How To Frost Like A Pro
A few simple cake decorating techniques for beginners can solve the most common frosting problems and empower your cake to look full and gorgeous.
LET IT COOL: Make sure you’re letting your cake cool completely before you even think about putting on frosting. Seriously, be patient. Put on a timer or sit down and watch a movie until your cakes are ready. If your cake has any residual heat, that’s how the frosting gets melty and thin.
ADD A CRUMB COAT: A crumb coat is just a starter layer of frosting that protects the outer layer from having little pieces of cake on it. Use your offset spatula to apply frosting wherever desired and allow 15 to 30 minutes for it to set before adding the final coat of frosting.
By the way, here’s a friendly reminder that not every amazing cake is a layer cake. Cakes come in all kinds of delectable shapes and sizes! Take, for instance, our divine Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake, sparkling with bright, fruity flavor thanks Duncan Hines Signature Lemon Supreme Cake Mix, fresh blueberries, and an elegant lemon glaze . Or test out your piping skills on our delightful Carrot Cake Bites, made with Duncan Hines Signature Carrot Cake Mix and cream cheese icing. Theyre the perfect little grab-and-go confection for party guests or a little sweet enjoyment any day of the weekbecause theres never a wrong night for dessert!
How To Store Wedding Cake Before Wedding
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Place the cake completely in plastic wrap and wrap it up in an airtight container. Wrap the foil in two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil to protect it. If you give the cake more protection, the chance of it tasting frozen or burning is reduced. You can store the cake in a container if you prefer.
To prevent fondant from cracking, it is a good idea to cover it in plastic wrap as well. Before frosting or decorating a cake, there is no deadline it can be baked for as long as you like. After youve defrosted it in the refrigerator, you should keep the cake for your first anniversary. If buttercream is being used for a wedding, it can be covered with Clingfilm / Saran Wrap / Glad Wrap and stored outside of the refrigerator. The time it takes to decorate a professionally decorated cake varies greatly from one client to the next. It is recommended that you store your wedding cake in the freezer for up to 365 days if you follow the proper preservation procedures. It is safe to consume once it has been preserved with sugar.
Cut The Top For A Flat Surface
In order to end up with a finished dessert that has perfectly even and angled edges, there is one essential step to take, well before you frost your dessert:
Take a look at your cake rounds. If the tops are curved with a little hump or mound, it is absolutely necessary to cut off the tops.
I may have failed shop class in middle school, but I do understand that it is much easier to build off of a flat structure than one that is rounded.
From a visual standpoint, your finished product will look cleaner, neater, and more professionally designed with all of those gorgeous right angles!
To achieve this perfect pastry plateau, use a serrated knife or cake leveler and carefully saw the rounded portion off of the top to make a flat surface.
Go at a slow pace especially if you are using a serrated knife to ensure that you are a cutting an even line across the entire round.
After gently brushing off any crumbs, your layers are ready for decorating!
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Read The Recipe Before Beginning & Pre
Reading the recipe and pre-measuring out the ingredients is the first thing I do with every recipe, whether its baking or cooking. This step helps my brain prepare for the upcoming recipe. Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.
This process may seem simple to some, but I wanted to talk about this today so you can think about setting yourself up in advance and how important that is for baking. When baking, you have to pre-plan and think ahead if you miss a crucial step at the beginning, then youll see it affect the process later.
To go one step further, after measuring out ingredients, cut, chop, or prepare the ingredients. This helps to save time during the cooking process.
Whats The Deal With Crumb Coats
Crumb-coating a cake is not always necessary, but it makes decorating a cake so much less stressful and just way easier!
A crumb coat is really just a very thin layer of buttercream that you add to the exterior of the cake. Give it a smooth, doesnt have to be perfect, and chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so until its firmed up.
Once the crumb-coated cake is chilled you can apply your final layer of buttercream and smooth it out. The world is your oyster at this point! You can add a single color of buttercream and smooth it out, do an ombré, stripes, a petal design, ruffles Whatever you like!
A crown of buttercream dollops!
A wreath of flowers and or fruit
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How To Decorate A Cake With Frosting
Once you’ve got your cooled cake recipe and the crumb coat or base layer of frosting applied, here’s how to use that piping bag.
- Fit a pastry bag with the desired pastry decorating tip.
- Fill the pastry bag about two-thirds full of frosting.
- Fold the corners over and roll the bag down to the frosting.
- With one hand, grip the bag near the roll above the frosting.
- Apply pressure with the palm of your hand, forcing the frosting toward the tip.
- Use your other hand to guide the tip of the bag.
Make Sure You Have The Tools You Need To Succeed
If your current frosting technique involves scraping buttercream all over a cake with a butter knife, its time to change! Heres what to invest in:
- A flat silicone spatula. Your spatula will help apply your frosting to smoothly cover the surface.
- Some piping tips and bags. The piping bag and tips will come in handy at the end! You can use those to add a fun border around the edge or write a message across the top.
- A cake leveler or large, serrated knife. Youll use the leveler or knife to shave the domed top off of your cake for a smooth surface to frost. and
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Cake Decorating Idea: Use Baking Decorations
Check the baking aisle at supermarkets, crafts stores, specialty food stores, and online for some of these edible garnishes. Here are a few that you’ll find, plus tips on how best to use them:
- Nonpareils: Available in mixed or single colors, these tiny opaque balls add a touch of color and texture to your cake.
- Colored decorating sugars: Choose from a wide variety of colors of coarse sugars, such as sparkle sugars, or finer-grain sanding sugars, also sold as luster dust or pearl dust, to add sparkle to your cake.
- Sprinkles: Also sometimes called jimmies, these tiny cylindrical decorations are available in single or mixed colors.
- Edible Confetti: Also called edible accents, these colorful, flat cake decorations come in many shapes for just about every occasion and holiday.
Test Kitchen Tip: Use stencils to create shapes such as hearts with edible glitter, decorating sugars, or nonpareils.
Gumballs are an appropriate candy choice for this creative cake.
Cake Decorating Tip #5 Using A Scale
For some crazy reason, in the USA, our standard of measurement is volume . Everywhere else in the world they go by weight. This may be the reason why I straight up hated to bake my whole life. Everything I tried to make never turned out very well and I had no clue why. My guess is a lot of us start out that way. You find a recipe you like, sometimes it turns out, sometimes it doesnt.
The problem, my friend, is that not all dry ingredients can be measured by volume and turn out the same every single time. Did you know that some measuring spoons can even vary vastly from manufacturer to manufacturer? Sometimes you might get a little too much flour and not quite enough baking powder. Then your cake falls flat and youre out $18 in ingredients.
Buy a scale. Measure by weight.
I know you want to fight this change, change is scary. You no like change. But please, if you ignore all my other advice, at least take this.
I know youre going to say you cant afford one. But listen, you dont have to buy the fancy scale I have, go to Target or whatever store you have near you and go to the kitchen aisle. Scales cost less than $20 and are a priceless tool for cake decorating. This is one of my top tools for every cake decorator.
When you use a scale to measure your ingredients, no longer do you have to worry about whether your cake will turn out. It will turn out every single time . Youll make less of a mess and you can double and triple your recipes easily.
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Perfecting Your Christening Cake: Key Tips And Tricks
Christening cakes are a beautiful way to celebrate your little ones special day.
Whether youre baking the cake yourself or ordering it from a bakery, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to make sure your christening cake makes the event a truly memorable experience.
Read on for helpful advice on how to make sure your christening cake looks and tastes amazing.
To Write Or Not To Write
Oddly enough, this is one area where I know I dont struggle.
You see, I spent 2 wonderful years as a deli employee at Walmart while I was in college getting my associates degree. The benefit of that was when the bakery closed down for the night and someone needed a Happy Birthday Bob written on the cake, I was their lady.
When I could get away with it, I practiced on the chocolate chip cookies. Eventually, I was as good as the bakery employees if not better. Left-hander or not, haha!
Therefore, I am sending you over to Michelles Post on The Spruce. My only recommendation and I dont know if she says it or not, is to hold it up high with your non-dominant hand and down low with your dominant hand to get the writing just right.
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Basic Piping Tips You Need For Decorating
If you want to practice and start your own collection of piping tips, here are my recommendations. One or two of each one will take you a long way. You can even use them with different colors, if you are using couplers. These can be purchased individually at craft stores or from Amazon, but I find they are more affordable in store.
Basic Sizes:
- Mutli Opening Tips: Size 233
Jumbo sizes:
Really all you need to start is the 6-piece starter kit from Ateco to start. It comes with a set of 2 open round , 1 open star , 1 closed star , 1 French star , and 1 basket weave tube .
I have filled in with a couple of sizes as needed, which can be purchased from cake supply stores or online.
Of course, youll also need some piping bags, and I recommend starting with a 12-inch piping bag for small amounts of frosting and a 16 or 18-inch piping bag for larger amounts. I also recommend purchasing some couplers so that you can easily change out the tips.
Give Layer Cakes A Crumb Coat
No one likes crumby frosting. To prevent crumbs from infiltrating your frosting layer, give the cake a crumb coat. To do this, give the cake a very, very thin coating of frosting using an offset spatula, then pop it in the fridge to set for about a half-hour. This will help trap any crumbs.
Once you remove it from the fridge, frost as normal, following our easy cake frosting guide.
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Invest In An Offset Spatula
Without a doubt, an offset spatula is the most useful frosting tool you can have in your . These flat spatulas are perfect for scooping, smoothing and swirling frosting onto cakes. This OXO Good Grips spatula set is perfectit has one large and one small perfect for cakes of all sizesyep, even mini cakes.
Apply The First Cake Layer
Place a prepared cake round on top of the cake board. Make sure it is centered on the board.
Heres a tip: spread a small amount of frosting on the middle of the board, then place the bottom cake layer on top.
The frosting acts as cement to keep it from sliding around the board as you are decorating. Its much easier to decorate if your cake is anchored in place!
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Cake: The Star Of The Show
This is the main item of your dish, your prima donna. There are a wide variety of options for you to choose from, all depending on personal considerations like taste preference, dietary restrictions, and color combinations.
If you are looking to build from classic flavors, try our basic recipes like chocolate cake or vanilla butter cake.
These flavors actually combine well, so you can even layer one of each.
For the buttercreams, you can choose to use the original recipes, which are both flavored with vanilla extract. If you want to add any food coloring to personalize your treat, it is best to work with one of the vanilla buttercreams as a neutral base to get the brightest colors.
If you want another flavor instead of vanilla, you can opt for one of the suggested variations to create a variety of flavors like chocolate, citrus, and much more.
Its all up to you, chef.
Cake Decorating Is Not A Job Its How I Create Art
But lets back up and give a little history just in case you dont have my book and have no idea who this Liz chick is.
I grew up as an artist in a small town. If anyone asks what I do now, I say I am a cake artist. All I ever wanted to do when I grew up was to be an artist and get the heck out of my small town. Alas, life loves to crush your childhood dreams and a not-so-delicate 8th grade teacher informed me that being an artist was not a career. She suggested maybe veterinarian since I liked to draw cats and horses.
Whomp whomp.
I proceeded to live life basically goal-less for the next 10 years. No clue what I wanted to do or what job I should have. I have had over 30 jobs in my lifetime. Everything from fast food to filing home liens. Nothing stuck and I would get bored around the 4-6 month mark. Id quit my job and move on.
Charcoal portrait circa 2006 I used to have a side hustle that involved making charcoal portraits of kids. I dont know why I didnt just do this for a living. Things seems a lot less attainable in art before social media.
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Use The Scraper The Right Way
A cake scraper is a dangerous tool if not used properly it can ruin your cake. Beware of it! Yes, this is a true warning. You shouldnt take it lightly. A cake can be a centerpiece of a birthday party or a wedding. But if you mess it up you could ruin someones good time. Thats why you must use the cake scraper the right way.
Which way is that? Well, you need to use it under a 45 degree angle. What will this do for you and your cake? Well, it will help you to get the edges right. When youre doing your cake you want it to look smooth by the end. Youll achieve this effect if you use the scraper the way were suggesting it. This is a simple tip, but the one that will get your skills over the top.
Want To Be The Best Practice
Practice, practice, and practice some more. Since I started this class, I told you that I have gone through several icing bags and cake boards.
I have the benefit of being in a culinary classroom so I rotate between classes of who bakes my cake that day and gets to eat it the next day . They love it and I do too because then I am practicing on a real cake and not having to eat it.
I also recommend if you are eating it especially, to not stick with the traditional chocolate or vanilla. So far I have made an earl grey tea cake and apple pie cake. Before I leave today, I will have cooked a Smores cake that we will decorate tomorrow.
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Best Guide For Decorating Cakes
When I started cake decorating I did not realize just how much I did not know. I would see simple designs and thought I can do that. But, how do I master it or what tools should I use. Sometimes you need some help decorating a cake. A few bag of tricks doesnt hurt either. Here are 10 cake decorating tips and tricks that I use all the time.
10 Cake Decorating Tips and Tricks
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Cake Decorating tip: Vegetable shortening
Vegetable shortening is one of my number one secret ingredients. It is mostly used for frosting i.e. to create a crusting buttercream. I use shortening to make fondant, roll out fondant and my number one secret to adding light fondant decorations. Adding decorations with water or piping gel is so permanent and you cannot move things around, shortening gives you the freedom to do just that. Need to add ruffles to a cake? Or add fondant to the cake base. Shortening is a great solution.
Another trick is to use shortening to add dry luster dust to fondant. Want to create vertical or horizontal lines with fondant? Try adding the luster dust to fondant after adding shortening. Shortening gives it a nice shine and it becomes more like a paint. It is the best trick and I use it all the time.
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