Cake Ideas 101

Easy Cake Decorating Ideas

trimming the cake

Cake Ideas – The Finishing Touches

Cake ideas come to life when the finishing touches are put on the cake. Decorating cakes is fun, but what is done to "polish" it with the last little details is what leaves that lasting impression. Once the cake is frosted and decorated with the borders and design on top, little things can be done to make it noticeable – not just a cake on the table. Here are some ideas that can make your decorated cakes look remarkable.

  • Put artificial flowers (or real ones if available) in one or two of the opposite corners of the cake. This will give it a definate 3-D effect. Artificial flowers come in so many colors and kinds that you can let your imagination run wild. Mix and match the kinds and colors to come up with contrasting or complimentary colors to the rest of the cake theme and design. Whether using fake or real flowers, just cut the stem about 1 1/2" long and poke down in the cake in whatever position or angle you desire.

  • Use spray food coloring to add a little color without having to use colored frosting. If there is a certain place you do not want any overspray, cover it up with a sheet of paper while spraying. Start with a light mist and then go over it till you have the shade you want.

  • Sprinkles are a great way to add color to the cake, they come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors, and themes, so let your imagination run with that one.
  • Confetti can be used to decorate cakes because there are not only designs available, but also words. People will a lot of times sprinkle confetti on tables for decorations at a party, but it can also be used on the cakes. Just make sure you tell the people when you serve the cake that they will need to pick the confetti off 🙂 . The main timesweI use confetti is around the frosting sheet on a 12×18 or 11×17 cake where you end up with a wide border, that needs something to fill it in. The other time is on sheet cakes on the individual pieces. Below are pictures as an example of both instances, and the first one actually shows how a black and white photo looks when used for the frosting sheet.

  • Small toys and decorations can be placed on the cake that go with the theme. For example, we are from a rural community and a cute idea for a little farm boy is to put a miniature tractor or toy cows or horses on the cake. And what little girl wouldn't like a little princess doll on hers?

These have just been some examples of cakes we have produced for customers. The finishing touches are what gives the cake a personality and character.  Just use your imagination and come up with your own 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 – Trimming the Cake


 

Decorated cake ideas can be found online, in books, or you can use your imagination to come up with your own that will brand you. Applying the trim on the cake is the first step to the finished product once the cake is frosted. The base edge trim is usually done with a star or round tip. The star tips used are tips #16 thru #22, and the round tips used are #8 thru #12. The size will depend on the look you are wanting and where you are applying it. Generally the larger size of tip is done for the base of the cake and a smaller size is then used on the edge where the top and sides meet. The star tip can be used to make the star or shell border, and the round tip makes a bead border. Most of the time we will use a smaller version of the same tip design to trim the top edge as the bottom. Sometimes it is hard to get that top edge consistently covered with the icing, so using the correct tip and pattern will help cover that edge. We personally prefer to use tip #18 and do a reverse rope pattern around the top edge. If you look in a Wilton book, it will show the rope pattern which looks like commas stacked next to each other. We do one "comma" one direction and then go in the undercurve and bring it around to a "reverse comma," then another comma and so on. Once you get the hang of it, it is pretty easy because it is just a flick of the wrist one direction, then the other. The trim is where you can use colored frosting to get the look you want. Depending on the theme or top design, you can make the bottom border one color and the top border a different color, or you can alternate the stars, shells, or beads back and forth between the two colors. Or if you don't want to distract any from the top design, you can just do both borders in white icing. Another option here is if you frosted the cake with white icing, you can use the food color spray from Wilton or Betty Crocker or Wilton to change the color of the icing. That should be done before applying the borders, and then those can be done in white, which really accents the cake. These are just a few cake ideas when decorating cakes to personalize your masterpiece.

  

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.