How To Frost A Cake
Youre doing the same thing as the above crumb coat just with more frosting, and this time you want to completely cover up the cake layers. This is called your top coat.
Cut The Top For A Flat Surface
In order to end up with a finished dessert that has perfectly even and angled edges, there is one essential step to take, well before you frost your dessert:
Take a look at your cake rounds. If the tops are curved with a little hump or mound, it is absolutely necessary to cut off the tops.
I may have failed shop class in middle school, but I do understand that it is much easier to build off of a flat structure than one that is rounded.
From a visual standpoint, your finished product will look cleaner, neater, and more professionally designed with all of those gorgeous right angles!
To achieve this perfect pastry plateau, use a serrated knife or cake leveler and carefully saw the rounded portion off of the top to make a flat surface.
Go at a slow pace especially if you are using a serrated knife to ensure that you are a cutting an even line across the entire round.
After gently brushing off any crumbs, your layers are ready for decorating!
Introduction To Cake Decorating
Understanding the function of ingredients
Essential piping and professional finishing skills
Key components to successful cake decorating
What You Get
Carry bag to take home goods made in class
Dress Code
Participants are advised to wear flat, enclosed, rubber soled shoes for comfort and safety in the kitchens. To ensure food safety procedures are followed, long hair should be tied back and all unnecessary jewellery removed.
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What You Need To Make Your First Cake Shopping List
Tools Recommended *note: this list contains affiliate links which do not cost you anything but I may make a few bucks off the sale*
I was inspired to make this post because my daughters teacher approached me one day asking if I had any tips on how to make a cake for the first time. It was her Mothers birthday and she had never baked or decorated a cake but had her heart on making one.
Of course, I had tons of links to send her, recipes, videos and more and I could tell she looked a little overwhelmed. It then occurred to me at that moment that I had never made a video showing someone who had never made a cake, how to make one from start to finish.
Which is really ironic because I myself not that long ago picked up my first box mix and can of lemon frosting to make my first cake and I had no idea what I was doing. I remember having a lot of questions about the process but at the time, no one to ask.
Why was the cake so soft and why is it cracking?
Why wont this frosting stick to the side of the cake?
Is it supposed to taste like this?
So here is my complete guide on how to make a cake for the very first time from start to finish! Even if youve never made a cake before, this will clear it all up for you. I recommend you read through this entire post first before you start baking so you can be sure to have all your tools and ingredients ready to go. I prefer to bake the day before I need the cake so I have time to let the cake rest and chill.
Stacking And Filling Your Cake
Time to start stacking our cake! Start by placing your cake board onto the turntable and center it. Place a small dollop of buttercream on the board and put your first cake layer on the board. There should be a little space all the way around your cake between the cake and the board.
Place a big dollop of buttercream on top of the layer and use your offset spatula to push the buttercream to the edges of the cake. Then hold the spatula at a 45º angle, with the tip in the center of the buttercream and turn the cake slowly to flatten out the buttercream. Keep your spatula level so that the layer of buttercream is level.
I will periodically get down to eye level with the buttercream to check and see if its got a dome in the center or if it is nice and flat. A flat cake is a stable cake.
Optional: Fill Your Cake With Strawberry Puree and Strawberry Buttercream
If you want to spice up your filling, you can easily add some flavoring to your buttercream like a strawberry puree. You can fill your cake with straight strawberry but you need a very thin layer or your cake layers will slip around too easily. You can use my strawberry puree recipe but when you use fresh fruit, it always has to be refrigerated which can make the cake taste dry because the butter in the cake is cold.
I like to use this shelf stable strawberry filling that a lot of bakeries use. You can mix a little into your buttercream and make it flavored or you can spread a little straight onto your cake layers.
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How To Decorate A Cake
Now you can decorate your cake! This is actually the easiest part now that we have built our cake and frosted it so well, you have a nice clean canvas to start with!
For my cake, I placed some sprinkles into a large bowl and held my cake in my left hand. With my right hand I scooped up some sprinkles and pressed it to the sides of the cake, letting the excess fall back into the bowl. Dont worry, your cake will be ok!
Next, lets pipe some pretty rosettes for the top of the cake. I place my piping tip into my piping bag and cut off the end of the bag so the tip opening fits through the end. Dont cut too much off or the piping tip will fall out of the bag.
If you want to color your buttercream, just place a couple of big scoops into a bowl and add a couple of drops of your food coloring. Mix with a spatula until there arent any streaks left.
Next, place the bag into a cup and fold the edges down around the sides. This makes it easier to scoop some buttercream into the bag. You dont need a lot.
To pipe even rosettes, I pipe the first rosette and then turn the cake 90º so that the rosette is directly across from me. Then I pipe my second. Then I turn my cake 45º and do the same thing, basically piping directly between the first two rosettes and then I do the same on the other side. Then I just fill in the space between with two more rosettes. That way all my rosettes are the same size and spaced evenly.
The last thing I do is add some more sprinkles to the top of the cake!
Buddy Valastro Decorates Cakes And Dishes Up Advice At Vita Novayour Browser Indicates If You’ve Visited This Link
The show features Buddy Valastro, the “Cake Boss,” as he runs a bakery. Valastro has gained a reputation as a baker of extreme cakes with out-of-the-box designs. Valastro recently made a visit to the university’s Vita Nova restaurant and gave a cake decorating demonstration while talking about experiences from his career and life.
udreview.com
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Best For Advanced Decorating Techniques: Cakeheads
Cakeheads
Why We Chose It: Shawna McGreevy was picked by Cake Masters as one of the top 10 cake artists in the United States, and she explains all her tips and tricks down to the tiny details on her elaborate cakes.
ProsGood mix of free and paid tutorialsFacebook group with over 1.3 million membersTutorials explore different techniquesConsSome might not like the videos’ casual approach
Cakeheads is the website by Shawna McGreevy, a self-proclaimed cake-making addict. Her enthusiasm shows with her stunning cakes and tutorials on her site. Expect a more casual approach to her videos, but the knowledge she imparts is 100 percent professional, with tips and instructions on how to make everything down to the small details.
With more than 1.3 million members in her Facebook group, theres also a robust community of cake decorators who love to share their work and knowledge. In fact, some of the tutorials on her site are made by her members, including how to make edible lace, how to make sugar poppies and vines, and how to model and make Frankensteins face. All these different perspectives mean Cakeheads is a great resource for learning advanced and different decorating techniques and tips on achieving stunning and showstopping cakes.
There are plenty of free tutorials on the website but most of them focus on details of the cake . If you want to learn how to make the entire cake and have access to the aforementioned Facebook group, its $20 per month or $180 per year.
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Fix The Edges And Smooth The Sides
The edge of the cake, where the top meets the side, will have some excess, uneven icing around it. But theres a way to fix this.
Using the edge of an offset spatula or metal bench scraper, lightly press down and push the icing towards the center, blending the excess with the rest of the icing.
To get a cleaner top layer on the top and sides, dip your offset spatula in hot water and wipe with a towel. Gently run the spatula around the sides and top. The heat from the metal will gently melt the top layer of the frosting, creating a smoother appearance.
Wipe away any excess icing that is on the board with a damp towel.
Basic & Beautiful Piping Tips
Piping tips might seem intimidating, so lets break everything down in this simple piping tips 101 course. It takes a little practice, some visual guidance, and a really dependable frosting recipe like my sturdy creamy vanilla buttercream. I gravitate towards the following 5 piping tips. Each create a completely different look, so thats why its a wonderful starter collection.
One note:I create TWO looks with the Wilton 1M. Thats the tip I use and recommend for two-toned frosting roses, but its also the tip I use to create soft-serve looking swirls as shown in the video tutorial above.
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How To Decorate A Cake Like A Boss
So, lets look at how you put the cake together. First thing you need is the actual ice cream cakes. I Love Ice Cream Cakes has several yummy options. I used the OREO one, but the original Carvel is obviously a great choice. They also now have ones with chocolate chip cookies, strawberry crunchies and more such decisions! Youll want two of whichever cake you choose, so we can stack them.
Once you have your cakes, youll want to make the whipped cream . Spread some whipped cream onto the top of the first ice cream cake, just enough to fill in the center of the piping already on top of the cake. Add the second cake to the top of the first one.
How much do you love seeing two delicious Oreo ice cream cakes stacked on top of each other?! Double the goodness!
Next up set aside a little bit of the remaining whipped cream and color that with green gel icing color. With the remaining whipped cream, divide it up. Set aside a small amount for the darker shade of pink and then color the rest a lighter shade of pink. I used pink gel icing color and just added a little more to the darker pink.
Be sure to pop the cake back in the freezer after the crumb coat has been added so the cake can firm back up a bit. Once its ready, add the final coat of whipped cream then pop it back in the freezer for a bit.
Once the flowers are in place, pick a few places to add the leaves.
- Prep Time:1 hour
- Squeeze bottle or piping bag with a small round piping tip
Best Overall: Cake Flix
CakeFlix
Why We Chose It: CakeFlix has over 1,300 cake decorating courses to fit every skill set, from basic to super advanced.
ProsClasses for all skill levelsAbility to buy individual classesGreat forum to ask questionsConsCourse selection can be overwhelming
CakeFlix is our top pick because it has more than 1,300 tutorials that cover everything from standard layer cakes to advanced specialty cakes. Started in 2002 by Paul Bradford, a cake decorator who has made cakes for royalty and celebrities, this cake decorating business grew to seven different outlets and a staff of 35 until Bradford decided to focus on teaching this trade.
Since 2011, CakeFlix has added one tutorial every week and continues to add more on a weekly basis. The winner of multiple Cake Master awards, CakeFlix courses range from basics like simple cake recipes and making and using buttercream to intermediate skills like making a stacked wedding cake and advanced elaborate cakes that look like actual sculptures of pirates, goblins, and gravity-defying sea turtles. CakeFlix has over 200,000 members.
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Add Cake Sculpting To Your List Of Accomplishments
Learning how to carve, sculpt and create realistic and sleek cakes is something you really should master if you want to be a professional cake decorator. Presenting a stunning cake, just like the one above, is going to put you at the top of everyones list when it comes to ordering bespoke cakes!
To discover how to create lovely, sculpted handbag cakes, you should give Elisa Strauss class Designer Handbag Cakes a try!
Create A Learning Plan
Gosh, there are hunks & gallons of tutorials & resources on the internet and sometimes, we can get lost in all the content. Guys, its all good and I love the unexpected videos and novel tutorials that sprout out on my feed on a daily basis, but its important to have FOCUS especially in the early phases of ones cake education. Have a cake diary and in there, create 3 lists. The first, is a TOP priority list of all the skills youd like to learn in the next 3 months. Smooth ganaching, the perfect vanilla cake, making a sugar rose..you name it. Keep in mind to be realistic with what your schedule allows. From this, you can actively pursue skills & information on these priortity topics. The second list consists of intermediate skills youd like to learn in the following 6 months. And the last list? Bucket list cake skills. The stuff cake dreams are made of.
Having a learning plan is so important. I mean think about it, school teachers dont just randomly pick topics for their students do they? Learning is done in stages, the essentials & foundations first. Then intermediate learning and finally, the tough stuff . The lists above is a very basic learning plan to ensure direction, and visible progress. As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
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Best Free: My Cake School
My Cake School
Founded by a former cake baker and decorator, My Cake School is a free online platform that provides weekly tutorials and recipes.
The site covers lessons on everything from the basics to more advanced techniques such as working with fondant, gum paste, buttercream, and more. Recipes are divided into Cakes and Cupcakes, Fillings, Frostings and Glazes, Fondant/Gumpaste, and Miscellaneous, and you can also search for specific recipes.
The Free Tutorial section includes 40 pages of lessons on baking and decorating written in blog format and/or video that can be filtered through an easy drop-down menu. . Recipes featured include Lemon Sour Cream Cake, Chocolate Nutella Cake, Champagne and Strawberries Cake, Marbled Buttercream Cake, and many more.
There are also numerous holiday-themed cakes such as a decorative Easter Basket Cake or a Halloween Monster Pretzel Monster Cake. For an all-access pass to video archives and forums where you can ask specific questions about cake decorating, there is an option to become a member of the site for around $30 per year. There is also a shop section with helpful information about kitchen equipment and tools to help you with baking and decorating.
