Decorating Techniques

This is when you make the most of the important decisions like what type of cake you’re planning on making, what shape and flavors, along with how you plan on decorating it. You need to ensure that you also have the right amount of cake and icing, and by planning you can ensure that you also minimize wastage. Drawing a quick sketch of your cake can also help you envision what you hope to achieve.

as mentioned, preparation is key when making cakes. And in order to have a good finished product you need to ensure that you have a good base to work on. This means you will have to ensure that your cake surface is nice and flat and smooth. You can do this by levelling it with a serrated knife, like a bread knife or a cake leveller. But first you should ensure that your cake has fully cooled, and even storing in the refrigerator can prevent the cake from crumbling less.
To level the cake, and cut layers use your knife by sawing through the cake in a gentle back and forward motion, with your hand resting flat on the top of the cake. You should only punt a little bit of pressure and allow for the sharp edge of the blade to do the work. You can hide any gaps or unevenness with frosting, but as long as you have a relatively smooth cake base, these flaws will be hidden by frosting and icing.

When choosing a frosting, you not only need to consider the taste, but also the texture and the consistency. You also need to ensure that the weight of the frosting will ensure stability of the cake. For example using a heavy frosting like cream cheese frosting on a light cake like and angel food cake or a sponge will not work, and ultimately will lead to the cake collapsing.

 Now this stage can be tricky and is also when having a basic understanding colour theory can also come into play. Gel food colours are very concentrated and the most recommended for colouring frosting, unlike water based colourings it does not separate the frosting and powder based colours tend to use a significant amount in order to achieve the same vivid results.
In order to achieve these results, you should use a toothpick and dip it into the gel colour and transfer it to the icing that way. This prevents from contaminating the icing and also the colour. Use a fresh toothpick for each colour added and ensure that you have fully incorporated the colour by scraping along the sides and bottom. Also remember that a little bit goes a long way, so it is best to start by only adding a small amount of colouring and slowly working it to the desired colour rather than adding a heap at one stage. Once you’ve made an icing a vivid colour, it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to lighten it or add extra colours without turning it into a grey/brownish mess. Also, if you want to really intensify the colour of your buttercream, mix the colour until a couple shades lighter than the desired colour, and allow for the buttercream to sit for a couple of hours. This allows for the colour to truly develop and intensify, and if you want to create an even deeper and richer colour, put the buttercream in the fridge overnight.
If you’re wanting to make darker colours in buttercream like black or brown, you should start with a darker base like a chocolate buttercream. This means you’re also not using as much gel colouring to also achieve the consistency.
However, in order to make a true red colour you need to ensure that you’re starting with a pure white base, as a slightly yellow base can turn the final colour result into a warmer toned red and sometimes even make it look orange. Also, as red uses quite a considerable amount of colouring to achieve a vibrant and deep colour which can affect both the consistency and taste of the buttercream, it is recommended to let red coloured buttercream sit for a couple hours before using.

 This step can be where you choose to finish decorating your cake, for example if you’re making a naked layer cake or a simple layer cake without frosting around the outside. However if you’re planning on decorating on the outside, by completing this step successfully will ensure that your cake is not lopsided and will stay in place.
In order to ensure that the cake does not move around on the plate or board, place a small dob of frosting directly onto the centre of surface which the cake will be displayed on. Then layer your first cake layer directly on top of that and press down lightly on the cake with a flat hand. This small amount of frosting will adhere the cake to the surface and prevent it from moving during the decorating process.
Next you can layer with a layer of frosting or glaze on the top of the first cake layer. You can spoon it directly on with your offset spatula, working from the centre to the outer edge moving the spatula back and forward whilst turning the cake board on the turntable. This will ensure an even spread of frosting.
To get an event more constituent spread of frosting pipe it on with a large round piping tip. First start by piping a large circle on the outer edge of the cake. This will give a great border should you wish to include another filling such as jam or glaze. Then pipe in a circular motion from the outside, moving inwards keeping the pressure on the piping bag the same in order to allow for the same amount of icing to be dispersed.
This can then be completed for each additional layer, and for the top of the cake also. So that your cake stays nice and straight, check the sides of the cake against a straight edge such a ruler after applying each layer, and slightly adjust as you need.