Cake Deco Recap
Posted: February 15th, 2011 | Author: bettybecca | Filed under: BettyBecca Bakes | 7 Comments »
Decorating my cake
Last Saturday I enjoyed a cake decorating class at Sweet Wise given to me by Mr. J for Christmas. I really loved it! We were given pre-baked rounds of cake to work with and delicious buttercream. We stacked them up with icing in between and gave the outside a quick crumb coat. Also called dirty ice, this layer locks in all of the crumbs that could sneak out and ruin the beautiful finishing coat of icing.
While we waited for this layer to set, we filled our bags with colors. We gave our cakes a thick outer coating and gave the sides a texture. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally got a texture I liked. While this layer set, we watched the instructor go over the techniques. We learned a several types of borders, stars, drop flowers, leaves, vines, and even a fondant rose. I loved making the rose. It was so easy and turned out so pretty!
Once the icing was set, we used parchment paper to smooth out the top of our cake. It was a neat trick that worked very well. You’re supposed to work from the bottom to the top as you decorate so that you don’t hit anything with your hand as you work. It’s important to work with small batches of icing in your bag or it will begin to melt as you work. It is BUTTERcream after all. My icing did begin to melt because my bag was too full, but it was ok for practice. I started off my decorating with a shell boarder. It’s very important to have control and get your wrist movement just right. Practice is definitely important to learning this one.
After I made it all the way around the bottom, I placed 6 drop flowers in pink around the top of my cake. The yellow centers are Sixlets. Those are very tasty! Next I started placing the grape bunches or hyacinth looking designs around in between the drop flowers. These were made up of lots of little stars.
When those were in place, I added leaves and vines by changing out the tips on the dark green. I practiced writing with something silly and placed my roses in the void. The class was so fun, and I’d definitely take a few more. I don’t care for fondant covered cakes, but I’d love to do more with flowers. I bought some fondant at the store next door to practice with. The store had a great selection!
I served the cake at my Super Bowl party the next day, and it was DELISH! I couldn’t take any credit for the taste, but it was to die for. I’d love to have the recipe for my collection.
Finished cake
Wow, that looks professional…I mean, just one cake decorating class isn’t going to teach you that, you’ve got skills sista!
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