How To Decorate A Cake | Homemade Celebrations

Yesterday on Instagram I announced that I was planning to start a novel serial on "Homemade Celebrations."  Anytime nosotros receive got an occasion to celebrate, my heed starts running alongside ideas for cakes, flowers, colors, tabular array settings as well as menus.  I honey planning a party.  I also honey doing it all myself.  There seems to hold out a growing tendency inward outsourcing all of the fun political party things - cakes as well as cookies ordered from bakeries, flowers from a florist as well as nutrient from a caterer.  While those parties tin move hold out lovely, I itch for the chance to exercise it myself - it tin move hold out thus fun.  I completely sympathize if it is non your thing as well as I'm non suggesting y'all cater your ain dinner for 50 or bear witness to endeavour something crazy : )  I only desire to demo y'all some of the ways nosotros brand homemade celebrations at our theatre - elementary cakes, tardily florals, as well as bully political party menus.

When I made the annunciation yesterday, the biggest asking was wanting assistance alongside cake decorating.  Making your identify unit of measurement members' birthday cakes is such a bully tradition.  I honey that when nosotros brand birthday cakes for our identify unit of measurement Emma is learning the value of making versus buying.  No thing where she finds herself inward the future, she volition hold out able to bake a yummy birthday cake for her loves.  It mightiness hold out a pocket-sized gesture, but a homemade* cake is hard to come upward past times these days as well as that makes them fifty-fifty to a greater extent than special.  

*I exercise the term "homemade" loosely.  We normally exercise boxed cake mixes at our theatre + homemade buttercream.  On occasion, I exercise brand cakes from scratch, but my identify unit of measurement truly prefers boxed cakes.  Am I messing upward my entire philosophy here? : )

Decorating "homemade" cakes at abode is non that difficult.  There are a twosome of tricks that acquire inward tardily to acquire skilful results, but most importantly, cry back it doesn't receive got to hold out perfect or professional person looking.  I similar to run into the swoops inward the frosting as well as the blemishes - it is a cake.  It is made of butter, carbohydrate as well as chocolate (in this case) as well as it shouldn't await perfect, it should alone await delicious.  

Recipes

Here is our favorite Chocolate Buttercream Recipe.

If y'all don't desire chocolate, y'all should try Swiss Buttercream.  It is thus unbelievably delicious as well as a dream to decorate with.   So, thus buttery as well as smooth.

If y'all desire to brand a homemade chocolate cake from scratch, try this recipe - it is a favorite when I receive got to a greater extent than fourth dimension as well as in that place is non pressure level to brand certain it is perfect : )

Cake Essentials

2 x 8" Cake Pans
Parchment Paper
Large Baking Sheet
18" Disposable Piping Bags
Jumbo Star Tip
Offset Spatula

Shop all of the Cake & Cooking Essentials, here.  I've created their ain collection thus y'all tin move run into everything on 1 page that you'll take away - as well as exercise over as well as over inward your kitchen.

One of the most of import role of making a pretty cake is that it comes out of the pan easily.  Parchment Paper is your best friend inward this case.  I draw a circle to a greater extent than or less the bottom of the pan, as well as I cutting strips to business the sides.  Once cooled afterwards baking, it comes out of the pan perfectly.

Start alongside 2 sheets of Parchment Paper, cutting :

circle x 2

long strips x 2

brusk strips x 2

I exercise the long as well as the brusk strips to become to a greater extent than or less the sides - you'll take away both to acquire all the agency around.

I position the 2 8" Round Cake Pans onto a Large Baking Sheet to become into the oven.  Putting them on the baking canvas makes them easier to handgrip without sloshing them to a greater extent than or less as well as protects your oven from fall overs.

Try to acquire the batter evenly betwixt the 2 pans to assistance them bake for the same amount of fourth dimension as well as thus that they'll hold out the same thickness.

After they cool, I plough the cake out, upside downwards onto my hand.  Peel the newspaper off of the bottom as well as sides.  Ta-da.  No flouring or using spray necessary.  It also makes the pans real tardily to clean.

Parchment Paper is 1 of those things that I exercise on a daily Blue Planet inward our home.  I exercise it to business my baking sheets when roasting veggies, chicken or baking cookies, as well as I also exercise it for wrapping treats.  

You tin move position it apartment side upward or down.  If y'all cakes are real puffed as well as receive got a large dome, y'all may take away to degree off the hand alongside a serrated knife.  Making the cake degree is 1 of those things that truly does add together to its beauty.  If it is leaning or sloped likewise much, it volition detract from the finished result, thus bear witness to acquire inward equally fifty-fifty as well as degree equally possible.  

This cake was fairly flat, thus I only turned it over without trimming off the top.

Piping Bag : I exercise Large Disposable Piping Bags to piping the buttercream onto the cake.  It keeps the crumbs from coming off of the cake acre I'm spreading as well as it also helps me to distribute the frosting without making a mess.

After piping the swirl on the showtime layer, spread it evenly alongside an Offset Spatula. 

Add the other layer on top. You tin move position the hand alongside the rounded hand upward (for a to a greater extent than homemade look), or y'all tin move flip it as well as position it bottom side upward for a apartment hand similar I did here.  Again, y'all may take away to reduce the travel on if it is likewise puffed as well as uneven.

Pipe on some other layer of icing, thus spread it smoothen alongside the offset spatula. 

You could exit it only similar this - I honey this look.  It is peculiarly delicious looking if topped berries or candied pecans.

To exercise the sides, piping the buttercream zigzagged all the agency around.  This is the messy part.  My buttercream was truly pretty soft, thus I needed to position it dorsum inward the refrigerator to theatre upward a fighting thus it would concur inward identify better.

Offset Spatula (new!), $6

This is a pocket-sized investment particular that brand smoothing as well as decorating thus much easier.  The offset handgrip truly does acquire inward easier to acquire those smoothen sides as well as doesn't receive got the serrated border of a butter knife.

Smooth the sides alongside the offset spatula, going all the agency around, roofing the spots as well as smoothing.  Blend it inward alongside the hand slightly as well as making a build clean edge.  This role tin move accept a acre as well as requires some patience.  This is the fourth dimension to cry back that it is supposed to await delicious as well as non perfect.

See, non completely 100% "perfect" but definitely delicious as well as chocolatey looking.

Now, fourth dimension to acquire inward pretty.   On this cake I used the Jumbo Star Tip for both the hand as well as the bottom.  I exercise it inward a Large Disposable Bag - Cut off the tip of the handbag virtually 3/4", thus position the tip inward as well as fill upward alongside frosting.  I necktie a tiny condom band to a greater extent than or less the hand to maintain it from squishing out the hand of the bag.

This is a "shell" piping border.  You form of swoosh each one, thus taper it off to the side as well as overlap the adjacent one.  

I exercise a petty star/kiss on the hand all the agency to a greater extent than or less because I intend this is form of onetime fashioned feeling.

I added some 6" Aqua Celebration Candles.  They also come upward inward an impressive 18" version as well as colors similar lite pink, gilded as well as ivory.

 I adjusted the coloring of these photos to demo the truthful color of the aqua candles - they are a perfectly pale aqua.  Blue is such a hard color to photograph!

The Wrapping Paper Collection is my newest production collection.  There are thus many uses for the papers - wrapping gifts is only the start.  Here I've used the Large 2" Grosgrain Ribbon inward Navy paired alongside my Hydrangea Wrapping Paper.  I honey the tone-on-tone color scheme.

I've only added 2 novel designs to my collection - 1 is a Navy Gingham as well as the other is a Light Pink Small Fleur Berry.  I needed a pinkish to receive got on manus for whatsoever Emma occasion as well as I intend the Navy gingham volition hold out perfect for petty (and big...) boys as well as husbands.  

Are y'all a "homemade" celebrations somebody or exercise y'all tend to outsource?  If y'all outsource, is because y'all are non confident inward your skills or because of fourth dimension shortage?  I acquire thus much satisfaction out of making as well as beingness able to brand that I desire to piece of employment along portion these tips as well as encourage others to bear witness it.

Cake Essentials

2 x 8" Cake Pans
Parchment Paper
Large Baking Sheet
18" Disposable Piping Bags
Jumbo Star Tip
Offset Spatula

Shop all of the Cake & Cooking Essentials, here.

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