How To Decorate Cakes – Make Your Icing Even & Smooth

If you want to become a master at cake decorating, you will need training and practice. Once you have mastered cake decorating you could become famous in the cake making industry. If you are a creative person you could go far when it comes to cake decorating.

 

Even a person who is new to cake decorating you want your cake to look beautiful. My mother just made a cake and frosted it, she may have added sprinkles, and she wrote a happy birthday message with icing. Those were our cakes, they may not have been well decorated, but they were tasty. This article will give you ideas and tips to make your cake look much better than Mom used to make.

 

When you make the cake, be sure that the batter is level in the pan before you place it in the oven. Check the cake at 20 minute intervals to make sure the cake is baking evenly, if you find one side of the cake is higher than the other, you should turn the pan around so it will rise evenly. If you find that your cake baked with one side higher, use a knife to even it. You should do this while the cake is warm.

 

The cake should be cooled for at least a day before you even think about starting any cake decorating. The outside of the cake could feel cool, but the middle of the cake may stay warm for hours. Frosting the cake before it is completely cool can ruin your decorating.

 

After the cake has cooled, turn it upside down on a cake board, you will have less crumbs this way. To avoid crumbs all together put a thin layer of icing on the cake. Once you have covered the cake with a thin layer of frosting, you can cover that layer with a normal layer of icing. Make sure the icing is smooth and even. You can dip your metal icing spatula in cold water and go over the icing, this will smooth the icing beautifully.

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Icing is the most important ingredient in cake decorating. The icing should be quite stiff, if it is too stiff to work with you can always thin it out. When you are making the frosting, make a good amount. You will need it for other decorations on the cake. Make sure you have plenty of food coloring, as you will need it to color the icing for different cake decorations.

 

When you are ready to start decorating your cake you will need a few pieces of equipment. You will need more than one pastry bag, and the icing tips you will be using for the decorating you want to do. These items can be bought at craft stores and cake decorating supply store.

 

To start with, choose the tip you will be using first. Hold the pastry bag with the hole down and place the tip inside, as far as possible. You should use about a cup of icing in the bag at a time, and start it out in a bowl, that way you can thin the icing with a little milk if you need to, before you put it in the icing bag. The icing should be thin enough to go through the tip, but thick enough to make the designs you choose. If you are still a novice at cake decorating, you should practice making the decorations on waxed paper before you attempt to put them on the cake.

 

When you are ready to ice the cake, you will need to hold the bag with both hands and apply steady pressure. Applying a steady pressure assures that the icing the icing will come out in an even strip. Unless you are making a long strip of piping, you should place the bag closely over the cake start squeezing and count to three, then stop squeezing and lift the tip up and away from the cake. If this decoration looks the way you want it to, move on to the next one, if it isn’t quite right, keep practicing until you get it. If the cake decoration stays in the shape you intended, then you have the frosting at the right consistency. If it does not hold together, the icing is too thin, and if it was hard to push it through the tip or the cake decoration cracks, the frosting is too thick.

 

You can get a list of the equipment needed for cake decorating before you start. The list can be found in craft store or pastry supply. The basics are Several pastry bags, icing tips, a coupler to hold the tips in the bag. You will find a cake stand would be a big help, as it swivels so you can frost all sides of the cake, and bring the cake up and closer to you. You should also have several sizes of cake pans, a rubber spatula, a short and a long metal cake icing spatula, a sharp knife, and a baking tray. These are the essentials.

 

Although cake decorating can be frustrating at times, it can also be very rewarding when you realize the beautiful cake on that stand is something that you created. With a bit of patience and a can do attitude, you will become and accomplished cake decorator.

How To Make an Awesome Chocolate Cake: No-fail Recipe from a Pastry Chef

How To Make an Awesome Chocolate Cake: No-fail Recipe from a Pastry Chef

Deep dark chocolate cake from one of the easiest recipes ever!

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Chocolate-cherry Heart Cake Made With Rum

If you want to really impress your loved one with a special cake, try this wonderful chocolate cake. This cake also works well for bridal showers and parties as well as other special occasions. The secret ingredient of this Chocolate-Cherry Heart Cake is rum. This ingredient makes this chocolate cake stand out from all the rest.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY HEART CAKE

DARK CHOCOLATE ICING:
12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped finely
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp rum (or use 1 tsp rum flavoring)
1 cup cherry preserves
1 semi-sweet (4 oz) chocolate bar

Place 12-ounce chocolate and butter in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Pour cream over the chocolate and butter and shake the bowl gently to distribute the cream evenly. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk together by hand until smooth. Cover the surface of the icing with plastic wrap and set aside in a cool spot to set but do not refrigerate. When set, the icing should have the consistency of a firm pudding. Set aside the preserves until the cake is to be assembled.

With a vegetable peeler, shave the chocolate bar into a freezable bowl. Place in the freezer until ready to decorate the cake.

DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup rum
3/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line with parchment paper the bottom of single layer heart-shaped pan. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, blending until smooth after each.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa. In a separate small bowl, blend together the sour cream and rum. With mixer on low, alternately add the dry ingredients and the rum mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Slowly pour in the water and mix until well-blended. Pour the batter into the pan and shake gently to level. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until center of cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 to 6 minutes in the pan then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To Assemble:
When the cake is completely cool, invert cakes onto a serving plate. Using a hand held whisk, stir the cooled chocolate icing, adding the rum gradually. Once rum is incorporated, whisk vigorously for a few seconds until the icing is slightly lighter in color. Spread 2/3 of the icing over the sides and top of the cake. Take chocolate shaving from the freezer and adhere shaving to the sides of the cake. Spread the cherry preserves gently over the top of the cake in a heart shape design, leaving at least a 1-inch border around the edges. Use the remaining icing to make a decorative design around the cherry heart and around the top edge of the cake.

Enjoy!

looking for a fresh apple cake recipe that you add a caramel icing to and return to the oven to finish baking.?

Question by Cokiejo: looking for a fresh apple cake recipe that you add a caramel icing to and return to the oven to finish baking.?
Last fall I made this cake and it was wonderful. I have lost my recipe and would like to find it again. You make the cake and bake it for several minutes. You make a caramel sauce on the stove top then pour it over the half baked cake and return it to the oven to finish baking. It really is good. If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it.

Best answer:

Answer by Nnifer
http://hubpages.com/hub/Recipes-From-Nunny—Apple-Cake

Is this similar?

I’ve never had it, but it sounds delicious and I think I may have to try the recipe. Yum!

What do you think? Answer below!

How Can I Use Slatwalls for Exciting Grocery Store Fixtures?

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How Can I Use Slatwalls for Exciting Grocery Store Fixtures?

 

Slatwalls are grooved panels, perfect for projecting hooks or hanging accessories like bins, shelves, and baskets. They are stationary grocery store fixtures, and can be used in any number of ways.

 

Use slatwalls to display …

 

Holiday items. Slatwalls can be used to display seasonal goods and accessories. For spring, fill the bins with a selection of candy chicks and chocolate bunnies. For summer, consider a baseball, swim meet, or golfing theme. It’s back-to-school time in late summer and early autumn; your slatwall will be the perfect place to hang school supplies like highlighters and spiral-bound notebooks. Thanksgiving, Hanukah, and Christmas-themed goodies can round out the year.

 

Sales items. Slatwalls are the perfect place to display sales merchandise, discounted products, and discontinued items. Customers are always looking for a bargain, especially in this difficult economy. People will appreciate your having a special place for discounted stuff.

 

Birthday cake decorations. Tubes of frosting, jars of sprinkles, candles, gag gifts and cake-top toys, as well as other cake decorating accessories can be hung on your slatwall. Slatwalls display items right at eye-level, making them impossible to miss. Customers will be able to find just what they’re looking for, and maybe get ideas for birthdays yet to come.

 

Toys. Most grocery stores have a small selection of inexpensive toys and games for children. Consider paneling your toy section with slatwalls. Hooks near the top and baskets near the bottom will display toys for the delight of children and the convenience of their parents.

 

Envelope mixes. Everyone likes to save time, and envelope mixes are a convenient way to make gravies, sauces, and other delicious foods. A half-panel slatwall with some hanging bins will give you plenty of room to display envelope mixes for mashed potatoes, fried chicken breading, and spaghetti sauce.

 

Bottles of spices. Spices and garnishments can be displayed in hanging bins and baskets on your slatwall. More grocery store fixtures will mean more room to display unusual spices. The gourmet cooks in your neighborhood will appreciate the opportunity to use something different.

 

Slatwalls are useful grocery store fixtures. And these are only a few of the ways you can use them! Buy a few slatwalls and put them to work. You’ll find they give you lots of happy customers, and a healthy bottom line.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Dinner Part 1, Holiday Recipes

Max and Rebecca share tips and recipe twists to liven up your Thanksgiving menu. They’re cooking turkey, a stuffing stand-in adapted from Bon Appetit & Molly Wizenberg of Orangette, and more. Links:www.bonappetit.com, http www.bonappetit.com www.bonappetit.com Working Class Foodies is a weekly show on the Hungry Nation network with great food, organic recipes, and affordable cooking tips. Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: www.twitter.com Website: www.hungrynation.tv
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Scott’s Cakes 2 lb. Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Fall Leaf Cookie Golden Yellow Trim

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3 Common Cake Decorating Mistakes – And Their Easy Solutions

 

Have you ever been decorating a cake and everything was going smoothly, then all of a sudden you notice crumbs in your beautiful icing mixture? When this happens you can ruin the whole effect of your cake. There is a way to combat the dreaded crumb problem when decorating your cake; the method is called a ‘crumb coat.’
A crumb coat is a thinner mixture of the exact same icing that you use on your cake. You can thin the mixture down with whatever liquid you have used to make your icing, for example water or milk. The icing has to be thinned down just enough to cover the surface of the cake with a thin layer.

Once you have applied a crumb coat to the surface of your cake you will then need to let it set awhile. Place your cake in the refrigerator and let it set overnight, or for at least an hour or two. Don’t be overly concerned if crumbs get into your crumb coat, as the crumbs will become “glued” into the surface of the cake. Once set the surface will be ready to decorate.
By following these instructions you will win the war on crumbs!

Beating Bulging Cakes

Often people who decorate cakes are faced with the problem of their fillings bulging out of the sides of their cake. Luckily there is a remedy for this little cake decorating disaster. Below are some helpful tips to stop the dreaded cake bulge.

o By baking your cake in advance, for example the day before, you will firm the cake up, and give it time to settle down. Freshly baked cakes tend to be unstable and won’t hold fillings as well as settled cakes.

o Another procedure that can be used to stop fillings from overflowing or bulging is to use piped icing to create a dam. This will act as a barrier and keep your fillings from bulging out the sides of the cake.

o After you have created your icing dam, you can then cover the whole cake with a crumb coating; a thinned down version of the icing that you intend to use to decorate your cake with.

o Once you have done a crumb coating of the cake you will find that refrigerating the cake overnight, or for at least 2-3 hours will help the icing to firm up. This will reduce the likelihood of bulging also.

o Once the cake has had time to firm up in the fridge, the dams that you put in place and the crumb coat will stop the cake from bulging.

Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to having beautiful bulge-free cakes!

Freezing Cakes To Save Time

Finding the free time to prepare a specialty cake can be a frustrating task. Thankfully, the practice of freezing cakes has become an invaluable tool for the novice and professional alike. Just think, you can have a cake baked and ready for decoration weeks before the special occasion.

Some cake makers shy away from freezing cakes due to the fear that their creation might dry out. If the proper method is not utilized, that fear will be justified. The key lies in how you wrap the cake. It’s also important to postpone the decorating process until the cake has fully defrosted. Icing tends to “sweat” and become gooey when a cake is left out to defrost.
Air and moisture will eventually ruin a cake. To keep the air out, wrap three layers of sturdy cling wrap around the cake. Then just prior to freezing, wrap one layer of aluminum foil over the cling wrap. This storage method helps keep the moisture and flavor from escaping.

Allow the cake to slowly defrost at room temperature for 1-2 days before the event. Do not decorate the cake until it has completely thawed. By following this method cake decorating should be easier and quicker, especially if you are put on the spot to make and decorate a cake at the last minute.

Samantha Mitchell, Co-Author

Cake Decorating Made Easy! Vol. 1 & 2

The World’s First Cake Decorating Video Books

For more fantastic cake decorating tips, tricks and secrets

of the pros, visit the Cake Answers [http://www.CakeAnswers.com] site.

 

Birthday cakes: a special treat

There are numerous occasions comes in your lifetime to celebrate but, birthday has its own importance. As it comes once in a year it gives you an opportunity to invite your friends and relatives. But, in a birthday party the most important thing, other then the birthday person, are birthday cakes.

People purchase a lot of gifts for the celebrant but thrill that one can feel when he/she blows the candles is something special in itself. But when, you take the pictures of cake cutting or birthday boy/girl having it, in such events cake remains the centre of attraction. That is the reason there are so many pastry shops in the market.

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But, before selecting any cake you must know the choice of the celebrant. Then, you can go accordingly for chocolate cake, strawberry cake, black forest cake, etc. If you want something different then you can try cakes that are adorned with silver or golden foils that give them a different look altogether.

If you want to give a bigger surprise to your loved ones, then you can select a suitable recipe and bake the cake yourself. It is not so difficult to bake cakes whereas it provides you an extra satisfaction. You can also decorate it with different types of sweets and confetti.

These cakes are available in different sizes also. You can go for a small one or for a huge one, as per your guest list. You can also select the different shapes of the cakes that suits the age and style of the celebrant. Like, if you are celebrating your kids’ birthday then you can take cake in the shape of any cartoon character.

You can also check the flavours, shape and sizes online, as there are several pastry shops offers you cake through their websites. Through, online you can conveniently order the cake as per your requirement.

Birthday cakes are available in different sizes, shapes and colours. So, you can easily select the cakes as per your need.

Cake Decorating Ideas

You plan to bake a cake for a special celebration but are all out of ideas. You are creative but would like some fresh cake decorating ideas and themes. Every special occasion wouldn’t be right without a cake. If you have been chosen to make the cake here are some ideas and hints for your next cake baking adventure.

Animals: Animals make terrific cake decorating themes especially for children. You can cut the cake into the shape of an animal or purchase cake pans already shaped like the animal you want. You can do a zoo theme or select one animal with other decorations. Use your imagination.

Transportation:: Males are more inclined to like trucks, tractors, airplanes, fire engines, boats, and buses. This theme is useful if the cake correlates with their occupation and hobbies. For example, if he is a firefighter, decorate a cake with a firefighter putting out a fire. If they are race fans, decorate the cake with a racing strip.

Holiday Ideas: You can find most any shape of pan for holidays. Wilton has about everything you can think of for cake decorating with a holiday theme. Use a heart -shaped pan for Valentines or use a bunny-shaped pan for Easter. For patriotic holidays, bake the cake in a square and decorate the cake in red, white ,and blue stripes.

Characters: There are many possibilities using familiar characters in cake decorating. Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues are popular themes. Walt Disney characters will satisfy just about anybody. You can draw the character right on the cake or cut it to look like the character.