It’s all actually a matter of taste but what I’m uneasy about is the general public’s enthusiasm to accept inadequate quality cake icing. First off let me explain the various types of cake icing.

Real buttercream icing is my favorite. Be aware, if you do not have to refrigerate the cake because of the icing than it is not real buttercream. It stands to reason, that you shouldn’t leave butter or cream out in the open. The rule of thumb is under two hours maximum in a non-refrigerated area. Buttercream icing can be prepared or bought premade. Here are the pros: It tastes great, it can hold bright colors that couldn’t be achieved with a non-dairy whipped topping, and you can make better use of it while cake decorating. The disadvantage is that it has to be refrigerated, and it tends to set up faster than you can ice your cake, so experience matters here.

Non-Dairy whipped topping and real whipping cream. These two icings are perhaps the most popular in the world of cake decorating today. The big box stores, grocery stores, and ice cream stores will mainly use this type of icing. Whipped cream by itself is not a good idea because it is pricey and will not hold the icing color readily. In order to get the taste of real whipping cream and also have stability, the bakers of today will mix 25% whipping cream with 75% non-dairy. 100% Non-dairy whipped topping can also be used alone. It can be purchased as a solid liquid that needs to be thawed and whipped. It is also offered frozen pre-whipped but still needs to be thawed before to use.

Piping Gel is a great item that is used to sketch onto the icing. It is available in all colors and has the texture of a thinned out jelly. It can be found at all cake decorating supply stores. Numerous bakers and ice cream makers will use piping gel to draw a design or write an inscription. I’ve seen a few ice cream makers use soft serve vanilla as an icing on their cakes. It seems to me that the taste of soft serve on an ice cream cake would be really sweet.

The last type of icing that can be used on cakes is becoming very much in style. I attribute this popularity to the various baking shows on TV and magazine articles about Rolled Fondant. The look is beautiful, but the taste is not accepted in the U.S. Rolled Fondant is a confection that looks and rolls out like a pie dough. I also describe it as a clay like material. It is not good to use Rolled Fondant on ice cream cakes. My advice is to lightly coat your cake with buttercream first and then position the Rolled Fondant onto that. This way the taste will be acceptable.

For more details on various cake icings or cake decorating supplies please contact us.

A certain occasion is set and you need to bake a cake to commemorate it. Even though you have an idea how to bake a cake and trust your sense of creativity, you still need a fresh and new idea to work with. Cakes are a part of almost all types of special celebrations if you come to think of it that is why it is important that you know how to bake your own cake and decorate it creatively as well. Here are some cake decorating ideas that you might want to use for your reference:

- Characters: There are hundreds of famous characters to use for cake decorating. You can make any cake special by drawing in Dora the Explorer, or Blues Clues. Or you may want to cut up the cake to make the entire cake into a favorite character.

- Themes: Maybe you would like to go with a 50’s theme, underwater adventure, sport theme, or a roaring 20’s theme for your cake decorating. Use your creativity and find a theme that will thrill the person you are making the cake for, and the guests . You may want to have a masquerade party in that theme. Whatever you decide, have fun.

- Motor Cakes: Boys are usually crazy about trucks, cars, fire engines, boats, tractors, helicopters, or airplanes. Again you can use your cake decorating expertise to make a farm with a 3-D tractor, a racing strip, or a scene showing a fire being put out by firemen. Of course it all depends on what the particular birthday boy is fond of.

- Animals: You can also use an animal theme by cutting the cake to look like any animal, or draw in a scene using animals. It could be a zoo scene with several animals or choose one animal and decorate the cake with other decorations showing where it came from. Use your imagination.

- Food: Maybe you are making a cake for the opening of an Italian restaurant. You could create a scene depicting the building, or if it is for a chef opening the restaurant, a scene of the kitchen with different Italian dishes would be fun. You can also cut the cake to look like a hamburger, hot dog, taco etc… The sky is the limit when it comes to cake decorating using a food theme.

- Holiday Themes: I remember when bunny cakes became popular at Easter, Wilton has pans and decorating supplies for all holiday cake decorating designs. A heart on Valentine’s day, or a 4 leaf clover on St. Patrick’s day is a wonderful way to say happy holidays.

- Your Own Creation: If you have been involved in cake decorating for quite some time, or if you are a novice with an artistic flair, you can create your own cake based on the theme or the celebration.
Regardless of the type of cake that you bake, it is certainly the center and core of any type of occasion. In fact, the existence of cakes in special occasions can even be regarded as a tradition of its own sort. Of course, knowing that you are the one who especially decorated the cake in a certain occasion can definitely give you the attention and applause that you deserve.

Camille Heimbrod

http://www.cakedecoratingthemes.com