Decorating your cake has come a long way since the days of Wilton and the Icing bag. Here is a breakdown of some of the more inspiring gadgets and products on the market that can make the difference between an ordinary cake and one that is truly spectacular and unique.
Nowadays you can get cake spray paint. This allows you to spray paint your cake any color you want. A great idea is to make your own stencil and simply spray lettering, shapes images, anything you like on the cake.
The spray comes out in a fine mist that you can use to create a speckled effect or you can layer it on thickly to create a richly colored effect. One word of warning – don’t hold the nozzle of the spray can too close to the icing or the force of the air coming through may cause dents or shirring in the icing.
You can buy cake stencils just about anywhere on the net but just about any kind of stencil can be used to create an image on a cake. The easiest surface all to stencil on is a fondant cake because it is the simplest and flattest surface however great effects can be achieved on buttercream or royal cream iced cakes at all.
To use a stencil all you do is lay it over the cake surface and apply color, glitter or tinted icing sugar using a shaker, spray can or brush.
You can also use a stencil to create raised lettering. Simply lay the stencil on the cake, apply a Royal Cream Icing thickly over the stencil and before it hardens lift the stencil off the cake to create raised letter.
To emboss a cake using a cake stencil simply press the stencil into a cake that has been iced flat with Royal cream and then lift it up gently.
Cake decorating combs look like giant hair combs. Different varieties have different widths and types of serrated edges.
A cake decorating comb comes in very handy for smoothing buttercream frosting to prepare it to be rolled in fondant or tiled with fondant pieces. This is because it creates a very flat yet slightly tacky edge that allows the fondant to adhere more smoothly to the cake.
Cake combs can also be used to create swirls and patterns in frosting the same way you can use a plaster comb to create patterns in ceiling plaster.
As you can see you have a lot of options for making the prettiest cake possible!