Gourmet Articles

Almost everyone gets excited at the sight of a beautiful cake. One of the great joys in the culinary arts is to see a beautifully decorated cake. Every time that you walk into a nice bakery it can be hard not to be dazzled by the sight of some amazing cake designs.

What a lot of people do not realise is cake decoration and cake design can be fun as a hobby as well as being one of the high edible arts.

Would you like to create the perfect cake for the perfect cake decorating experience? well before you start cake decorating, you should also have a grasp of baking. For the perfect cake decorating experience here are some guidelines to follow.

Tip #1 - If you are New to Baking use a Cake Mix

Try to produce a good foundation to work with, the best way to achieve this is to make sure that the cake you take out of the oven is evenly baked and golden brown.

You want to establish a smooth foundation that will make it easier for you to apply your icing and decorative flourishes. The best kind of cake foundation has very few crumbs and is level on both top and bottom.

Starting of with a box cake mix and following the directions, is one of the easiest ways to make sure that you get a good solid cake to work. This is particulary true if this is your very first foray into cake decoration or you have never baked a cake before.

Tip #2 - The Process Of Cake Decorating Should Not Be Hurried

Probably ninety per cent of all cake decorating mistakes or problems are always caused by the cake decorator trying to rush through the process. If there is one cake decorating tip that you should take to heart, it is this one: never rush the cake decorating process.

Always, always let your cake cool before you begin the process of icing it. If you ignore this and try to decorate a cake right after taking it out of the oven you will find it does not give you the ideal base for cake decorating.

Ideally, you should let the cake sit and set overnight, or at the very least let your cake cool off for an hour. This ensures it that before you begin your icing process the cake base will be cool enough. You can also freeze their cakes before you begin icing.

Tip #3 - Make it Easy on Yourself and Keep Your Cake Level

You have to make sure that you have a cake that you can work with. One of the easiest ways to do this is to level and trim your baked cake. Before you get cutting and pruning wait until the cake has cooled completely, then take a serrated knife and trim off the crust and dry edges.

You can also torte the cake if you want to decorate it.Torting simply involves the process of slicing varying layers into your cake. This will hopefully establish a nice, smooth surface that makes it easy to ice the cake. You can also level off the crown of the cake center if it is lumpy or otherwise not smooth.

Tip #4 - How to create the Perfect First Layer of Icing

Before you begin the real work of cake decorating make your first layer of your cake your crumb catcher. All you have to do is apply a layer of icing to your cake, this will give it more consistency.

That is, use the icing in order to make the crumbs stick to the cake. After you have applied this first layer of icing, let the cake set for at least a few hours.