Search:

Home / Food and Drink


Baking and Decorating the Perfect Cake - Tips to for Creating Exquisite Creations

By: Josephine Gauttier

It can be hard not to be dazzled every time that you walk into a nice bakery. A beautifully decorated cake is one of the great joys of the culinary arts. Almost everyone gets excited at the sight of a beautiful cake. If you are interested in cake decoration and cake design, you will be happy to see that cake decorating can be fun as a hobby and it can also be seen as one of the high edible arts. But before you can get into cake decorating, you should also have an idea about baking. Here are some guidelines are creating the perfect cake for the perfect cake decorating experience.

Tip #1 - Use a Cake Mix if you are New to Baking

One of the easiest things you can do for yourself is to try to produce a good foundation to work with. This means that you want to pull out from the oven a golden brown, evenly baked cake that you can really work with. You want to establish a smooth foundation that will make it easier for you to apply your icing and decorative flourishes. The best kind of cake foundation has very few crumbs. Ideally, your cake will be level on both top and bottom. If you have never baked a cake before and this is your very first foray into cake decoration, you should start with a box cake mix and follow the directions. This is an easy way to make sure that you get a good solid cake to work with.

Tip #2 - Never Rush the Cake Decorating Process!

If there is one cake decorating tip that you should take to heart, it is this one: never rush the cake decorating process. Probably ninety per cent of all cake decorating problems or mistakes have to do with the cake decorator trying to rush through the process. For instance, if you try to decorate a cake right after taking it out of the oven, you will find that this is probably not the most ideal situation for cake decorating. Always, always let your cake cool before you begin the process of icing it. Some bakers even like to freeze their cakes before they begin the process of icing and decoration. Always let your cake cool off at least an hour. Ideally, you should let the cake sit and set overnight.

Tip #3 - Make it Easy on Yourself and Keep Your Cake Level

One of the easiest ways to make sure that you have a cake that you can work with is to level and trim your baked cake. As always, wait until the cake has cooled completely before you get cutting and pruning. Take a serrated knife and trim off the crust and dry edges. You can level off the crown of the cake center if it is lumpy or otherwise not smooth. This way, you will hopefully establish a nice, smooth surface that makes it easy to ice the cake. If you like, you can also torte the cake if you want to decorate it. Torting simply involves the process of slicing varying layers into your cake.

Tip #4 - How to Apply the Perfect First Layer of Icing

In order to get the most consistency, make sure to apply a layer of icing to the cake before you begin the real work of cake decorating. Make this first layer your crumb catcher. That is, use the icing in order to make the crumbs stick to the cake. After you have applied this first layer of icing, let the cake set for at least a few hours.

Article Source: http://www.bluearticles.com


Josephine Gauttier is the author of the popular eBook "The Art of Cake Decorating". You can learn more about cake decorating at http://www.artofcakedecorating.com

Additional Articles From - Home / Food and Drink
Submit Articles
Member Login
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Free Articles
Cooks Recipes