Decorating Basics

Tips, tricks and ideas to make special cakes with minimal time and fuss.

Girl Scout Cookie Cake Recipes

It’s that time of year again, you’ve been hit up at every supermarket and by friends and family to buy your boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. Here’s some cake recipes to help you get rid of some of them. via Sweet Ruminations Samoan Caramel Delight Girl Scout Cookie Cake The Peanut Butter Patty Cake The Thin Mint Cake via SugarDerby – SugarBlog – Dosidos & Tagalong Bundt Cake….. Girl Scout Thin [...]

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Posted by Linda Fannin - February 27, 2012 at 9:15 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: girl scout cookies

Easy Pirate Themed Cakes

September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day.

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Posted by Linda Fannin - February 25, 2012 at 1:25 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: pirate ship

Easy Cake Decorating with Jelly Beans

Cheap, yummy and available in every color, jelly beans make great decorations. Consider the possibilities: Spell out names and messages Use as roof tiles, brick or stone. They can be jewelry, gemstones or pendants on a necklace. Eyes, nose or mouth for critter cakes They can make colorful borders . Create rainbows, flowers, butterflys or other designs and patterns with them. Have additional uses for Jelly Beans? Let us know!

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Posted by Linda Fannin - August 7, 2009 at 4:46 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics, Supplies Tags: easy cake decorating idea

Cake Decorating DVD Review and Giveaway

Looking for more help with cake decorating? Valerie from Sweeps4Bloggers posted the following review about Teaching Good Things Cake Decorating DVD. Cake decorating has always kind of scared me – just looks like it would be really hard. But Kathy’s Basic Cake Decorating DVD has cured me of my fear! She has such a soothing voice and clearly explains and demonstrates the techniques needed to make a professional looking cake- [...]

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Posted by Linda Fannin - March 20, 2009 at 3:43 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: freebies

Chocolate Painting

Here’s a cool tutorial on chocolate painting. I’d really like to try this some time soon. Chocolate Painting – More DIY How To Projects

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Posted by Linda Fannin - March 18, 2009 at 3:00 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: chocolate painting

Icing techniques for Easy Decorating

Hobnails You will want to use a lot of light frosting for this. Press the back of a spoon into the frosting, twist and lift to make swirls. Experiment with different size spoons. With a large wooded spoon you can make make large tear shaped petals. I think that this technique works great when embellishing with fruit and flowers. ZigZags A decorater’s comb makes for quick work and looks [...]

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Posted by Linda Fannin - February 27, 2009 at 9:42 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: Decorating Basics, icing techniques

Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Decorate a Cake

I found a great article called Easy Decorating Tips for the Decorating Impaired by Eisla Sebastian. Her four tips are: Use Premixed Frostings Use Edible Flowers Use Toys Use Pre-Made Frosting Inserts You can read the whole article here.

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Posted by Linda Fannin - October 19, 2007 at 2:27 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: Decorating Basics, easy cake decorating ideas

Preparing to Decorate Your Cake – Part 3: Icing Your Cake.

Preparing a a smooth iced cake is important for the best looking cake possible. If you have ever iced a cake before, you know the annoyance of having bits of crumbs in the frosting. To prevent crumbs you’ll need to apply a crumb coat. Once your cake has cooled completely and been leveled, brush off excess crumbs with a pasty brush. Place a large amount of thin consistency icing on [...]

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Posted by Linda Fannin - August 27, 2007 at 4:29 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: Decorating Basics, icing techniques

Preparing to Decorate Your Cake – Part 2: Leveling and Torting the Cake

Leveling: The key to picture perfect cakes is leveling. In this part of the Preparing to Decorate Your Cake series, I’ll discuss a few tips that will make leveling your cake a breeze. Before you level your cake, make sure it has cooled for one hour. If you have frozen your cake layers then you may need to let them thaw slightly before trimming overcooked edges and leveling. There’s a [...]

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Posted by Linda Fannin - August 6, 2007 at 8:19 pm

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: Decorating Basics, leveling

Cake Decorating Terminology

Familiarize yourself with these common words used in cake decorating. Attach – Securing decorations to your cake using icing as “glue” Border – Decoration used around the top, side or base of a cake. Buttercream - A smooth, creamy icing made from butter, that stays soft so it’s easy to cut through. Filling – Frosting, preserves, pudding, fruit etc. that is spread between cake layers to hold them together. Fondant [...]

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Posted by Linda Fannin - August 1, 2007 at 12:17 am

Categories: Decorating Basics Tags: Decorating Basics, filling, fondant, gum paste, leveling, marzipan, outline, piping, royal icing, score