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. 

Birthday cake recipes

A birthday party simply isn’t complete without a birthday cake. Whatever your taste may be there is a perfect cake out there for you.

At Dunns Bakery, our award winning bakers have the ability to make any cake you can think of. We are often asked to make specific cake recipes and unique designs for anniversaries, children’s birthday cakes, adult birthday cakes, religious cakes and corporate cakes.

The different recipes

There are all kinds of cake recipes to choose from at Dunn’s Bakery, from the traditional to the more quirky.

Victoria Sponge Cake

One of the most popular cake fillings is the classic Victoria sponge recipe. The simple but delicious cake filling is popular around the world and is guaranteed to be well received by your guests. A typical Victoria sponge cake consists of raspberry jam and whipped cream or vanilla cream which is sandwiched between the two sponge cakes.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cakes are hugely popular the world over and can come in a number of varieties. Whether you want a chocolate layer cake, a chocolate truffle cake, a black forest cake or chocolate fudge cake for your birthday party, wedding or anniversary party it is sure to be hugely enjoyed.

Carrot cake

Carrots might seem like an unlikely ingredient to put in a cake but since the birth of the carrot cake in the 1960’s in America it has gone on to become of the most popular cakes on both sides of the pond. For many carrot cake lovers one of the things they love most is the topping of white icing or cream cheese icing.

Fruit Cake

Fruit cakes have been around for a very long time and are now popular all around the world, in particular the United States, the UK and Europe. Dating back to the Romans, fruit cakes have changed a lot. The biggest change is the availability of sugar and its fruit preservation qualities.

At Dunn’s bakery we have a closely guarded, secret family recipe for a rich dark fruit that has become highly popular at the bakery.

1st Birthday Cakes by Dunn's

At Dunn's Bakery we know just how much your child’s first birthday means. Why not make that day extra special with one of Dunn’s fantastic 1st birthday cakes.

A child’s first birthday just isn’t complete without a cake of their favourite cartoon character. Whether it is Postman Pat, Winnie the Pooh, or a Disney character, our master bakers can make it!  We have also had parents bring in their favourite baby photo which can then be made into a photo cake.

At Dunn’s Bakery we can also provide sandwiches, cookies, chocolate brownies and various other delicious pastries to compliment the birthday cake and cater for the party guests, both adults and children.

All our children’s birthday cakes are hand-made on site with the finest and freshest local ingredients and come in a wide range of styles and choices which you can see in the gallery below – each can be completely customised with different colours or personal messages.

Ingredients and Flavours

We are passionate about the quality of our birthday cakes and fully appreciate that parent’s care greatly about the food their children eat. To ensure your satisfaction, all our cakes are made from only the best ingredients sourced from local suppliers and baked with our own recipes that have been a family secret for generations.

Each cake is designed by our expert cake designer and decorator at our award winning London bakery. Our cakes come in a range of delicious flavours including vanilla sponge, chocolate sponge, fruitcake and even indulgent chocolate fudge!

To discuss your cake, please contact us on 020 8340 1614 or email us at info@dunns-bakery.co.uk.

History of the Wish-granting Cake

A birthday is always one of the most memorable and cheerful days of the year. All the greetings and gifts, hugs and kisses, family and friends, partying and pinning tails on donkeys. How delightful! While everyone knows how important the candle blowing ceremony is, not many of us know the history of birthday cakes.

There are multiple suggested origins of birthday cakes; some say they first appeared to honour the Goddess of Moon, Artemis, in ancient Greek, others say they originated in Germany in the Middle Ages to commemorate Jesus’ birthday.

While we’re still uncertain about the origin of birthday cakes, we know that the very first cake was simple and very much like bread. They were sweetened with honey and enhanced with nuts and dried fruits. Eventually, bakers created fruitcakes and gingerbread. Around the middle of the 17^th century, cake making became an art and bakers started to decorate cakes with icings.

Thanks to the creativity, devotion and hard work of talented bakers (and ovens, food moulds and fresh ingredients), the cake industry has blossomed! Now we have an infinite amount of variety and choice. Not only do we have traditional round cakes of different flavours and fillings, cakes come in any shape and size that we can imagine! 

   

From Winnie the Pool to Lightning McQueen in Cars, football fields to chessboards, submarines to sports cars, Dunn’s Bakery can transform your and your child’s wildest imagination into a delicious treat. 

Birthdays aren’t only about the gifts and wishes; they are also about spending time with your friends and family to enjoy a heart-warming day full of laughter. What better way to top of a wonderful occasion than the perfect cake?

Celebrity birthday cakes are nowadays a very big deal for fans. Thanks to an intrusive media, technology, and an unquenchable thirst for celebrity gossip, fans have such an unprecedented insight into the lives of their stars that even birthday cakes become huge topics for discussion.

Rihanna is a truly global superstar. She is such a global superstar that when she recently celebrated her 24^th birthday there was a huge amount of interest in everything about it, including the birthday cake. However Rihanna is just once celbrity in a long line who have had high profile birthday parties featuring some very exciting cakes. Other examples of popular celebrity birthday cakes include: -

Miley Cyrus

Nicki Minaj

Nicole Scherzinger

Barack Obama

It would appear that if you're a celebrity, the general rule is that you must have some kind of extravagant cake for your birthday, either at a restaurant or nightclub, unless your the president of the United States in which case the event is a little more formal. What might have at once seemed a little bit ridiculaous it now seems that celebrities are in an attritional battle to out do each other in the cake department and long may it continue!

Valentine’s Cakes – A lovely gift for a perfect day

 

Valentine’s Day is coming soon!

The 14^th February is the perfect day to express yourself to your beloved. This day is the celebration of love in most countries. It’s perfect to show your loved ones your love!

On one hand, there are some people who believe Valentine’s Day is a “commercial celebration” without any credibility. But, on the other hand, it’s a romantic opportunity to declare one’s love in due form!

VALENTINE’S DAY BASICS

 

Each person who wants to celebrate Valentine’s Day has their own way to do it and there are a lot of ways to celebrate it. For some people, it’s always the same panic... They are wondering what they are going to do to celebrate this lovely day.

The basic thing is to offer flowers, preferably red flowers which represent passion and love with a little handmade sweet note attached. You can send it to your beloved’s work or return home with a gorgeous bunch of flowers! You can also give presents or little gifts, such as jewellery for women or ties for men but also let your imagination run free! You could write a beautiful and touching poem about your love story. 

Moreover, people take advantage of Valentine’s Day to organise a romantic break, far away from the daily grind and spend time enjoying the most romantic day of the year.

Finally, after a hard and long work day, the simply way to celebrate your love is with a “dinner by candlelight” at a restaurant or (for the very brave) at home with a prepared, personal and unique dinner.

VALENTINE'S CAKES

Another great and increasingly popular idea is to make your loved one (and his or her stomach) happy with a Valentine’s Cake! What better an idea to enjoy a beautiful and delicious Valentine’s Day Cake! Like the saying goes “Love is a dessert which has to be savoured together”.

Forget the usual chocolates and dessert for your Valentine and instead offer some luscious heart-shaped cakes or chocolate bouquet roses. Why don’t you add a special message on those delicious and romantic sweets?

There’s nothing more romantic than those little sweet treats. It’s the perfect opportunity to show how much you care about your loved one.

Enjoy!