Cake Decorating Instruction

For beginner cake decorators, one of the hardest things to overcome is uneven icing. It takes some practice to attain a nice smooth finish to the buttercream on the cake.

Chill the cake before you start frosting. A warm cake is more apt to break apart. Chill before and after filling it. Often, if you frost the cake right after you fill it, later on the filling will bulge out of the middle of the cake. By chilling first, the cake has time to settle and anything that wants to squeeze out of the sides can be smoothed with the spatula.

When working with any round cake, a lazy susan can make the job much easier. This tool allows you to turn the cake while you are frosting the sides so there are fewer start and stop marks on the cake. You may want to crumb coat your cake before getting started. Use either a very thin consistency buttercream to glaze the whole cake or brush it with thinned apricot jam. Thin the jam with hot water and strain it before applying it with a pastry brush. (You should also chill the cake after this step).

A quick way to get the icing on the cake is to use a large cake decorating tip to pipe it all over the cake before spreading it. The #789 Wilton cake decorating tip works great for this. It's such a big tip that you'll need to devote a cake decorating bag to it because the hole is much too big to hold a coupler. Once you cut the hole, just drop the tip right into the bag. If you're not using this tip then carefully place the icing on the side of the cake and push from the middle of the icing outward. You don't want to drag the spatula across the cake. That pulls crumbs into the icing and can tear the cake. Medium consistency buttercream works best. If it's too thin, it will slide off the cake. Too thick and it will tear the cake and be very difficult to spread.

Start piping the icing on the cake, starting from the base. Hold the tip against the cake so the lines are facing inward. Pipe all around the bottom and then start another line of icing all around the cake right above the last one. Continue all the way up the cake, going a little past the top of the cake. This extra overlap of icing at the top will help to make a cleaner edge on the cake. Now use either a metal spatula, a bowl scraper or a spackle knife held vertically against the side of the cake at a 45 degree angle to smooth the sides. Scrape off excess icing as you go. Continue going over the sides until they're pretty even.

Next, pipe icing on top of the cake. Using your spatula again, pull the icing from the edge of the cake towards the center. Each time you do this, wipe off the excess icing. After you've done this all around the edge, take the spatula and go straight across the top. Do this to the entire top of the cake. Any excess icing on the edge can be lifted off.

Not every type of buttercream crusts. If you do use crusting buttercream, you can do the next step to get the icing really smooth. Let the cake sit for at least 15 minutes. Touch the icing and see if it's hardened. If it comes off on your finger, wait a little longer. Now, take either a Viva paper towel (patterned paper towels won't work for this), wax paper or parchment paper and lay it on the side of the cake. Use the spatula again to smooth across the paper towel a few times. Move the paper towel to the next spot and repeat. Do this to the entire cake. The wax paper and parchment paper don't bend as easily but they will still work.

Theresa Happe is a baker, cake decorator and co-creator of CakesWeBake.com, a social network for cake decorating where you will find thousands of cake ideas , cake photos, cake decorating videos, a live chat and forum.

If you want to learn cake decorating techniques you may think you need to spend a lot of money on DVDs or take classes in person. That isn't true. All you need are some good cake decorating books that are well illustrated and you can learn on your own and save time and money. Just be sure to buy books that are filled with easy to follow pictures. You can use the money you save on classes to buy some extra cake decorating tools.

All these books need to have instructions that are easy to understand. They should explain every step from preparing the cake for decorating to putting on the finishing touches, in a way that you can clearly comprehend. There is nothing worse than instructions that don't make total sense. You do not want to have to fight to recognize what the book is trying to say.

The books you choose should be filled with clear high quality photographs that show you how to do the cake decorating techniques you are trying to learn. The better the pictures are and the more of them there are, the easier it will be for you to learn. For that reason, you should ensure you buy a book that has pictures.

The cake decorating books should also show you how to prepare that cake to be iced. Like how the crumbs need to be brushed off prior to icing. Also tricks to stacking the cake layers right too. Decorating starts with the cake not the icing. The cake will look prettier when iced if the proper prep is done on it.

Recommendations should be made as far as which icings are good for decorating and which are not. Then the books should show the cake decorating techniques from piping to making flowers. These are often tricky to perfect so the more detailed the instructions the better it is.

There are many books that you can buy. Take your time and look through them and pick out a good one that will make it easy for you to learn on your own. You will be decorating your first cake much quicker than you would be by signing up for a class and for a lot less money too. Books are a great way to get started.

Just think about your child's next birthday party and you being able to show off a cake you decorated. You and your child will be so proud. You can make beautiful birthday cakes for friends and family too. An anniversary is another great occasion to decorate a cake for. Of course almost all occasions can use a fancy or fun cake.

These cake decorating books could even help you start your own business. Once word gets around that you are skilled at making beautiful cakes, your friends and family will want you to make cakes for their occasions too. Your cake decorating expertise could turn into a successful source of income.

If you want to start cake decorating ensure you check out Natalie Baker's website about Cake Decorating Books and how you can find out about beautiful Cake Decorating Techniques from them.

	The International School of Sugarcraft Book Two (Bk.2) List Price: $27.95 Sale Price: $15.68 Average Rating:
	This volume, created for more experienced decorators, teaches the intricate and sophisticated skills of tube and brush embroidery, lace, figure modeling, sugar flower sprays, bas relief, pastillage and filigree.

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	This quirky collection of celebration cakes boasts the unique but easily achievable modelling skills of internationally renowned cake designer and sugercrafter Maisie Parrish. Each design has true character and unique charm and is ideal for a celebration with a difference, from birthday ballerina mice to carol-singing penguins...