Read The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating Online
Authors: Ruth Clemens
The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating (8 page)
7 Use your hands and the smoother to finish off the cut edge. Set to one side and allow to dry before decorating.
1 To cover a mini-cake, roll out a square of sugarpaste (rolled fondant) as you would for a larger cake, however it will only need to be approximately 16cm (6
1
â
4
in) round. Use to cover the mini-cake as described for a larger cake (see
Covering a cake with sugarpaste
).
2 Because of their size it is often easier to polish the icing using two smoothers, one in each hand on either side of the mini-cake.
| Size | Round | Square |
| 15cm (6in) | 600g (1lb 5oz) | 650g (1 1 â 2 lb) |
| 18cm (7in) | 800g (1 3 â 4 lb) | 900g (2lb) |
| 20cm (8in) | 1kg (2 1 â 4 lb) | 1.2kg (2 1 â 2 lb) |
| 23cm (9in) | 1.2kg (2 1 â 2 lb) | 1.4kg (3lb) |
| 25cm (10in) | 1.4kg (3lb) | 1.75kg (3 3 â 4 lb) |
| 28cm (11in) | 1.75kg (3 3 â 4 lb) | 1.9kg (4lb 3oz) |
| 30.5cm (12in) | 2.2kg (4 3 â 4 lb) | 2.25kg (5lb) |
Covering a cake board in sugarpaste (rolled fondant) before mounting your cake makes the whole project look much more professional. Always cover boards if you have the time, they can be decorated to match your cake too!
Water sprays are useful pieces of kit that can be picked up in little travel sets and are small and easy to store.
1 Roll out the sugarpaste to a depth of 3mm (
1
â
8
in), measuring the size needed using string. While still flat on the work surface, polish using an icing smoother.
2 Lightly mist the cake board with a water spray.
3 Lift the sugarpaste using your rolling pin and lay down over the board. Polish again with the icing smoother.
4 Trim the excess sugarpaste from the board using a sharp knife in the same way you would trim excess pastry from a pie. Smooth the cut edge with the palm of your hand. Emboss if desired (see
Embossing
). Set to one side and allow to dry before decorating.
“To cover mini-cake boards, make life easier by matching the size of the cake card to that of a round cutter. Cut out the circle and adhere to the card â hey presto!”
1 Run a length of double-sided tape around the edge of the board.
2 Fix the ribbon into place and secure at the back with a pearl-headed pin.
To colour sugarpaste (rolled fondant) and royal icing it is best to use edible gel paste colours. These colours are extremely concentrated. Recommended brands include Wilton, Sugarflair and Squires Kitchen (see
Suppliers
). Powder colours are used for dusting and can also be mixed with a little clear alcohol (vodka or gin) to form a paint, which can be applied with a brush. Liquid colours, available in supermarkets, are far less concentrated in colour and quickly change the consistency of sugarpaste or royal icing and so are best avoided.
Beware when needing strength in royal icing for line and lace work â gel paste colours contain glycerine, which can weaken the icing, so consider using a powder in this instance. A little gum tragacanth (often known as âgum trag') can be beaten into royal icing to strengthen it. Use the chart, right, to mix specific colours.
| Colour | Combination (in parts) |
| Red-orange | 1 red + 3 orange |
| Baby pink | 1 â 2 pink |
| Dusky pink | 1 pink + 1 â 2 brown |
| Bright pink | 3 pink |
| Pinky red | 1 red + 1 pink |
| Fuchsia | 1 purple + 2 pink |
| Soft yellow | 1 yellow + 1 â 2 orange |
| Yellow orange | 2 yellow + 2 orange |
| Flesh | 1 â 2 pink + 1 â 2 yellow |
| Salmon | 1 pink + 1 orange |
| Lime | 2 green + 4 yellow |
| Sage | 2 green + 1 brown |
| Leaf | 4 green +1 brown + 1 â 2 blue |
| Teal | 1 green + 1 blue |
| Baby blue | 1 blue |
| Bright blue | 3 blue |
| Dark blue | 5 blue + 4 purple |
| Violet | 1 blue + 1 purple |
| Mauve | 1 â 2 purple + 1 â 2 pink |
| Lilac | 1 purple |
| Deep purple | 3 purple |
Many varied shades of sugarpaste can be achieved using just the three primary colours at the centre of the wheel, red, yellow and blue. Mixing equal amounts of each gel paste colour will create the colours within the middle ring. To create the shades in the outer ring, add an additional amount of one of the primary colours e.g. mixing a little blue with a lot of yellow will create a lime green colour.
1 Knead white sugarpaste till soft and pliable on a work surface lightly dusted with icing (confectioners') sugar.
2 Form into a sausage shape and flatten. Using a cocktail stick (toothpick), add the gel paste colour to the centre of the flattened sugarpaste.
3 Pinch together the edges of the sugarpaste to seal the gel inside. Roll the sausage between your hands to begin to spread the gel from the middle out through the sausage. Keep folding the sausage to bury the colour into the middle again. Repeat until the colour is spread evenly through the sugarpaste.
