Cake Decorating

The Giant Cupcake 

This cake requires a cupcake-shaped pan, and that does the majority of the work for you. Bake your cake into the cake pan, then ice the top with a flat panel, or any sort of large tip you want- I personally think large roses look really nice on this type of pan. What I did down the sides of the cupcake requires a bit more practice. The pattern for the basket weave can be found here. Practice on a plate before you try it on your cake! 

Lovely Carrot Cake

This type of decorating is super-simple. Just bake your cake into a heart cake pan, as you normally would, then frost it normally. Follow around the edges with a thick ribbon icing tip (squeezing hard), and write your message with a simple thin-tip head. Finally, place chopped almonds around the edge of the cake. The easiest method for this is to do it by hand (although it is a tad time consuming), but it can also be done by pressing the almonds on with a spatula, then tossing the bits that have fallen off. The recipe for the actual cake for this one is also delicious- its a carrot cake with cream cheese icing! I will post the ingredient list in the Recipes page. 

Lovely Layer Cake

Layer cakes are always a hit at parties, and look so impressive given how easy they are to make. The only thing that makes them a hassle is that they are typically quite a bit more hassle than other cakes, but personally I think they are worth it! The way you make a layer cake is the same way you would any other, except you divide the batter into three circular pans. When these three mini cakes are ready, stack them with a layer of icing in between. I personally like to change the inner-icing flavour by adding an extract or jam to some of the icing, but this isn't necessary. Once all the layers are stacked, do a thin layer of regular icing around the entire cake, starting with the sides. Once you have your thin layer, put the cake in the fridge to set for 5 minutes. This will make the icing harder a little, so that you don't get any crumbs showing through in your final product. Again, starting with the sides, do one more layer of icing around the entire cake. Finish it off with some sort of garnish in the center, or decorate the sides as you wish. The cake I have pictured below I made using vanilla batter and icing (died pink) and then added blackberry jam to the icing in the center layers. 

Decorated Cake Pans

This way of decorating is the easiest, and most impressive-looking type a beginner can do.  All you have to do is find a cake pan that you like, pick a colour scheme, and do light stars all over the cake. This takes some practice, but once you get the hang out if it, making these cakes can be a ton of fun. I recommend using a small star tip, and making sure your icing is exactly room temperature; if the icing is too warm, the stars will not hold their shape, and if they are too cold, they will not stick to the cake. Here are photos of some of my favourite cakes I've done.