Amateur cake decorator Jennifer Hunter of Waterloo, Ont., offers the following suggestions to novices who want to give it a try:
To remove a cake from a pan: Before adding batter, coat the bottom and sides of the pan with shortening and a dusting of flour (or cocoa for a chocolate cake). Do not overbake.
After removing the cake from the oven, leave it in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool and set. Then gently shake the cake to loosen the edges and flip it out of the pan. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
Basic utensils needed:
-A long metal spatula (at least 15 centimetres), preferably with a bent blade that allows you to keep the handle and your hand away from the surface of the cake.
-A piping bag (she prefers fabric or disposable plastic bags over rigid piping tubes) with a coupling device to which piping tips can be attached; start with a round one, a star tip and a leaf tip.
-A turntable or lazy Susan to put the cake on, allowing you to make continuous lines of piping without having to put down the piping bag.
How to start:
Make more icing than you think you'll need. Run your hand gently over the cake to ensure there are no loose crumbs.
Put a "big glob" of icing in the middle of the cake top and work it toward the edges with the metal spatula, being careful never to let the spatula go off the edge of the icing.
When the top is done, put more globs on the sides of the cake, working the icing the same way toward the edges, a little section at a time.
When the cake is totally iced, you can wipe off the spatula and go over the cake again to smooth the icing or to make attractive swirls in it.
Decorations:
Practise, practise, practise.
Draw the pattern you wish to make - including lettering - in the actual size you want onto a piece of cardboard. Tape waxed paper over the cardboard and use the piping bag to trace the pattern visible through the paper in icing.
When you think you have it down, remove the used waxed paper, add a new piece, and before you apply the icing, trace the pattern with your finger dabbed with a tiny bit of shortening. This will allow the decoration to be removed more easily from the waxed paper once the icing has hardened.
Keep the tip clean by wiping it on the icing bag intermittently. It will help keep the lines crisp.
