Cake Decoration Tips: Level up your Icing Game this Christmas Season!

Getting good at decorating cakes takes diligent training. And lots of practice!

But the effort, time and resources you invest to acquire this skill is absolutely worth it. Especially considering how much acclaim and fortune awaits you when your expertise and professionalism in this area is recognised. The basic requirement you need to meet to excel in this special art is creativity – that’s it!

So let’s find out what it takes to do a decent icing job, and then level it up!

Equipment you need

Get the equipment from a craft store or pastry supply. The basics that you’ll need are icing bags, icing nozzles or tips and couplers to attach the tips to the bags. A cake stand that swivels is a tremendous help, as you can frost all sides of the cake while bringing the cake up close to you, without breaking a sweat! The other items you need to keep at hand are some cake pans in different sizes, baking trays and some good knives. Also invest in a rubber spatula, a short metal icing spatula and a long metal cake icing spatula.

Preliminary checks

Before placing a pan in the oven for baking, check that the cake mix batter is lying level in the pan. The cake should be checked every 20 mins to ensure even and uniform baking from all sides. Check for parts of the cake where it is baked unevenly and if some other parts have risen higher. If you find that is the case, level the cake with a knife while it is still warm. The end result of your baking process should be a balanced, even and intact cake slab that will stand up to the changing ambient conditions and temperatures while it is being finished and decorated.

Cool the cake after baking

This is important and easily overlooked. Give the cake at least a day’s time to cool off before starting to work on it. The reason for this is that while the exterior of the cake may feel cool to the touch, the centre of the cake can stay warm for hours and you wouldn’t even know it!. Attempting to frost a cake that hasn’t been completely cooled will spoil the cake.

Mise en place

Icing is the most important element of cake decoration. Icing should be really stiff! One can always thin out icing if it’s too thick, but trying to get thin icing to the right stiffness and consistency is tedious and time-consuming, if at all achievable. It makes sense to prepare frosting in abundant amounts since it has multiple applications for decorating cakes. Having some food colouring handy gives an option to use icing of different colours.

How to handle the piping bag

Hold the bag with both hands instead of holding it with just one. Apply steady pressure. When you do this the icing mix should pipe out of the nozzle in smooth and long strips. The piping bag should be hover closely over the cake when starting a design. It shouldn’t be squeezed for a prolonged stretch of time or too hard. Stop squeezing and lift the tip up and away from the cake when the design is done. Getting this right takes some time, so don’t get too disheartened if you’re not able to get your desired result in the beginning.

When the cake decoration stays in intended shape, It is an indication that the consistency or texture of the mix is just right. If the frosting or icing don’t hold together and start to disintegrate, the mix is too thin. If the mix is hard to push through the nozzle it is probably too thick. This is confirmed if you observe cracks in the designs.

Getting ready with the icing process

Choose and clean the nozzle or tip that you intend to use for your icing exercise. Affix this tip to the piping bag. Prepare your icing mixture in a bowl and after checking its consistency, fill about a cup of the mix into the piping bag. Using a bowl prior to filling the mix in the bag and filling the bag with just a cup of icing mix allows the flexibility to add milk to thin the texture if required. The mix should be perfect for passing through the tip without a lot of effort. It should be thick and stiff enough for thee design to stay and hold together. Those who’re new at this would do well to have several gos on waxed paper before attempting the same on a cake.

How to apply the first layer of icing

To commence work on the cake, you will need to get it out of the pan and onto a clean and flat work surface. So when you’re absolutely sure the cake has cooled down even at its centre, get it out of its pan by turning it upside down and letting it slide out. This will help to avoid crumbs. Start by applying an initial thin layer of icing on the cake. Then follow that up with a thin layer of frosting. Now you may cover the layer of frosting with a normal layer of icing. The icing layer has to be smooth and uniform. If you want, you can dip your metal spatula in cold water and smooth the icing to a beautiful finish.

Don’t get overwhelmed and keep at it!

The process of baking, and getting ingredients and equipment together to create the family special may appear a bit daunting. Sometimes the decoration process that requires precise and firm handling of the piping bag can be downright frustrating at times. Don’t let that put you off or scare you away from trying to master this skill. It is extremely rewarding. Just imagine yourself and several onlookers admiring a beautiful cake on that stand and knowing that it is something that you created with your own two hands! Stick at it, soldier on and you’ll surely become a cake-designing pro, really soon!

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