The Cake

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There are some common cake decorating mistakes and problems that can be easily corrected. A number of solutions will be described to assist in getting the process to go on smoothly.

Sometimes when frosting cake the icing tends to pull apart the top of the cake causing the cake crumbs to fall into the frosting. This can be prevented by starting with a crumb coat. You use the same icing for frosting the cake but you first thin it down a little. Then you cover any part of the cake that might crumb with a thin layer of the icing and it will give you a base over which you will put a regular coat of icing. You need to take care not to make the icing too thin. You should thin it down just enough to cover the cake without tearing it and picking up crumbs. Then you should apply the crumb coat to the cake. For this you need to let it set for at least 2 hours before applying the rest of the icing. This should be kept in a refrigerator overnight preferably before adding more icing. It is alright to use crumbs in the crumb coat. They end up being stuck in the first layer of the icing and will not affect the next layer of icing. The cold helps the setting of the icing making it a cinch to ice thereafter.

In some cases a problem may arise in which the fillings spill out of the sides of the cake. You can stop this happening if your cake decorating involves a filled middle.

First, bake you cake the day before you intend to fill it. This will make it firmer and give it time to settle. Freshly baked cakes are unstable and do not hold fillings as well as those that have settled.
Secondly, you can use icing to make a dam for stopping the filling from spilling out. After making the dam, you can frost the whole cake with a crumb coating. The cake should then be set in the refrigerator for about 2 or 3 hours or you can leave it overnight. It will firm up and the icing will keep the filling from oozing out of the sides. The dams made of icing will firm up and keep the filling in.

Very busy people may not have the time to bake and decorate a cake all at once. Such people can bake the cake and freeze it until they need to decorate it. A cake can be kept in the freezer for a couple of weeks before use. One must prepare the cake for freezing by wrapping three layers of strong cling wrap around the cake, followed by a layer of aluminum foil just prior to freezing. If this procedure is not followed, the cake would dry out and crumble. It is necessary to make sure the cake thaws completely before attempting to ice it.

The cake should be allowed to defrost slowly at room temperature for one or two days until it is completely defrosted. Icing the cake before the process is complete will make the icing sweat and become mushy. The effect is to ruin the cake decorating and cause the hard work to come to nothing.

If one follows these simple guidelines, they can avoid being disappointed.

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