Artistic Cake Decorating Secrets
For cakes that look as good as they taste, you need the cake decorating secrets your baker doesn’t want to tell you. See professional caterer/cake decorator Sharon Salomon’s butter cream icing design ideas in action, and you’ll be ready to try your own variations the next time you want a cake that’s the hit of the party.
Buttercream Icing
Sure, you can buy pre-made icing, but what’s the point? The homemade version is easy to make, tastes better, can be kept in the refrigerator for months and is easier to decorate with. This buttercream icing recipe, in particular, makes a creamy, tasty glaze that’s perfect for both wedding and birthday cakes, as well as every day cakes.
Most buttercream frosting recipes call for vegetable shortening and butter. If you want to use both, replace the 2 cups of shortening called for with 1 cup of shortening and 1 cup of soft butter. However, using just white vegetable shortening will give you bright white icing – especially important if you’re making a wedding cake. Another thing to remember if you want the whitest icing you can get: use clear vanilla extract.
Cut this recipe in half if you are going to be frosting only one small cake. Or, if you want, make the full batch and refrigerate whatever is left over. For variety, you can try milk instead of water or lemon extract instead of butter flavoring.
- 2 cups shortening
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon butter flavoring (optional; not needed if butter is used)
- 4 pounds sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup cold water
Cream the shortening and salt, using an electric mixer if you have one. Add the sugar a cup or so at a time, scraping the sides of the mixer and sprinkling in the water a little at a time as you go. You can use more water if you think your frosting needs it, but you’ll want it stiff – especially if you’re going to be doing lots of fancy detail work. Gradually add all the water and mix until there are no lumps, and everything is fluffy and smooth. To keep it from drying out, cover the icing with plastic wrap or a damp cloth until you’re ready to use it.
Colored Frosting
When you’re adding food coloring to frosting, “a little goes a long way” is an understatement. If you want a pink frosting, you’ll need to add about the amount of red food coloring that will cling to a toothpick when you dip it into the bottle. Anymore and you’ll get bright red – not pink – frosting.
Start with a cup of the white frosting you made earlier. Use a paste food coloring (instead of liquid dye) for best results. Dip a toothpick into your food coloring, then into the frosting. Mix well. If you want to make several colors to use for one cake, be sure to keep them in covered containers, as the frosting dries up rather quickly.
Related Articles
- Cake Decorating: Icing A Birthday Cake
The first step in frosting your cake is to add a foundation coating of icing. Because the mix rises as it bakes, the top of.... - Cake Design Ideas
It will take lots of practice before you can exert just the right amount of pressure on your icing applicator bag every time. But it.... - How To Make Great Candy
Though the ingredients are few and the directions are easy to follow for these candy recipes, it always helps to see a professional at work.... - Tips For Having Afternoon Tea With Friends
Having “tea time” with friends is quite possibly the easiest entertainment option there is. Take a break, relax and enjoy some good conversation with friends..... - How To Organize Your Kitchen
Stocking cupboards with commonly used cooking ingredients is the first step in learning to cook. As with any project, having the right supplies on hand....
