introduction

      Cake decorating is an art which can be practised at different levels. This book is designed to help you improve on basic skills by taking you through several designs which use sugarpaste (rolled fondant or ready-to-roll icing), royal icing and sugar flowers. The ideas and techniques are all easy to learn and you can adapt them to suit cakes for any occasion. You don’t need to be a brilliant designer; you just need a love of cake decorating to produce something really special.

      I have used my years of teaching experience to write this book. I have based it on the many different courses I have taught and have tried to keep everything simple instead of getting into complicated measurements.

      The sugarpaste cakes have been designed with the term “cut-out work” in mind and all the techniques are based around this. The royal icing is all geared towards piping skills; I have included basic and more advanced techniques so that you can stretch yourself as you feel ready. You will find many of the cutters have been used several times so that each one becomes a multifunctional cutter, which makes them a great investment. The cakes in both mediums gradually progress to a new level of difficulty, with extra ideas and techniques in between.

      The basics of cake design never change; what changes are people’s ideas of what they expect from a cake and what it is meant to represent. Don’t allow yourself to be pushed into doing what you feel is beyond you, but remember it never harms to stretch yourself.

      Whether you are working from home or doing a college course, I hope you will find this a helpful reference book to consult.

      tools required for working with sugarpaste (see chapter 2)

      1 Long non-stick rolling pin

      2 Sugar shaker

      3 Marzipan spacers if you wish to use them

      4 Paste colours

      5 Cake smoother (flat and side smoother)

      6 Small sharp knife

      7 Large flat dusting brush

      8 Crimpers

      9 Scribers (scalpels)

      10 Sugar glue

      11 Circle cutters

      12 Posy picks

      13 Tilting turntable

      • Two pastry brushes – one for jam; one for water

      • Palette knife (metal spatula)

      tools required for working with royal icing (see chapter 3)

      1 Crank-handled round-ended palette knife (metal spatula)

      2 Metal icing rule

      3 Metal side scraper

      4 Turntable – a tilting one is really useful and is worth paying extra for

      5 Piping (decorating) bags

      • Selection of piping tubes (nozzles)

      • Large flat dusting brush

      • Small sharp knife

      • Damp cloths - always useful to have to hand

      tools required for making flowers with flower paste (see chapter 4)

      To make flowers with flower paste you do need special equipment but you will find you use the tools over and over again – making them great value for money.

      1 Non-stick rolling board – these are available in a number of sizes and colours

      2 Non-stick rolling pin – these are worth the money because they are so useful

      3 Balling/bone tool – used for giving your flowers movement

      4 Veining tool – the ideal tool for putting veins on sugar flowers

      5 Small sharp scissors

      6 Arum lily cutter – these come in a wide selection of sizes; several sizes are used throughout the book, but the tiny ones can be seen on page 84

      7 Sugar glue – this can be bought ready-made or made at home

      8 Coloured semolina – just mix food dust in with the semolina to colour it; it is so useful for so many flowers. Store in a small pot so

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