So I can't decorate a cake to save my life! I'm on a mission to learn how in the next thirty days! Wish me luck! Below is my first attempt...
It started out innocently enough...a simple box cake to practice on...white cake!
Then a freakin' crack in the freakin' cake cuz I freakin' suck!
I made some cream cheese frosting for the filling
I normally can't frost a cake to save my life, however with the new technique I learned, I think it looks halfway decent...
Okay, 1/4 way decent...
Alright so I can't pipe cream cheese frosting on the bottom to save my life...I've never piped before...
"W" for William, these cakes are for his baptism party, but they'll be white, I used chocolate for practice.
I used the shell-tip to make these lumpy things...eh...
I give this cake a thumb down!
But Chris seems to like it.... ;-)
All right, here are a couple of things you may want to try.
ReplyDeleteFirst, try to practice on cookie sheets. When I was practicing, I would practice with shortening (I know it sounds gross), most frosting should be about that consistency. Start with the easy things - stars, rosettes, swirls, straight lines, shells, etc. Try different ways to hold the bag (folded or twisted), what angle works best for you, etc.
Second, play with what kind of design you want on pieces of paper before you put anything on a cake. That helps a lot. You can outline what size your cakes will be and practice on that.
Third, before frosting the cakes, it's really important to make them all level. By that, I mean if your cakes are a little domed at all, you should take a large serrated knife and cut the dome off. Make sure each layer is level, and the top of your cake will be.
Believe me, this can be a little scary to do. But the good news is frosting is great glue and you can put it back together again. The first time, you should do this on a cake just out of the refrigerator - it's much easier to cut when cold (frost too, really).
Fourth, when frosting, I find it's always easier to have the two tops of the cake as the "middle", if you get what I'm saying. I place the first layer on the cake stand bottom side down, put in the filling/frosting, then put the top layer on bottom side up. It's easier to frost that way. Two layers of frosting does work very well to avoid crumbs in your frosting. Put on a very light base of frosting and refrigerate, then put on the second coating.
Finally, buy a metal cake spatula (or offset spatula). It's great to get a clean coat of frosting. When I'm decorating a cake, I put on liberal amounts of frosting, and make sure there is enough to coat the entire cake. Then I dip the spatula in HOT water (and wipe off the water with a paper towel), and go over the frosting to make the frosting smooth. It makes even my piping look decent. You may need to wipe the spatula off and get it hot a few times before the cake is ready to be decorated, but that helps a ton when you are decorating.
Now that I have written this HUGE wall-o-text and probably intimidated the he** out of you, good luck, and feel free to ask me any questions, and I will try to help.
Great try! It looks delicious!!!
ReplyDelete