Cake Decorating 101

Cake and Cupcake Decorating 101

 
Do you ever wish you could create cakes like some of these famous bakers do? Well, you may not be a "Cake Boss" or even a Martha Stewart, but if you can spread icing with a knife and squeeze a pastry bag, you can decorate a cake. Yes, I admit, it will take practice, but it isn't impossible! Here are a few tips to remember when decorating cakes and cupcakes.
1. When decorating a cake, freeze your cake for an hour or two  to cut down on crumbs in the icing. After taking it out of the freezer, dust off the loose crumbs, and apply a "crumb layer" of icing. After allowing this to set up for an hour, then apply your regular layer of icing and proceed to decorate.

2. Always practice a new piping technique on a piece of paper before actually doing it on your cake. But if you do mess up on your cake, don't freak out too quickly. Many times, you can easily lift the icing off the cake with a toothpick without leaving a trace of the mistake!

3. A neater, more classy way to ice your cupcakes is to use a pastry bag and squeeze it on rather than smearing it on with a knife. You can pipe it in a "dollop" or create pretty swirls. Top this with some sprinkles, and your guests may think you made a bakery visit for the cakes!

4. Remember that nobody is perfect. If you look closely enough, you can probably find some mistake with just about any cake creation out there. And if that fails to make you feel better, just think, it is all gonna be chomped to bits with lots of teeth in a little while anyway, so just have fun!
Getting stressed out over decorating a cake takes all the fun that could be there out! Relax and create a masterpiece!