it while continuing to saw through the cake.

2. Apply a generous layer of buttercream to the bottom of each of the cakes you cut with your off-set spatula. Place their top halves back on them and press lightly to make sure they are stuck together. Make sure that you line up the top and bottom half as close to perfect alignment as you can. It's okay if the frosting squishes out the sides--don't wipe it off, you will use it later.

3. Lay down a fair amount of buttercream frosting with your off-set spatula on the top of each individual cake. Smooth it out the best you can, it doesn't have to look perfect, since you are only using the frosting as glue. Take the middle-sized cake and center it over the largest one. Ease the middle-sized cake on top of the largest cake. Do the same with the smallest cake over the middle cake.

4. Apply copious amounts of buttercream frosting to the sides and tops of each layer. Wipe off the off-set spatula with the damp cloth.

5. With the back side of the off-set spatula, smooth out the frosting. Do this by angling your spatula so only one corner touches it and drags the frosting. If the frosting starts to pile up past the top of the

   cake--that is good, leave it there for now. As you drag your spatula across the sides of the cake, gently spin the turn-table so that the cake moves instead of your hand. If your spatula gets a pile-up of frosting, wipe off the excess back into the container. It is still good to use.

6. Wipe off your off-set spatula with the damp towel once you have finished the sides. Using the bottom side of the spatula, starting with the bottom layer of the cake, drag the spatula while spinning the turntable. Make it as smooth as you can. Do the same to the middle layer of cake. When you get to the top layer of cake, start at one corner and smooth into the middle. Do this all around the top layer of cake, if the middle looks a little uneven, that's okay.

Decorating

1. Separate some of the buttercream frosting into the plastic containers. Put some in each container for all the colors that you want to use, but keep in mind that a lot of colors on a wedding cake will make it look tacky.

2. Drop one drop of the food coloring of your choice in each container. Using a clean rubber spatula--one for each color--mix the frosting until the color is incorporated. Add more color one drop at a time until it is the color that you want.

3. Place your small round tip in the pastry bag. Scoop out some of your colored frosting--the one that you want to be your base or dominant color and fill the bag half-full. Twist the bag at the top to move the frosting down to the opening.

4. 

   Make pearls at the base and top of each layer.

   Squeeze the bag gently from the top where it is filled. Make even "pearls" at the base of each layer of cake. This is to cover up any spots where frosting might be uneven and where the cakes connect. Make these pearls at the top and bottom of each layer of cake.

5. 

   Filigree is the simplest design in cake decorating.

   Fill another pastry bag with a smaller round tip with your secondary color. Use the table or edge of the turntable to practice doing string work or filigree before you put it on the cake. String work is nothing more than swags with strings. They can be placed anywhere on a cake, if you want to do these, select a certain number of pearls for spacing and make strings from, say, pearl 1 to pearl 5. Filigree is nothing but tiny squiggles all over the cake.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't forget to pick a cake topper that suits your theme.

• For a more classic look, use all white frosting.

• If you want to learn more fancy cake decorating techniques, like basket weave and flowers, most all craft stores teach lessons in Wilton Cake decorating.

• If you have the time to practice, do so!

• Once the design is on the cake, it is stuck there, whether you like it or not.

References

• Make Your Own Wedding Cake
• Wedding Cake Decorating With Pictures