Getting that nice flat cake:
There are numerous techniques which can be used to make sure that your cake bakes flat. This includes buying bake even strips or inserting flower nails in the cake while baking. I will admit that I have not tried either of these techniques yet.
I use a cake leveler instead. After the cake has been baked and cooled, the leveler is adjusted to the desired height. Then, using a back and forth motion the thin wire portion is moved across the top of the cake to remove the "bubble". Many do not like this method because it wastes part of the cake. However, with 2 small kids at home it never goes to waste here. It actually works out nice to give them this cut off top for a snack when the cake being made will not be eaten by them. They tend not to feel so cheated and they can also "decorate" the removed portion bubble which can be a fun activity. I can also taste the cake to make sure it tastes good!
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Icing Consistency
When using buttercream, different techniques call for different frosting consistencies. You can control for consistency by adding milk/water for thinner consistency or adding powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Here is a quick reference guide:
Stiff icing: Used for certain flowers such as roses and also for figure piping
Medium icing: Used for most of the borders and for flowers that have flat petals. Can also be used to ice the cake.
Thin icing: Used for writing and making leaves/vines for flowers
Little trick I learned: You can add piping gel to the stiff consistency icing if the icing cracks (i.e. your roses look more like carnations) to help make it more elastic without thinning it too much.
Here is a quick reference guide:
Stiff icing: Used for certain flowers such as roses and also for figure piping
Medium icing: Used for most of the borders and for flowers that have flat petals. Can also be used to ice the cake.
Thin icing: Used for writing and making leaves/vines for flowers
Little trick I learned: You can add piping gel to the stiff consistency icing if the icing cracks (i.e. your roses look more like carnations) to help make it more elastic without thinning it too much.
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Preparing a Decorating Bag
In addition to the decorating tip
you will be using, you will need couplers
, scissors, and disposable decorating bags
. Step 1.In order to see how much you will need to trim from the end, slide the coupler (make sure to remove the coupler ring) through the end of the bag. Press the coupler to the bottom until it will slide no further. You will notice that this will create a small indentation in the plastic of the bag.
Step 2: Cut the end where the small indentation is and then slide the couple through the top until it sets in place at the other end of the bag.
Step 3: Place the tip on the outside of the bag and onto the end of the coupler. Take the coupler ring and place it over the tip and screw it on to the coupler.You will want to make sure that there are no gaps between the coupler, the tip, and the ring as this could cause leaks.
4. Fold the other end of the bag over and fill with frosting using a spoon or spatula.
Filling Cupcakes
One technique is to place the filling (in this case chocolate pudding) in a decorating bag with a small tip or a plastic bottle with tip which is typically used when working with melted candies. You can actually insert the tip right into the cupcake and fill it this way. I did try one with this method, but I could not tell how much was going in and, in the end, I wanted more filling.
I read online that you can use an apple corer to take a portion out of the middle. I do not own a corer, but I do own a juicer which works the same way.
Use a corer to remove a portion of the middle
Next, insert the filling
And, tada! I was not worried about the pudding on the top since so much frosting was being used and easily covered this up.
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Making Frosting "Fur"
- Use Wilton tip 233 (grass/hair tip) and medium consistency icing
- Beginning with the outside of the cupcake, place the tip on the cake, squeeze slightly and pull toward the edge of the cupcake and then stop squeezing.
- Beginning with the outside of the cupcake, place the tip on the cake, squeeze slightly and pull toward the edge of the cupcake and then stop squeezing.
- After going around the outside completely, move in a bit toward the center and repeat all the way around.
- Do this over and over until you reach the center.
Not too hard, right?
You can use the same technique to make frosting "grass", just make each frosting stroke shorter.
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This tip comes from a reader of this blog, Grandma2Selena. Please visit her blog sometime which focuses on her experiences raising her adorable granddaughter! Getting that polished look with your frosting:
After dirty icing your cake, use the Wilton cake icer decorating tip (tip 789) to place the right amount of icing on the cake. Please see the Wilton website for a nice picture tutorial of this method.
After this, dip your metal decorating spatula in water. Shake the water off and then spread the frosting evenly. This gives your cake the perfect finish (just make sure the spatula is not too wet). I tried this technique this weekend and it worked great! I will use it from now on as getting the icing nice and thick and even has been a struggle of mine.
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What you will need: Piping gel, parchment paper, pattern of your choice, disposable decorating bags
Directions:
1. Cut a small bit off the tip of a disposable bag.
2. Insert a small amount of piping gel in the bag.
3. Place the parchment paper on top of the pattern (you will not want to trace letters as the image will reverse on your cake). I got my pattern right off of the internet.
4. Trace the outline of the pattern with the piping gel. Don't worry if it is not perfect.
5. Once you are finished tracing, carefully flip the parchment paper over onto your cake (or cookie in this case).
6. Rub gently and then remove the parchment paper. The piping gel will remain on your cake and you can now use this outline to guide your decorating. (It is hard to see in the picture, but I am following the glossy gel line).
By the way, the piping gel is tasteless (in case you were wondering).
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Working with Fondant
Here are some basic tips for working with fondant.
1. When mixing/kneading the ingredients, make sure to keep you bowl, hands, mixer attachment, etc. well greased. This stuff is very sticky until you reach the right consistency.
2. Make fondant ahead of time (at least the night before).
3. If the fondant is too stiff to knead, put it in the microwave for 5-15 seconds.
4. Use powdered sugar or cornstarch on the work area to prevent sticking while rolling out the fondant.
5. Adding color while the fondant is still being mixed will be a lot easier than adding it later (assuming you only need one color). If you use the marshmallow fondant recipe (see my post earlier this week), then the best time to add the color is when the marshmallows are freshly melted.
6. Be patient, this stuff is very hard to get used to and it will take a lot of practice!!!
2. Make fondant ahead of time (at least the night before).
3. If the fondant is too stiff to knead, put it in the microwave for 5-15 seconds.
4. Use powdered sugar or cornstarch on the work area to prevent sticking while rolling out the fondant.
5. Adding color while the fondant is still being mixed will be a lot easier than adding it later (assuming you only need one color). If you use the marshmallow fondant recipe (see my post earlier this week), then the best time to add the color is when the marshmallows are freshly melted.
6. Be patient, this stuff is very hard to get used to and it will take a lot of practice!!!
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Placing fondant on your cake
Step one: After the fondant is the right consistency, place it on a large flat surface powdered with corn starch or powdered sugar. Using a rolling pin, also powdered, begin rolling..and rolling...and rolling. This is my least favorite part. I am pretty weak, so I had my hubby help me roll this out.
Step two: Lift up on the edge of the flattened fondant and begin to roll the fondant loosely around the rolling pin. To place the fondant on the cake (which already should be lightly iced with a crumb coat), place the rolling pin at the outside of the cake and then unroll over the top of the cake.
Make sure that there is enough room on all sides of the cake. It is fine to have excess on the sides of the cake. The excess can be cut off using a knife or a pizza cutter.
The rolling pin technique was a fun little trick I learned from cake decorating shows on TV.
Covering your Cake Board
It is important to cover cake boards because greases from the cake can soak through on the board and ruin the presentation of your cake. I was taught to cover my boards with foil, though I was never really pleased with the look. I tried covering them with wrapping paper which looked a lot better, but frosting and oils would often tarnish the paper. Then, I got this great tip from a Cake Mom reader, cbmyers:
"I cover cardboard with tissue paper and then clear contact paper for the base. Just makes it a little festive for whatever the occasion is."
Great tip! To cover a cake board, put the paper upside down and cut small slits in the paper. Tape the cut pieces of paper down one at a time. Once you are done, cover in contact paper. This can work with either tissue paper or wrapping paper.
"I cover cardboard with tissue paper and then clear contact paper for the base. Just makes it a little festive for whatever the occasion is."
Great tip! To cover a cake board, put the paper upside down and cut small slits in the paper. Tape the cut pieces of paper down one at a time. Once you are done, cover in contact paper. This can work with either tissue paper or wrapping paper.
You can cover your cake board in fondant. Check this water/tie-dye looking board:
This is very easy to do and you can use the same process you would use for covering cakes with fondant, only add some swirling piping gel to the board to keep the fondant in place.
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Making a GumPaste Daisy
You will need the following supplies:
1. Ready to Use Gum Paste (color a small amount yellow)
2. The following items which can be purchased separately, or are all contained in the Wilton Fondant and Gum Past Student Kit:
a. Daisy Cut-Outs
b. Thin Shaping Foam
c. Dusting Pouch (prepared, see below)
d. Ball & Veining Tool
3. Non-stick surface or Roll and Cut Mat (or pastry mat)
4. Gum glue (see below)
5. Rolling pin (I would highly recommend using the Wilton 9 inch rolling pin for this)
6. Small paint brush to apply gum glue (use one that is food safe and has not been used for other purposes)
Preparing Your Dusting Pouch:
The dusting pouch is used to help prevent sticking. Open the gathering cord, fill the pouch with equal amounts of cornstarch and confectioner's sugar (1 Tbsp each is plenty). Pull the cord closed and tie. To use, you just need to tap the pouch lightly to sprinkle.
Gum Glue Adhesive:
This adhesive is safe to consume and is used to stick fondant and gum paste pieces on your cakes. To make, break off a small amount (1/4 teaspoon) of gum paste and then break into very small pieces. Dissolve this in about 1 Tbsp of water. It is best to prepare this ahead of time, at least one hour before use. Unused mixture can be refrigerated and used for up to one week.
Step 1: Roll out gum paste
to 1/16 inch thickness on a greased roll and cut mat
. If you are using the Wilton 9 inch rolling pin
, then you will want to use the pink bands.Step 2: Using the medium daisy cutter
, press 2 daisies. Just like cookies, it is best to wiggle the cutter a bit to make sure that there is a clean cut. Step3: Using a tapered spatula
, carefully remove the daisy from the mat and place on pink shaping foam
which has been lightly dusted with your prepared dusting pouch
.Step 4: Using a ball and veining tool (teal tool from the modeling tool kit
) and press lightly with the heel of the small end of the tool and pull gently toward you. If the tool sticks, press it into the dusting pouch in between presses on your gum paste. Step 5: Repeat this for each petal on both flowers. Then, using a decorating brush
, place a small amount of prepared gum paste glue in the center of one of the flowers and place the other one on top. You can use the ball and veining tool to help center and secure in place.Step 6: Roll a small pinch of yellow tinted gum paste in a small ball and adhere with the gum glue.
Step 7: Place the finished daisy on a flower former
to dry (optional).
You can actually watch a tutorial I created here: http://youtu.be/0BVXqK0pqdQ
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Tinting Sugars, Sprinkles & Coconut
I learned a fun and easy trick from McCormick that allows me to color my sugars, sprinkles, and coconut shavings! Just follow these simple steps!
1. Place the sprinkles (or sugar or coconut shavings) in a container with a tight fitting lid. Add a few drops of McCormick food color.
2. Seal the container and shake well until the color has evenly coated the sprinkles. If you need a darker shade, add a few more drops of coloring and shake well again.
3. Spread the sprinkles onto a plate and let air dry for about 15 minutes. Break up any lumps before use. These can be stored in a cool dry place for several weeks!
This is a great way to perfectly match your sprinkles to your icing and it really easy!
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Frozen Buttercream Transfer
Here is a really cool technique that you can use to copy images to a cake. This was my very first time using this technique. Although it did not come out perfect, I was very happy with the result. My husband really likes whipped cream frosting which was a little more difficult to work with than buttercream (the whipped frosting was only used to ice the cake, not for the transfer image).
1. Find an image that you want to transfer. You can Google the image and then select and print the one you want. I chose a 1972 Chevelle for my husband and brother-in-law's cake because they both have owned them. Print it out and make sure it is the right size you want as you will be tracing it. Keep in mind, that the image will be reversed when on the cake so stay away from lettering unless you opt to print in mirror image from your computer.
2. Place the image on a hard surface (I used a cookie sheet). Take a piece of wax or parchment paper over top.
3. Fill a bag with a colored icing (I used black) and tip 1. Outline the image completely.
4. Fill in the rest of the image with the preferred colors. I used tip 2 to achieve this. You have to make sure that the frosting is even in height across the image.
Next, place the image still taped on the hard surface in the freezer for an hour or more. Ice your cake. When the hour is up. Take the image out, flip the parchment paper over on the cake and then quickly but carefully peel the paper back, leaving the image on the cake. If you need to alter the image in any way, you will need to wait about 20 minutes after transferring the image so that the buttercream is room temperature. Decorate the rest of the cake as you desire and you are done! I cannot wait to try this technique again and again and I assume that using a buttercream icing on the actual cake will produce a better result (you can see near the rear of the car how the image and whipped topping did not meet neatly).
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Baking a Large Cake Evenly
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Sports Cake
The sports balls are made of cake and were created using the Wilton Sports Ball Pan Set
.
I used star tip 18
and individually placed the stars on each of the cakes. It is really hard to see on the pictures. There is a nice tutorial on using the star tip on Wilton's website.
.I used star tip 18
and individually placed the stars on each of the cakes. It is really hard to see on the pictures. There is a nice tutorial on using the star tip on Wilton's website. 
I used a template to help make the soccer ball. I first outlined the pattern with tip 3, and then filled it in using the star tip. After the pattern was filled in, I outlined the pattern again to make the separation evident. It created a nice effect.
I used tip 233
to make a grass top. I used the same technique outlined in this post, just on a larger scale. 
So, making the stars was pretty painful after awhile. What was even more painful was when I went to place the basketball on the cake and accidentally dropped it onto the baseball. I had to scrape half of the frosting off of each and start over. The important thing is it turned out well and it tasted good.
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Tutorial: Decorating Cake Pops
One of my goals this year was to finally get a cake pop to look like they do in pictures. I tried to make some last year for my son's birthday using the baking and rolling method but found that they were too moist and heavy and fell right off the sticks. My husband and son bought me a BabyCakes Cake Pop Maker for my birthday and it is so easy to make the actual cake ball now!
Using this method, you simply make up your favorite cake batter (yes, boxed cake batter works just fine) and fill each ball cavity. I put my batter in a plastic bag and cut one end so I had a little more control and less of a mess. I did find that it works a bit better if you let the cake mix set for about 5-10 minutes before using the machine. You then close the lid and in 4-6 minutes, you have 12 cooked, perfectly formed cake balls! After they are formed, place them in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
Baking them is one thing, decorating is another. I have found over the years that working chocolate is one of my real weaknesses. But, I found a method that works great. I purchased some colored Make N Moldchips which I have found, through trial and error, work best. I placed them in a coffee mug and melted them for about 45-60 seconds in the microwave. It works best to have a narrow and deep container so you can really submerge the cake pop.
After the chocolate is melted, take acookie stick, dip in it in the chocolate, and insert them into the chilled cake ball. Then, quickly submerge the cake pop into the chocolate until the entire pop and part of the stick are covered. Lightly tap the stick on the side of the mug/container to remove excess chocolate. If you want to add sprinkles, nuts, coconut flakes, etc do this immediately so they will stick to the melted chocolate. I then inserted the stick into a sheet of foam which held the pops perfectly. After you are done, you can place the cake balls in the refrigerator so the chocolate solidifies. You can serve as is or wrap them in lollipop bags with ties.
I am so happy I figured this out. These are going to be favors at my daughter's birthday party and I already have plans for making seasonal ones for the kids to take to school for their holiday parties!
Using this method, you simply make up your favorite cake batter (yes, boxed cake batter works just fine) and fill each ball cavity. I put my batter in a plastic bag and cut one end so I had a little more control and less of a mess. I did find that it works a bit better if you let the cake mix set for about 5-10 minutes before using the machine. You then close the lid and in 4-6 minutes, you have 12 cooked, perfectly formed cake balls! After they are formed, place them in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
Baking them is one thing, decorating is another. I have found over the years that working chocolate is one of my real weaknesses. But, I found a method that works great. I purchased some colored Make N Moldchips which I have found, through trial and error, work best. I placed them in a coffee mug and melted them for about 45-60 seconds in the microwave. It works best to have a narrow and deep container so you can really submerge the cake pop.
After the chocolate is melted, take acookie stick, dip in it in the chocolate, and insert them into the chilled cake ball. Then, quickly submerge the cake pop into the chocolate until the entire pop and part of the stick are covered. Lightly tap the stick on the side of the mug/container to remove excess chocolate. If you want to add sprinkles, nuts, coconut flakes, etc do this immediately so they will stick to the melted chocolate. I then inserted the stick into a sheet of foam which held the pops perfectly. After you are done, you can place the cake balls in the refrigerator so the chocolate solidifies. You can serve as is or wrap them in lollipop bags with ties.
I am so happy I figured this out. These are going to be favors at my daughter's birthday party and I already have plans for making seasonal ones for the kids to take to school for their holiday parties!
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