|
|
Frugal
Living Thrift
Saving Money Penny Pinching
Home
Frugal Living Tips and Frugal
Living Articles for Frugal Happy Families
|
Search Frugal and Simple Living Sites by Keyword
Below
|
Simple
Step By Step Cake Decorating
by John Knollwood
It is interesting to note just how many people are a bit
intimidated by the art of cake decorating. This is unfortunate because it is
actually fairly simple to learn how to make a cake just as beautifully as any
professional baker can. It just takes some time spent in learning the basics
about step by step cake decorating.
There are a few really powerful "insider" tips that can make it remarkably
easy to get the most impressive results possible. These include:
1. Freezing the cake layers - one of the best ways to create a
flawless base for the many different decoration techniques is to ensure that it
is entirely free of crumbs, and the best way to do this is to freeze each of the
layers first. Be sure, however, to protect the integrity of the cakes and to
prevent them from becoming too dry by simply wrapping them tightly and allowing
them to remain in the freezer for only a few days altogether;
2. Level and trim the cake layers - while the cakes are still frozen,
you must be absolutely sure to level the tops and bottoms, and to master the art
of "torting" as well. This is the splitting of a layer into two or more
segments, and this actually requires some practice and skill to get right;
3. Understanding the appropriate textures for the frosting - if you
are going to assemble a cake properly, you need to understand the different
icings, fillings, and frostings that are used in the assembly process. You
cannot hope to achieve top-notch results if the textures of the materials are
not under your complete control;
4. Smoothing the surface - it may seem like the most basic of steps,
but you should learn which tools and techniques work the best for you where the
smoothing of the base layer of frosting is concerned. This where all of the
decoration is done, and it isn't as easy as it seems to create a perfectly
smooth and flat surface, so it is important to work hard to get this right.
You may have noticed that most of these techniques will require practice in
order to master them, and this is a "step" that a lot of people skip. This is a
true recipe for disaster because it puts too much pressure on the person making
the cake to successfully accomplish the best job possible without having first
mastered the basic steps.
This, finally, is the last and most important part of the process for
learning exactly how to decorate cakes perfectly. It may sound like a classic
cliché, but you must believe that "practice makes perfect" is really true where
cake decorating techniques are concerned. Once you become familiar with the way
to handle the basic materials, you will begin to find that even your preliminary
efforts at cake decorating are nearly always perfect and attractive. Even when
they are not all that you hoped they would be, you get the valuable experience
and the tastiest "mistakes" to enjoy!
John Knollwood is the author of "Cake Decorating Made Easy" mini
course. If you want to learn more about
step by step cake decorating, visit
http://www.CakeDecoratingAnswers.com |
Home
|
|