cake decorating tips

Cake Ideas – New Years Cakes

Cake ideas for the new year can maybe be a little harder to come up with. If you have a New Year's Eve or New Year's Day party, you could make a decorated cake to bring in the new year that depicts an hour glass or a clock. With edible image frosting sheets, it's less difficult to go online and find a picture of "Father Time" or a party hat, horn, and confetti to put on a cake to create your masterpiece. If all else fails, one cake idea is that you can at least make an eggnog cake 😉 ! Here is a recipe to accomodate that:

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Eggnog Cream Cake

1 box French vanilla cake mix 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon rum extract (optional) ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (divided) 1½ cups prepared eggnog 1 package (6 serving size) vanilla pudding and pie filling (NOT instant) 1 container (8oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed Prepare cake mix according to package directions, adding extracts and ¼ teaspoon of the nutmeg to batter. Bake in 9 x 13 pan according to package directions. Cool completely in pan. In small saucepan over medium heat, cook eggnog, pudding mix, and remaining ¼ teaspoon nutmeg – stirring constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly; place plastic wrap directly on pudding to prevent skin from forming.

Refrigerate to cool completely. Gently fold in whipped topping in 2 additions. Spread pudding mixture over the top of the cake. Cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.

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Since this cake is actually served in the pan, you could lay a couple of party horns close to the cake and sprinkle some 'incoming year' confetti on the table around the cake. Also have some glasses of punch or eggnog to serve with the cake. To get some ideas of what you can use for this type of party, just visit 'Celebrate Express' and 'The Party Works' banners on the right side of this page. They can accomodate all your party needs year-round, including that New Year's event.

Decorating cakes for different holidays can be challenging, but also very fun and exciting. Just let your imagination flow and you will come up with some New Year's cake ideas.

Be sure to sign up for our FREE eBook “Cake Decorating: How To Go From Beginner To Expert” by subscribing to our FREE Monthly Bulletin at the top of the right side about decorating cakes, and to receive contest notifications, recipes, and cake ideas.

Cake Ideas – Our Store For Decorating Cakes

Cake Ideas can begin in several ways. Sometimes we get our ideas from pictures we see in books, sometimes from cake pans we see and start to visualize different ways we can use them, or maybe we see some sprinkles or confetti that sparks that idea. In order to assist our visitors, we have set up a store with Amazon that features cake pans of all sizes and shapes, cake decorating books of all kinds from beginner to expert (there's even one of 'Cake Decorating For Dummies' 😉 !), decorating supplies from bags and tips to toppers and candles, and baking ingredients that include sprinkles, flavorings and tube icings. There are way too many things to list them all here, including many Wilton products . We have tried to include many items that decorating cakes requires, plus some things you may not have known was even available! So come on over to visit by clicking on the blue banner above that says 'Visit CakeIdeas101.com Amazon Store' and see what we have made available for you all in one shopping place. You will be directed away from this site, but there are a couple of places on the Amazon site then where you can return to us by clicking on 'Cake Ideas 101' and it will take you back here to the home page. If there are items you would like to see us carry, please contact us and we will see about getting it added to our store. We hope you enjoy your shopping experience in our Amazon Cake Ideas 101 Store, and that you find many of the items for decorating cakes that you are looking for at a very reasonable Amazon price.

Cake Ideas – How Many Will The Cake Serve?

Cake Ideas many times revolve around how many people a cake will serve. Of course the biggest determiner to that question is how big the pieces are cut 🙂 . Generally, a cake mix box is going to say that a mix will make 12 servings. Those are pretty hefty portions if you are looking at it in a 9 x 13 pan. That means you would slice the cake in six rows the width of the cake and then cut it down the middle, making 12 pieces. We usually slice it in the six rows but cut it twice the other way for 3 rows to make 18 pieces, and these are still plenty big. It can just as easily be cut in 4 rows to produce 24 pieces. If you are serving other things like ice cream or nuts and mints, this is a nice-sized piece. Cake is usually served as a refreshment and not as a meal anyway 🙂 . Cakes done in the sheet pan (or cookie pan) that is about 11 x 17 can easily be cut to serve 28 people, and that is with just one cake mix. This is 4 rows of 7 pieces, as illustrated in the first picture below. The second picture shows individual pieces marked for a 12 x 18 cake that will serve 50 people. It uses 2 cake mixes.

Round, heart, and other miscellaneous shaped cakes are a little harder to figure for how many they will serve. It's best to keep in mind how thick the pieces will be. As in the two above pictures, the one is in the cake pan and is only about 1/2" to 3/4" thick. The second one is from a 2" deep pan. So even though the pieces in the second one are smaller in surface area, they are also at least twice at thick as the one in the pan. If the decorated cake is a layer cake, you have even more height so the pieces can be cut narrower for the same amount of serving size. As you can see, decorating cakes for that special occasion can be a little tricky in the planning when it comes to figuring how many it will serve. The shape of the pan and the height of the cake can account for several variables. But just as a basic guide, a good rule of thumb is to figure one mix will make anywhere from 18 to 24 pieces to serve the guests. Of course, the biggest thing to figure in would be the person cutting the cake. If they like hefty pieces on the plate, you may just come up short in the end. Guest will then either be receiving a 'sliver' of cake in order to make it stretch, or they will get not at all 🙁 . If unsure there will be enough to go around, take a stash of homemade chocolate chip cookies to serve to the end of the line if you do run out, and I'm sure they will be just as happy 🙂 .

Cake Ideas – Bright Ideas!

Cake ideas and cookie ideas are a couple of things that can be found online without much effort. There is actually a site called Bright Ideas – "a mecca for mingling with other creative friends and the perfect place for finding inspiration for ‘any day’ or ‘everyday’ celebrations. . . It's the perfect place for birthday and holiday ideas, but we think you'll find it's so packed with creative thinking that you’ll be inspired to make every day a special day." You can actually search for what you are interested in by activities, events & parties, holidays, ingredients, and difficulty. You can not only 'get ideas', but also 'give ideas' on this site. They have tons of recipes and a free newsletter you can subscribe to (Don't forget to subscribe to ours while you are here 🙂 ). There are some really clever ideas for treats for kids to take to school for different holidays, or to add a little festivity to the dining table for your family get-together. This is just a very fun site we wanted to share with our readers, even though it's not just limited to decorating cakes and cake ideas.

Cake Ideas – FREE eBook For You!

Cake ideas come and go, but cake decorators are usually here to stay. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, sometimes we all need a little inspiration. So I am bringing to you a FREE eBook you can download and save to your computer. All you have to do is subscribe to my FREE monthly newsletter and the ebook will be sent as a link in your welcome email. The name of the eBook is "Cake Decorating: How To Go From Beginner To Expert." Just come on over to the top of the right hand side of the page and sign up for the FREE monthly newsletter. Be sure to include your birthday (month & day only), as there may be a little surprise for you that day 😮 . Go ahead and claim your FREE eBook!