The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating (20 page)

Round cakes: 20cm (8in) and 25cm (10in), both prepared for covering

30cm (12in) round cake board

Round cake cards: 20cm (8in) and 25cm (10in)

Four plastic cake dowels

Sugarpaste: white, turquoise and bright pink

Buttercream or royal icing

Round cutters: medium and small

Posy pick

13 silver florists’ wires

12mm (
¹
⁄
₂
in) wide pink ribbon

Pearl-headed pins

Basic equipment (see
Equipment
)

1 Roll out the turquoise sugarpaste to a 3mm (
¹
⁄
₈
in) thickness and cover the cake board (see
Covering a board with sugarpaste
). Set aside.

2 Place each cake on the corresponding size cake card and cover each with a thin layer of white sugarpaste (see
Covering a cake with sugarpaste
). Try to make this first layer as neat as possible – it will be covered up but will help get a super finish on your final layer. Allow the boards and cakes to dry out overnight before assembling and decorating.

3 Take each cake in turn, spray with a light mist of water and cover with turquoise sugarpaste rolled out to a 5mm (
³
⁄
₁₆
in) thickness, polishing to a super finish with an icing smoother.

4 Apply a small smear of buttercream or royal icing to the centre of the covered cake board. Position the 25cm (10in) cake in the centre of the board.

5 Dowel the base cake (see
Stacking a tiered cake
) and then lift the smaller cake into position, securing with a little buttercream or royal icing.

6 Take the medium round cutter and cut out circles from the turquoise layer. The drier white layer underneath will help when cutting out the circles, as you will feel when the cutter reaches it. Turn the cutter in a drilling motion around and around until the circle is cut out.

7 Cut out circles around the entire cake then repeat with the smaller round cutter.

8 Roll out some bright pink sugarpaste to around 3mm (
¹
⁄
₈
in) thick on your work surface lightly dusted with icing (confectioners’) sugar to stop it sticking.

9 Using the cutters that made the holes, cut out bright pink circles, brush the backs with a little water and fit them into the cut-out holes. Repeat until all the holes have been filled.

10 Roll a multitude of turquoise and bright pink balls and position in alternating colours around the base of each cake, securing with dabs of water.

11 To make the wired cake topper, take 12 lengths of florists’ wire. Tightly wind the 13th piece of wire around the bases of the wires to secure them together (see
Making a wired cake topper
).

12 Push the wires into a small posy pick so that they sit tightly. Stand the pick in a potato or an apple to hold it steady while you work on it. Bend the wires into position by running them through your fingers – in the same way as you would curl a ribbon using scissors – and twist a small hook in the end of each wire.

13 Roll numerous small and medium balls of pink and turquoise sugarpaste. Insert the hooked end of the wires into the balls and squeeze lightly to secure. Add a ring of small balls in alternating colours around the base of the posy pick.

14 Trim the edge of the board with the pink ribbon, securing at the back with a pearl-headed pin.

Cake decorating can be frustrating at times when things don’t quite work out the way you wanted. I did this to a cake in my early decorating days, late at night and in sheer frustration (yes, my husband was rather alarmed!). Please try not to resort to this! Remember you’re always learning, keep practising, appreciate what you have achieved and most importantly give it a go!

It is important to prepare a large cake properly for decorating, adding the buttercream/frosting layer which will stick the sugarpaste (rolled fondant) to the cake. Buttercream really needs to be made with butter rather than a margarine/low-fat spread so that when chilled it will set firm – that will not happen with spreads. This layer needs to be chilled until firm before covering your cake otherwise the filling in the middle of the cake will be soft and will cause an unsightly bulge in the sugarpaste around the sides of the cake.

•  If your cupcakes suffer from a huge volcano effect when baked in the oven this has been caused by either too much mixture in the paper liners or an oven that is too hot. Try turning down the oven temperature next time you bake for gentler baking conditions for your cupcakes, allowing the centres of the cakes to cook at the same rate as the crust forms on the tops. Trim off the excess domes of your cupcakes before decorating if necessary – these trimmings are the baker’s treat!

•  I’m often asked what causes paper liners to peel away from cakes. There are a few things that contribute to this – the main culprit is moisture. Excess moisture can come from a range of places; lemon cupcakes are the worst for this, but underbaked cupcakes and using a margarine/spread with a high water content instead of butter will cause it too. Make sure cupcakes are not allowed to cool in the tin (pan) too long before placing on a wire cooling rack. They will start to sweat and the steam will start to separate the cases from the cakes.

•  Dry and burnt cakes can often be rescued by trimming away any burnt bits and then brushing them with a sugar syrup. To make the syrup, combine 180g (6
¹
⁄
₂
oz) caster (superfine) sugar with 225ml (8fl oz) water in a medium saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. You can also flavour this syrup with 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla, lemon or orange extract for an extra hit of flavour. This syrup can be brushed over the tops of cakes and will work to restore moisture. Useful in a baking emergency!