5 Tips and Tricks for Decorating the Perfect Cake

Love to decorate cakes but hate the hassle and frustration? Here are some tried-and-true tips to make your next cake a show stopper, and to make decorating it fun and easy.

Smooth things out:
A hot knife can be used to smooth out thick frosting, and will help you cut a clean, even, crumb-free slice. Just keep a towel and a tall glass of hot water near while you're frosting and decorating so you can easily smooth things out whenever you need to.

Keep the edges clean:
You'll probably want to place your cake on your serving platter before decorating, so here's a tip to help you keep the icing and frosting off of your serving platter while decorating. Simply cut four strips of aluminum foil or waxed paper, and lay them around the edges of your platter, so they'll overlap with the underside of your cake. Then place your first layer of cake on top of the strips, so that the platter is protected, and the very edges of the cake are sitting on top of the paper or foil. When you're done decorating your cake, gently remove the strips, leaving your platter beautifully clean!

Innovative Fillings:
If you love finding an exciting layer in between slabs of cake, try this! Follow this recipe from MarthaStewart.com for homemade marshmallows, and simply place a glob of marshmallow between the layers of your cake after finishing step four. Smooth the glob out so that your cake layers can sit evenly, and after letting it sit out for a little while to cool down, frost the cake, smoothing right over the marshmallow layer when you get to the edges. It's an exciting, easy filling, and your friends and family will all be begging you for the recipe!
Note: Cakes with marshmallow centers are delicious, but can be challenging to slice. Just remember to use a hot knife and to make deliberate downward strokes.

Tint it!
Especially if you're making a cake for a child's party, sporting event, or school-related function, tinting both the cake and frosting with food coloring can make a delightfully fun presentation, and make the cake a memorable part of the event. Simply stir gel or liquid food dyes directly into your frosting and cake batter, and then proceed to bake and assemble as usual. Creating your own signature color by mixing multiple colors together can be a fun, rewarding experiment, and is a great way to get your children to help you in the kitchen.

Use uncommon decorations:
Sure, pretty much every type of candy has been pressed into a cake at one time or another, but using more unconventional sweets, like cookies, Necco wafers, gummi creatures, or licorice ropes to create designs and patterns on your cake is a fun, creative way to make your cake stand out. Try this great idea using Nilla wafers and Necco wafers: cut several Nilla wafers in half and press them into the bottom of your cake, with the flat edge lined up with the bottom edge of the cake. This will create a scalloped edge along the bottom of your cake. Then, use Necco wafers (thin disc-shaped candies) to add to the pattern by placing one above the place where each of the Nilla wafers meet. You can experiment with any patterns and placement you choose, but I've always found that using cookies and candies with very distinct, regular shapes is an easy way to create eye-pleasing designs on your show-stopping confections.

Too tired to decorate? Serving a cake with real whipped cream, fruity sauces, or chocolate sauce will make it special, and you can let your family or friends dress their own slices at the table, so it's less work for you!

I hope these ideas inspire you to try something new with your next cake, and that you utilize some of my tips, to make it a rewarding, efficient experience!