Cake decorating can be great fun, read our tips to help you gain an insight.
For professional results planning is key. Always start with a clear idea in mind. If you are following a design from a book read it through so you are sure what you are doing. Do take the opportunity to get all your equipment together in advance. There's nothing worse than not being able to find that crucial cutter or brush.
If you're designing your own cake draw the design on a piece of paper. This will help you to decide how you will create it. One tip is to deconstruct it. This simply means to picture the finished design and then take it apart from the outside. This will help to avoid wasteful mistakes. No point getting frustrated or behind on a project simply through a lack of planning
The best Novelty Cake designs have a good internal structure namely the cake. There are many delicious recipes for cakes available but not all can withstand the weight of sugarpaste or the detailing required when carving the cake. The most popular choice for a reliable sponge cake recipe is Madeira Cake Recipe. (By clicking on the recipe name this will take you to the recipe page.) The reason that this is so popular is due to its close texture and firmness once baked.
When carving your cake you may find that it carves best from frozen. It helps to prevent a whole Kitchen full of crumbs and also makes the cake temporarily stronger, giving you a firmer base to cut. Don't be too bold, although if you do find you have been a bit over zealous a little buttercream can help glue the mis-cut piece back on!
To prepare your cake for the sugarpaste, cut in half and apply your desired filing, usually buttercream and jam and sandwich back together. It is important that the surface is smooth and crust and crumb free. Seal the cake with a layer of smooth buttercream, this also provides a glue for the sugarpaste to stick too.
Preparing your Cakeboard. This is best done in advance too. Cake designs invariable require you to cover your board in sugarpaste. Once prepared they can be left for a few hours or overnight to dry and semi harden. It is usually not advised that the area the cake sits on remains covered in sugarpaste. This is because the moisture from the cake can cause the sugarpaste on the board to ferment in certain conditions.
