How to excel in cake icing

Cooking and baking can easily be called forms of art. Aesthetically pleasing, the food we ingest nurtures our positive thinking. As you already know, one of the most evident type of foods that is a form of art is the sponge cake, be it a a wedding cake, a birthday cake, a celebration or seasonal one.

The decoration is extremely important, it conveys a message, it tells the celebrated one that you really paid attention to the things that characterize him...especially if he’s a grown-up. You can choose a shoe or a car like birthday cake, a fortress or Thomas the Tank Engine.

No matter your choice, we share the same secret of cake icing practised to perfection. Without being true experts in cake icing, we couldn’t offer you so many reasons of joy.

Soft sugar paste icing or fondant icing is made from sugar and glucose; it is edible and as its name suggest, it is easy to work with.We use special tools that help us give the shape we want.
Depending on the decoration, we may have to hand roll the sugar paste, thing which implies a lot of patience and meticulousness.

We take great pride in our hard work, as we know the value of your happiness. Complexity is what defines our birthday cakes: on the one hand there is the sponge cake, soft, vanilla scented, fresh, made with butter and free range eggs. And then there is the sugarpaste icing and the decoration.

 Attention to detail is paramount. We have to know exactly how many edible Bumble Bees to place on the Beehive Cake and where to place them. We have to know that five more white edible flowers will create a delicate image.

We excel in cake icing because this is our way of wishing you “Happy Birthday!"

Cake Icing and decorating – A beginners guide

Cakes have a long history of being the chosen dessert for ceremonial occasions such as weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. Over time the ingredients and technology used to make cakes has improved and today cakes can be an art piece in their own right. Celebrities and their cakes in particular have become eagerly anticipated and often ever more daring in design.

Practice make perfect

To become a great cake decorator takes a lot of time, effort, mistakes and practice. Do not expect your first attempt at decorating a cake to be a complete success. You might even find it a complete disaster. So to get a feel for the art of decorating a cake with a piping bag, the key piece of equipment needed, perhaps using one to make cookies on baking foil is a good place to start. You want something small and flat that will allow you to get comfortable to the feel of bag and pressure of the frosting.

The piping bag

Once you have bought a piping bag and tip, drop the tip into the bag and push it down as afar as it will go. You should notice some of the tip extending past the opening of the bag. Next you need to fill up the bag. Up-end the bag so that the tip is pointing down and open the bag as wide as you are able. Using a spatula, fill the bag approximately one-half to two-thirds full of icing.

Once you've filled the bag, twist or fold the top of the bag closed so that the icing can only escape through the tip. Holding the top closed with one hand, use your thumb on one side of the bag, and your forefinger on the other side of the bag to push the icing down into the bottom. Keep smoothing the icing down until all air pockets are removed and icing starts to come smoothly out of the tip.

The decorating

Now that you are comfortable with the different shapes you can make you can actually move on to decorating a cake with confidence. You will always want a smooth surface to decorate. The easiest way I feel to do this is to first, remove the cake out of the pan.

Using the pan as a guide will ensure that you maintain a consistent height to your cake as you cut off the top. Additionally, when you frost the cake make it as smooth and flat as possible. One final warning: do not decorate too close to the edge or the side as it will fall if it is too heavy.

Now that you have done this you could well be asking yourself, "This is nice but still nothing like I see on the internet."

The reason for this is because they most often use different equipment and cover their cake in fondant for that glossy, coloured finish.

Fondant is a thick and creamy, white sugar mass used in different forms for decorating cakes and cookies.  It can be rolled and draped over a cake, poured as a glaze or sculpted. It is easily dyed so that you can cover your entire cake with a smooth consistent colour. Fondant can also be used to make different designs and shapes to put on your cake.