Simple Decorating Ideas for Cakes
Cakes are staple desserts at most celebratory events, including weddings and birthday parties. Customizing them to fit any occasion requires attention to decorative details, such as shape, design, icing color and overall decorations. To use simple cake decorating ideas, consider working with different icing types, such as fondant and buttercream, decorating according to a specific theme or using a cake mold as a base. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Fondant
-
Fondant, a pliable sugar-based icing, offers the novice decorator many decorating options. When used as a base frosting, it creates a smooth matte finish, resulting in a polished and elegant-looking cake. For a funky, Art Deco design, cover a tiered caked completely with fondant and position differently colored pieces down the top and around the sides. Alternatively, make fondant roses and flowers in bold, vibrant colors and carefully place them in cluttered patterns on the cake's surface. Dye fondant by adding small drops of food coloring to the icing and kneading it until it becomes your desirable shade.
Stencils
-
Stencils can be helpful when you are an amateur cake decorator. Stencils come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Use them to trace designs on the top and sides of a cake by simply placing the stencil onto the cake's surface and using icing to fill in the openings. Alternatively, you can sprinkle colored sugar into them. Once you remove the stencil, the design appears on the cake.
-
Themes
-
Decorating a cake around a theme is one way to personalize a cake design. To ensure that your cake reflects a specific design, consider using theme-inspired decals and toppers or colors that relate to a particular concept or event. For instance, if you are designing a cake for a golf enthusiast, design the top of the cake to look like a golf course. Alternatively, for a Christmas-themed cake, lightly press a large Christmas tree-shaped cookie cutter into icing applied to the top of the cake, leaving an outline that you can fill in with green icing. Use small candies to simulate miniature ornaments.
Molds
-
Cake molds are baking pans shaped like an item or character. When you bake cake batter in a mold, the finished cake looks exactly like the shape of the mold. Cake molds are available in different shapes and sizes and you can find a mold for any occasion. For example, consider using a mold shaped like cribs or bassinets for a baby shower. Once the cake is baked, decorate it with white icing and pink or blue trim, and add baby toppers, such as pacifiers and rattles, to the cake's top.
-
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
