A newbie guide to Cake Decorating

Cake decorating has currently become one of the most popular fields in the culinary arts. More and more people are expressing an interest in baking and cake decorating. Why has cake decorating become so very popular of late? Cake decorating has become popular because it combines a variety of different skills and interests. If you think about it, cake decorating encompasses a great variety of skills and talents, including design, color patterns, baking and sculpture. If you are interested in getting involved in cake design, here are some hints and tips that can help you get started.

Baking the Perfect Cake – Hints of the Newbie DecoratorBefore you can get started with the fun of cake decorating, you will need, of course, to have a cake to decorate. If you have never before baked a cake, now is the perfect time to start. You may want to get started by baking a cake from a store bought box mix. These cake mixes are easy to work with—simply add oil, water and eggs—and if you follow the directions, the results are nearly almost always satisfactory. However, another possibility is that if you can make your own homemade cake from scratch. It is easier than ever to bake a cake from scratch. That is because it is easier than ever to get a hold on fresh ingredients. However, if it is your first time baking a cake from scratch, opt for the easiest recipe you can get your hands on.

Choosing the Right Kind of icing
You will also want to choose the right kind of icing when you are decorating your own cake. There are three basic kinds of icing that are available. These are known as icing consistencies. The three basic types of icing consistencies include soft icing, medium, and stiff. Chances are that, at least at the beginning, you will only be working with soft and medium icing. Soft can be thin and thus used to write on cakes. Soft icing can also be used to ice the entire cake. Medium icing is used for making decorative borders, scrolls and scrollwork. Medium consistency icing is strong enough to keep its shape, yet pliable enough to be spooned off the cake and eaten. The third basic icing consistency is stiff icing. Stiff icing is used for more elaborate means such as decorative flowers. The icing has to be stiff enough so that the flower (or other decoration) will hold its shape. Clearly, this type of icing is often too stiff to be eaten and is purely decorative.
Gathering the Right Kind of Cake Decorating Tools

If you are a cake decorating newbie, there is a good chance that you just don’t have the right kind of tools in your kitchen arsenal. It is now easier than ever to get access to the kinds of tools you need in order to decorate your cake the way it should be decorated. Fortunately, there are many easy ways to take care of this problem. The easiest way to go about gathering the essential tools for cake decorating is to gather the tools you need according to the project at hand. However, because of the popularity of cake decorating, there are also many nifty cake decorating tool kits available now that offer you all the basic essentials in one package. Essential cake decorating tips may include pastry bag, paper cones for decorating, different sized tips, piping bag and different-sized frosting spatulas.

Collect Books and Magazines to Inspire YouOne of the most important things you will need is inspiration. Surround yourself with inspiring pictures and ideas so that your own cake decorating is sparked with ideas

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