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Sunday, August 01, 2010

Creepy Cake Decorating -- Lesson one

From The Wilton Website


My daughter spent last year in a Magnet School for Arts. One of the first things she learned was how to sketch. She had zero desire to sketch and instead, wanted to jump into sculpting and painting. I can't really blame her... I mean, when I think about doing art, crafts, or cakes, I'm thinking ahead to what I want the finished product to look like and I want to jump in and get started. However, through many previous errors in judgement, I have learned that sketching at least a rough idea of my project (hey! stick figures work) at the beginning helps things run more smoothly later.


So before I get you into sculpting your zombie heads, I think first you should learn some decorating basics. If it helps to keep the creepy creativity rolling, you can tint your icing a gruesome green, gray, or black.

Icing recipes and tips can be found here (this is my favorite icing) or here (this one is quick and easy to make but stiffer and dries out faster). For practice, tape a piece of wax paper on a table or counter. Then, you can use a spatula to scrape up the icing, put it back in the bowl and keep going at it until you feel really comfortable with the motions and you will get a more consistent border or design. Keep practice icing as just that. It can be stored in the freezer between uses and thawed in the fridge. Sometimes you can microwave it, if you're in a hurry but be careful not to melt it unless you plan to pipe puddles.


Don't ever use your practice icing when you are in a bind and need to bring a cake to Grandma's 80th Birthday Party.


If your naughty children sneak into the freezer and eat your practice icing well... whatever happens, it serves them right.


How to do it




I told you last time that I would show you how to make a piping bag from parchment paper. Liv Hansen is amazing. Her directions are really good.




I don't anticipate any major projects coming up, so you shouldn't have to wait quite so long for the next lesson. Thanks for watching.