Helpful Hints to Correct Cake Mistakes for the Decorating Stage

Cake decorating is fun but it can also be quite a challenge, especially when there are a few hurdles to overcome in order to present a beautiful finished product. One of the major problems that you are likely to run into is cake crumbs. How are you supposed to decorate your cake when the cake crumbs get all mixed into the icing? And what do you do when your cake filling wants to ooze out between the layers?

Eliminating the Crumbs

Have you ever tried to use a pastry brush to lightly brush away cake crumbs so that you can spread a smooth icing? Chances are that you still picked up some crumbs which then mixed in with your icing. You can get around this problem and still salvage your cake decorating project.

Separate a little bit of your icing and put it in a separate container from the rest. Thin out the small portion with a little bit of milk or water and stir. Spread this thinner icing over your cake and don’t worry about whether or not the crumbs get mixed into it. The whole purpose of thinning the icing a bit is to let that happen. Once you are finished, set your cake aside for a few hours or refrigerate until the next day. Next, use your thicker icing to spread over the cake. It should go on smoothly without any evidence of cake crumbs. What happened is that the thinner layer of icing bonded the crumbs to the cake so that when you spread the thicker icing on, those crumbs could not be picked up.

Keep that Filling Inside the Cake

Sometimes, spreading a filling in between cake layers can be a disaster, especially when it has the propensity to ooze out the sides. Luckily, there are a few ideas to try so that you can have that tasty filling and be able to eat it too.

For instance, bake your cake the day before you actually need it. Freshly baked cakes are more vulnerable to shift around, especially when you spread a filling in between layers. By allowing the cake to settle overnight, it firms up giving your cake layers more stability when you place filling between them.

Another idea to try is to pipe icing using your decorating bag around the perimeter where the cake filling is. This icing, if it is thick enough, will form a barrier to lock in the filling and prevent overflow. Allow the cake to set aside for a while to ensure that indeed no filling leaks out and then decorate as usual.

For more information check out the whole package at Art of Fine Cake Decorating

Tags: Cake Decorating

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 12:19 am and is filed under Cake Decorating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.