Index [www.cake-decorating-tips.com]

1 Here to Help by Pat Lock | Copyright 2009 | All Right Reserved 1 Index Forward Airbrush Albumen American Frosting Bas Relief Book Cake Instructions Brush Embroidery Buttercream ( Butter Icing) Cake Boards Cake Recipe cakes cakes -Baking cakes -Birthday cakes -Christmas cakes -Pricing cakes -Wedding Cake-Transport Chocolate Colours Cream Cream Au Beurre (Boiled Butter cream) CUPCAKES Making and Decorating Dowelling cakes Dummies Embosses Equipment Extension Work Flowers Crystallized (Sugar Frosted)

2 Flowers- Chocolate Flowers-Butter Cream Flowers-Flowerpaste Flowers-Gelatine Flowers-Marzipan Flowers-Pulled Flowers-Royal Iced Flowers-Sugarpaste Fondant Garrett Frill Gelatin Gelatin Icing Glace Icing Here to Help by Pat Lock | Copyright 2009 | All Right Reserved 2 Glycerine Gold Leaf Gum Arabic Gum Paste Gum Tragacanth Handbag-Black/White Handbag-Pink Jams Leaves Liquid Glucose (Also Known as Corn Syrup) Maripan Fruits Meringues Models Moulds Novelty cakes Oriental String work Painting Photography Photos-Edible Pillars and Stands Piping Bags Piping Gel Piping Stand Piping Techniques Plaques Pressure Piping Questions and Answers Ribbon Insertion Ribbons Rock Sugar Royal Icing Runouts (Colour Flow) Smocking Stamens Stencils Sugarpaste Template Tubes (Also Known as Nozzles, Tips and Pipes)

3 WEDDING CAKE INSTRUCTIONS Wedding Cake - With Bridge Writing on cakes Only A Sponge Here to Help by Pat Lock | Copyright 2009 | All Right Reserved 3 Foreword Many people think cake of decorating as 'a piece of cake' - and so it is when you know the tricks of the trade. However, how often have you thought, 'If only someone was here to help me?' Well here I am - at your fingertips. For the past 25 years, I have been teaching sugarcraft skill s, cookery and patisserie, in both local authority and private classes. Apart from writing two books on cake decorating, I have medals for sugarcraft models, exhibited at Hotel Olympia in London.

4 One question students often ask is, 'Can you help me write on cakes ?' The thought of even pipi ng Happy Birthday filled them with horror. I know just how they feel. Years ago, I decorated a birthday cake for a famous actor. My heart sank when told a 'message' was needed on the cake. Knowing the actor specialised in Shakespearian roles, I imagined having to pipe a long speech. You can guess how relieved I was to discover the dreaded message turned out to be Happy Birthday Trev.' Cake decorating books are a great help, but often do not have room to explain how to avoid, or correct, mistakes.

5 However, the web, with its unlimited space, allows me to give you over 1, 000 hints and problem solving solutions, which will answer queries and give your work a professional finish. Cake Decorating Videos Here to Help by Pat Lock | Copyright 2009 | All Right Reserved 4 AIRBRUSH Comprises of a hose, small cup to hold liquid colour, fine nozzle, and e ither a compressor or a canister of air. This piece of equipment requires some pr actise. The more expensive models use compressors to push air through a hose. The cheaper version has a canister of air.

6 When using a canister there is a lways the possibility that the air will run out before the work is finished - so have a spare can to h and. This cannot happen when using a compressor. Holding the nozzle cl ose to the surface of the work makes fine lines. Holding it further away sprays the colour over a wider area. When applying colour through a stencil, it should be on a level surfac e. Otherwise, spray from the airbrush could leak under the stencil. Masking is one technique used with an airbrush. It may sound puzzling, but all it means is p lacing a piece of paper o ver an area that you don t want the spray to touch.

7 It is used to g ood e ffect on buildings where sharp edges are needed. For instance, b ushes surrounding a house coul d be made by pl acing a template of the house on the cake. The sky could then be a irbrushed bl ue and the bushes green without any of the colour touching the house. Many of the marzipan fruits in the shops are colour ed with an airbrush. And novelty cakes feature colourful scenes, which have been made with an a irbrush. They are useful for making quick, effective pictures, and lettering on plaques o r cakes , but probably a luxury u nl ess a lot of cakes are decorated.

8 LINKS: Stencils | Colours | Marzipan F ruits | Plaques Here to Help by Pat Lock | Copyright 2009 | All Right Reserved 5 ALBUMEN Royal icing made from dried egg whites is whiter than when made from fresh whites. There are two types of d ried egg whites on the market. Both work equally well for the majority of work. The more e xpensive, made from pure hen albumen, is a deep cream colour. This p owder forms lumps when added to water, so patience is needed until it dissolves. There have been instances of decorators, (thinking something has gone wrong) throwing the solution away when a ll it needed was tender loving care.

9 The easiest way to dissolve the powder is to si ft it o ver the surface of the water. Then allow it to stand for an hour until compl etely dissolved. As an e xtra pr ecaution, si ft again before use. Royal icing made from pure albumen can be used for days b efore losing its strength, and is ideal for r unouts, piping, lacework, and coating. The less e xpensive a lbumen is fortified, and a pale cream colour. It d issolves easily in water and works well for most types of ici ng. Dried egg white is convenient, as you a re not left with a guilt complex at having to throw a way surplus egg yolks.

10 However, these can always be used to enrich puddings, used as a glaze, beaten into mashed potatoes, or used to enrich the ingredients in a quiche. To make a small amount of royal icing with either type of dried egg white, use one rounded teaspoon of powder to one tablespoon of water. Some types of icing sugar already contain the correct proportion of dried egg white. Instructions for use are on the packet. Useful when only a small amount of icing is needed. Sometimes recipes for making royal icing include the words 's eparate eggs a few hours before u se'.