You'll be whipping up gorgeous celebration-worthy treats in no time after learning how to decorate a cake. We'll show you how to fill a piping bag, select the best frosting, make trendy naked cakes, and more.
Let's get right into it shall we ?
1) Select a Frosting for your Cake
Use any thick enough frosting to adhere to the top and sides of the cake. If your frosting is too runny to pipe or spread with an offset spatula, thicken it with powdered sugar. Consider the following :
- Vienna cream or buttercream
- Cream cheese icing
- Marshmallow icing
- Icing royale
- Swiss meringue buttercream or Italian meringue buttercream
- Ganache
2) Use an icing smoother to create an even frosted sides
Pipe thick bands of frosting around the sides of the cake using an icing tip on a pastry bag. Continue going up the sides until they are completely covered in frosting. Then, vertically press an icing smoother or bench scraper against the side of the cake. To make an even surface, run the smoother around the cake .
- When the cake is on a turntable, it is easier to use the icing smoother. The cake can then be slowly rotated while holding the icing smoother against the side.
- If you want to leave the sides of the cake "naked," spread just a few thin patches of frosting along the sides to show off the layers of cake.
3) Fill a piping bad and begin to pipe your pattern onto the cake
Choose a piping tip that will assist you in creating the desired design. Choose a petal tip, for example, to pipe a ruffled edge along the cake, or a plain round tip to pipe dots across the top of the cake .
- If you don't have a piping bag, place the frosting in a food-safe plastic bag and cut the bottom tip off. Although you won't be able to control the level of piping detail, it will provide you with a basic piping bag.
4) Pipe decorative shapes, flowers, or words using piping tips.
After you've covered the cake with your preferred frosting, consider adding a few embellishments. Change the tip of the piping bag to pipe words or flowers. Some tips are made specifically for specific shapes, such as leaves .
- To make an elegant fleur-de-lis, for example, pipe three reverse shells with a star tip. You can also pipe the frosting into a simple rosette using the star tip.
5) Make swirls in the frosting with the back of a spoon.
Make sure the top and sides of the cake have at least 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) of frosting. Hold the back of a spoon so the tip is gently pressing into the frosting. To make a wave, twist the spoon in a half-circle motion. Continue along the sides and top of the cake .
- Drag the tines of a fork back and forth through the frosting to make an easy zigzag pattern.
6) Add decorations of your choice !
Of course these decorations can be anything that is edible. You may use the following items :
- Edible Flowers
- Figurines or a topper
- Fruits
- Candies
- Whipped Cream with colouring
- Paint your own patterns with gel-paste food colouring
And there you have it , hope the tips helped !!! xoxo