Buttercream swirls are piped onto the sides of cake Cake decorating is one of the sugar arts that uses icing and other edible decorative elements to make otherwise plain cakes more visually interesting. Alternatively, cakes can be molded and sculpted to resemble three-dimensional persons, places and things.
In many areas of the world, decorated cakes are often the focal point of a special celebration such as a birthday, graduation, bridal shower, wedding, or anniversary.
The art of cake decorating dates back to mid-17th century in Europe and has since flourished in many regions and countries, including Northwestern Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and South America.
Cake decorating can be a hobby or a job.
"Cake in White Satin" is a beautiful example of why fondant is such a popular wedding cake choice.
Decorating a cake usually involves covering a cake with some form of icing and then using decorative sugars, candies, chocolate or icing decorations to embellish the cake. But it can also be as simple as sprinkling a fine coat of icing sugar or drizzling a glossy blanket of glaze over the top of a cake. Icing decorations can be made by either piping icing flowers and decorative borders or by molding gum paste, fondant, or marzipan flowers and figures.
The precursor to most styles of cake decorating is the European style, which entails covering a cake with a smooth layer of icing, either royal icing or rolled fondant, and then using royal icing to pipe flowers, borders and decorative stringwork to adorn the cake. Traditionally, the wedding cake is a graduated multi-tiered cake stacked in Victorian style or separated by pillars with flowers and other decorations applied to each tier.
The Lambeth Method uses intricate dimensional overpiping of borders on a fondant covered cake. Scrolls, scallops and stringwork are piped, one layer of icing on top of another, until a very dimensional effect is achieved.
The Australian Method also uses intricate royal icing piping over fondant-covered cakes, but then adds delicate lacework and detailed extension and curtain work.
The Wilton Method uses buttercream icing to both cover the cake and then pipe flowers and decorative borders. Buttercream, although much tastier than either royal icing or rolled fondant, is much less refined making for heavier and less intricate decorations. The Wilton course in cake decorating covers The Basics (Level I), Assorted Flowers & More (Level II), and Rolled Fondant & Tiered Cakes (Level III). Wilton has also popularized the quick and easy approach to cake decorating where a cake is baked in a shaped pan and then colored buttercream icing is piped to color in the design, one star at a time.
Wedding cake styles have evolved over the years from the traditional white iced cake with icing flowers and a plastic groom and bride on top to highly artistic designs that mirror the tastes and style of the wedding couple.
Cake decorators like Jay Ellis, owner of Cakes by Jay in New York, report that current trends call for more sugar detailing and fresh flowers and prices per slice range from $4 for the inexpensive to the average $7 to $10 per slice.
Novelty cakes depicting a favorite hobby, sport, pet or object are in high demand when it comes to making a groom’s cake, retirement, or birthday cake.
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