CAKE DECORATING 101: Three Essentials of Cake Decorating

This blog is intended for those who have had a cake decorating class or those who are self-taught decorators. It is intended to be a reference and or refresher.

1. ICING CONSISTENCY:

If the consistency of your icing is not right, your decoration will not be right either. Just a few drops of liquid can make a great deal of difference in your decorating results.

Stiff Icing: Used for figure piping and stringwork, i.e. roses, carnations and sweet peas with upright petals. If the icing cracks, it can be too thick. You can add light corn syrup to the icing used for stringwork to give the strings greater elasticity so they will not break.

Medium Icing: Used for decorations such as stars, shell borders, and flowers with flat petals.

Thin Icing: Used for icing a cake, decorations such as writing, printing, vines and leaves.

2. Correct Bag Positions:

The way your decoration curl, point and lie will depend not only on icing consistency, but also on the way you hold and move the bag.
90 Degree Angle: Straight up, perpendicular to the surface.
45 Degree Angle: Halfway between vertical and horizontal.

3. Pressure Control:

There are three types of pressure control: Heavy, Medium, and Light. In practicing, you will learn the amount of pressure needed for the type of decoration you are making.


BORDERS


SHELL BORDERS

1. Hold the bag with tip #14 to #18 in front so that you can pull the bag towards you. The tip should be slightly above the surface.
2. Squeeze hard, letting the icing fan out generously as you lift the tip. Gradually relax your pressure as you lower the tip until it touches the surface.
3. Stop pressure and pull the tip away, without lifting it off the surface, in order to draw the shell to a point.
4. To make a shell border, start the beginning of your nest shell so that the fanned end covers the tail of the preceding shell to form an even chain.


REVERSE SHELL BORDER

1. Hold the bag with tip #14 to #18 in front so that you can pull the bag towards you. The tip should be slightly above the surface and facing to one side.
2. Squeeze hard, letting the icing fan out generously as you lift the tip. Gradually relax your pressure as you lower the tip intil it touches the surface.
3. Stop pressure and pull the tip away, without lifting it off the surface, swinging tip around to the right as you form the tail of shell.
4. To make a reverse shell border, start the beginning of your next shell so that the fanned end covers the tail of the preceding shell and is facing in the opposite direction.


ROPE

1. Hold the bag with tip #14 to #18 in front so that you can pull the bag towards you. The tip should be slightly above the surface.
2. Using a steady, even pressure, move the tip in a gentle sideways "S" curve. Stop pressure and pull tip away.
3. Insert tip under the bottom curve of the "S" shape.
4. Squeeze the bag with steady pressure as you pull down, then lift the tip. Move up and over the tail of the "S" as you continue to squeeze and form a hook.
5. Keep spacing as even as possible and make the "S" curves as uniform in thickness, length and overall size. Be sure to tuck the tip into the bottom curve of the previous "S" before you begin squeezing to insure the clean, continuous look of a rope.


e-Border

1. Hold the bag with tip #14 to #18 in front so that you can pull the bag towards you. The tip should be slightly above the surface.
2. Starting with the bag at a 45 degree angle, and at the bottom edge, squeeze out icing with an even pressure, moving tip up to the right and around as if writing the letter"e".
3. Repeat to complete the border using a steady, even pressure. To end, stop pressure and pull tip away. You can vary the look of the e-motion border by making tight e's or stretch e's.


BEAD BORDER

1. Using tip #3 to tip #10, squeeze as you lift tip so that the icing fans out.
2. Relax pressure as you draw the tip down and bring the head to a point.
3. To make the border, start the beginning of your next bead so that the fanned end covers the tail of the preceding bead to form an even chain.


NOTE: I want to thank Janet Fable, our cake decorating instructor, for all of the above information. We do offer cake decorating classes here at The Kitchen Corner. Please call (203) 374-1118 for class information.