How to Decorate Your Cake the Right Way

It takes a lot of patience and perseveration to become a master at cake decorating. You will find that your efforts are all worth it in the end, especially if you become famous in the cake industry. It also takes some creativity and a little imagination to succeed in this art.

When you make the batter, you need to make sure it has the same level throughout the pan. This is important for the cake to bake evenly. You may want to check it before placing it in the oven, and then check every twenty minutes to really make sure that one side does not bake higher. A cake with an uneven surface will ruin your decoration and icing. If you have done all these and the cake still comes out uneven, use a knife to even out the surface. Do this while the cake is still warm; it will be very difficult to do once the cake has turned cold.

Cool the cake for at least twenty-four hours before decorating it. Decorating a warm cake will ruin everything.

When the cake is cooled, take a cake board and place the cake upside down. This is done to ensure that there are fewer crumbs. To completely avoid crumbs, put a thin layer of icing around the cake. After that, you can place another layer of icing on the cake. Make sure the icing is smooth and even as you try to cover the entire cake with it. To smooth the icing, you can a dip metal icing spatula in cold water and use it to go over the icing.

Since icing is the most important ingredient in cake decorating, it should have the right qualities to withstand any design. A stiff icing is what you need, but in any case, if you have one that is too stiff, you can always thin it out. You are going to need a lot of frosting for your decorations, so be sure that you have enough. After making the icing, you are going to need some food coloring to add color to your cake decoration. You should know beforehand what colors you need. Prepare enough of these colors for your decoration.

You will also need some materials before you can start decorating your cake. You will need a lot of pastry bags, some icing tips, and a coupler to hold the tips in the bag. You may also want to buy a cake stand. Other essentials include cake pans, a rubber spatula, a short and a long metal cake icing spatula, a sharp knife, and a baking tray. You can buy these things from a craft store or a cake decorating store in your neighborhood.

Begin icing the cake by choosing the tip that you need. Prepare all the other materials such as the pastry bag and waxed paper. Take hold of the pastry bag and with the hole down, place the tip inside, as far as possible. Get a bowl and place some icing in it. Use this for your first attempt. Thin the icing with a little milk if you think that it is too thick for your design. The icing should be thin enough to go through the tip but thick enough for your chosen design. If you are still a beginner and you do not want to make mistakes, you can try practicing on a piece of wax paper before decorating the cake.

Once you are ready to ice the cake, hold the bag with both hands and apply a steady pressure. The icing should come out of the hole as an even strip. Place the bag closely over the cake as you begin squeezing. Lift the tip up and away from the cake as you finish your design.

If you find that the icing cannot hold together, you did not get the right icing consistency. You probably made the icing too thin. On the other hand, if the frosting does not go through the tip easily, then the frosting is too thick.

If you failed at your first few attempts in cake decorating, you can always try again. Cake decorating cannot be perfected overnight-it needs a lot of skill and experience to arrive at a perfect design. Be patient enough and practice-someday you just might achieve your dream.