How to Prevent the Three Huge Errors Cake Decorators Make

A good cake decorator is also a perfectionist. And so even if minor errors may occur anytime, still, its not an excuse to stop trying. We hope of producing the most beautiful cake we can ever muster. We want to delight our children and impress our in-laws. But to do so, we need a little help and support to see us through some of the more difficult cake baking and decorating techniques. These hints will hopefully provide you good advice in overcoming cake decorating difficulties.

1. Whats the best way to stop frozen cakes from drying?

Any good cake decorator plans well ahead of time all of his cake projects, and that includes begging off to the request of a child for you to bake one for the next day because its his project. Yet who can say no to rush orders, right? It will be helpful if you are informed at least twelve hours before you need to deliver them.

A key step in preplanning is learning how to properly freeze your cakes. This means you bake the cake days or weeks before you add the filling or the icing. Baking your cakes early will save you a lot of time and hassle in the days and hours before an important event.

Yet freezing may cause the cake to become dry and tasteless. Thus, it is essential that you store and wrap the cake without the icing.

Wrap the cake with two to three layers of plastic wrap and then one layer of aluminum foil to keep both air and moisture out. Properly wrapped and frozen, your cake will remain fresh for up to two months, even longer for heavier cakes such as pound or fruitcakes.

Remove your cake from the freezer a day or two before you are planning to ice and decorate to permit it to completely thaw.

Before you put the icing, defrost the cake to room temperature. A problem may occur while defrosting.

The problem with freezing cakes already iced is that the icing will pick up condensation from the air and sweat during the defrosting time.

In the end, the pattern and decoration will look messy and sloppy, which, of course, no one likes at all.

So show the world that you are smart to the ways of cakes and make it a habit to bake your cakes in advance!

2. Can I stop filling from sliding into the outer edges of the cake?

In this cake decorating world, there is a big battle being fought every day in kitchens around the world. Its the Battle of the Bulge, and frustrated bakers are frantically calling out for help.

The question is always how to prevent filling from bulging at the sides of the cake and into the icing.

Probably you can start with baking the cake before putting on the filling. You can bake the cake at least a day before so that it will be more settled to support heavy filling.

There is an actual procedure that promises to contain your fillings and keep them from overflowing.

a.) Pipe (with a No.10 round tip or similar large size) an icing dam around the outer edge of each layer to hold the filling. The dam will be used as a barrier to prevent the filling from flowing into the outer edges of your cake.

b.) You can also make use of crumb coats from a much thinner version of your last icing to cover the entire cake.

c.) Then you keep the cake for two to three hours in a refrigerator so it will become firmer.

Together, the icing dam and the crumb coat will provide a seal for your cake to contain the filling. Then you can already add the final icing. No more bulge!

3. I have difficulty with crumbs in my icing. Can I still do something?

Do not belittle the power of the little crumbs. They are out to damage the delicate cake decoration you have already made.

Yes, it can really drive anyone nuts. Fortunately, there is a foolproof way to protect your sanity.

Have you ever heard of crumb coat? It is a layer of glaze or icing that is thin and that you can spread in the assembled cake so the crumbs will stick in the surface of the cake.

To create a crumb coat, you take a few of the icing and you thin it with any liquid thats part of the recipe until it turns viscous. Daub the thinned icing over the entire cake, covering it completely.

Once everything dries up, the crumb then becomes glued to the surface of the cake. To make everything quick, you can place the cake in a refrigerator. Though it will add additional time to the baking process, the benefit you get out of this is great.

Since youve been armed with these face-saving tricks and techniques, youll be prepared to take on any cake anytime, anywhere!