Cake Decorating How-Tos

How To: Frost a cake like a Calla Lily with buttercream

Making a delicious cake base is only part of the equation for the high-end pastry chef. Icing the cake in a really attractive pattern requires immense attention to detail and precision. This video demonstrates both in teaching you how to decorate a cake with buttercream frosting in the image of a Calla Lily with a blue background. Delicious and artistic.

How To: Store fondant icing projects

So, you've entered the world of cake decorating and fondant icing! What is one to do with their projects once finished? In this video, learn from the best ways to store your fondant icing projects. Take some final precautions and store your cake the best way possible. After all, your time, effort and creativity have made it very special!

How To: Decorate a pink flowery wedding cake

Looking to decorate the perfect wedding cake for a loved one's special day? In this video, Sue McMahon, cookery editor at Woman's Weekly magazine, explains how to go about decorating a beautiful pink flower filled wedding cake, perfect for a springtime wedding! Learn everything you need to know to re-create this cake in the comfort of your own kitchen!

How To: Make a buttercream orchid cake

Cake decorating is just another way for an artist to represent the kind of talent and vision they possess. A cake is not just a beautiful, sweet little snack, but a canvas in which an artist can be as creative as they can with using edible tools. This video tutorial shows you how to make a buttercream orchid cake that is sure to wow everybody. Enjoy!

How To: Decorate a beautiful bird cake

In this video by Serious Cakes, learn how to decorate a beautiful and elegant bird themed cake. Go step-by-step, from start to finish, applying this gorgeous cake design to create a cake that will blow minds! Perfect for a woman or man who loves birds or a springtime birthday!

How To: Decorate a buttercream tulip cake

Learning to decorate cakes? Try this design on for size. In this video, learn how to decorate a buttercream tulip cake with a basket of tulips on the front face of the cake. Get tips on how to perfect this design from cake decorating expert, Serious Cakes.

How To: Make a pirate cake

This video shows us how to make and decorate a cake that looks like a pirate. You will need 1 baked 9' round cake, 2 1/2 cups of white frosting, 1 1/2 cups red frosting, 1 TBSP. brown frosting, chocolate cookie crumbs, mini jaw breakers, fruit leather, an M & M, a peppermint patty, black licorice, red licorice, Tic Tacs, and a marshmallow.

How To: Decorate a cake by shaping artistic chocolate pieces

Chef Francois Payard shows some innovative cake decorating tips in this video. He says that all you need to make a beautiful cake topping is just a little chocolate, some practice and a lot of imagination. A cold slab of marble,approximately an inch thick and which is kept in the fridge for 3-4 hours, is required for shaping the decorations. Chocolate should be melted and it should be hot, not boiling. A large spoonful of chocolate should be poured on the marble and spread nicely and evenly. ...

How To: Make a caterpillar cake and bug cupcake

In this video, we learn how to make a caterpillar cake and bug cupcakes with Lee Hanson. You will need: 1 box Betty Crocker cake mix, any ingredients the box calls for, 8 drops of green food color, 1 1/2 container of Betty Crocker vanilla frosting, tray covered with foil, 5 candy-coated chocolate candies, 2 vanilla wafers, 2 small pretzel sticks and 24 gumdrops. First, heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake the cake. Let it cool for a few hours or until it's not warm at all. Then, cut the cak...

How To: Make swirled chocolate heart cake decorations

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to make swirled chocolate heart cake decorations. Users will need a heart shape cookie cutter. Brush some oil inside the cookie cutter and some butter one the outside. Then press on some wax paper on the outside of the cookie cutter to create mold. Now pour in some melted white chocolate and fill in the heart shape. Now add the chocolate. Using the sharp point of a knife, swirl it around the chocolate to create a swirl design. Place the cake into the ...

How To: Make baby rattle cupcakes for a babyshower

In this video, we learn how to make baby rattle cupcakes for a baby shower. To decorate these, take some pre-made cupcakes and place a coat of icing on the top of it. Now, you can pipe some decoration onto the cupcake using a plastic bag or pastry bag. Making different lines and polka dots will make a great pattern for a baby shower. You can also make flowers with different colors. Add on different candies to make it more colorful and add different tastes. You can also write with your icing p...

How To: Decorate a yule log cake for the holidays

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to decorate a modern yule log cake. Begin by glazing the cakes with a chocolate glasage. This glaze is made with sugar, coco powder, chocolate and cold syrup. Pour the glazing all over the cake and shake to make sure that it is spread evenly. Make the glazing thin for maximum coverage. Using a knife, pick up the cake and place it on a decorative piece of cardboard or plate. The cake is then decorated with hardened and macaron. This video will benefit ...

How To: Make a mummy cake

In this video we learn how to make a mummy cake. We will need candy melts, eyeball mold, edible markers, a cake that has a crown on it, buttercream frosting, white fondant, sugar veil frosting, brown petal dust, a decorator brush, a cake round covered in foil, spatulas and knives. First you make the eyes. You can use the white candy melts to do this. You can use colored melts to make the irises. Put the melts in the mold and tap it to get the air out. Then put it in the fridge to harden the c...

How To: Store baking ingredients correctly to keep fresh

It is important to know how to keep your cooking and baking ingredients fresh. Many have either an expiration date or a "use by" date on the containers which should be followed. Shortening can turn rancid if it is kept in a warm environment. To keep it from going bad it can either be stored in your refrigerator or in a sealed container in a cool, dark, dry place. Sugar doesn't generally go bad, but it can develop moisture which causes lumps to form. If this happens then you can usually either...

How To: Make a May Day centerpiece cake with Sandra Lee

In this tutorial, Sandra Lee shows us how to make a centerpiece cake. First, place lemon frosting onto a vanilla round cake and then place another place vanilla cake on top of it. Now, grab your vanilla frosting and pour it on top of the cake, smoothing on the top. Now, grab a butter knife and apply more frosting to the sides of the cake very carefully so you don't brush the cake plate. Once finished, you can decorate some cupcakes with different icings and sprinkles. You can then place the c...

How To: Make a caramelized pear-ginger upside-down cake

This video shows a recipe for pear-ginger upside-down cake. First, brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup are melted together in a sauce pan. The mixture is removed from heat and vanilla is added before stirring; this mixture will serve as the glaze for the cake. The glaze is evenly spread into a cake pan. Next, chopped pecans and sliced pears are added to the cake pan. The video then makes use of a spiced cake mix that has been prepared according to the directions with the exception of the addi...

How To: Make a dinosaur birthday cake

Learn from Betty Crocker Kitchens, how to easily and quickly make a dinosaur birthday cake. You do not need a special cake pan for this recipe. She uses two 9" round cakes, to cut all the shapes you need to make the dinosaur. It is only required to cut out 3 shapes, and you can print the templates from their website. After the shapes are cut, you use the frosting to "glue" the cake to the platter you are working on and then spread a thin layer of the frosting all over the cake to seal in the ...

How To: Make fondant icing shooting stars for cake decorating

In order to make Shooting Stars for Cakes made from Fondant Icing, you will need the following ingredients and supplies: fondant cookie cutters, wire cutters, gumpaste, a pastry brush, icing spatula, glue (or gumpaste with water), a paint brush, a fondant rolling pin, powdered sugar, floral wire, and a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

How To: Crumb coat a cake

Leif Hanson for the Betty Crocker Kitchens shows how to crumb coat a cake. This is when you put a thin layer of frosting on the cake to hold the crumbs in. She starts with a square cake with exposed edges. First, you take a big scoop of frosting and put it on top of the cake. Next, you spread it around with a spatula. As you spread it evenly you want it to go over each edge and corner, but don't let the corners sag. Next, she loads the spatula, fills it from the top edge to the bottom edge, w...

How To: Make and decorate a heart fireworks tiered cake

Wilton Cake Decorating demonstrates how to make and decorate a heart fireworks tiered cake. Roll out the pliable edible cake clay so that it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut out heart shapes with cookie cutters. Let them dry for a few hours. Attach the hard hearts to wire with an icing adhesive. Create a bouquet out of the candy flowers by crooking the end of the wires and sealing the bases with floral tape. Create three-inch panels for the six-inch cake out of the cake clay. Cut out heart ...

How To: Decorate cupcakes using different techniques

Pastry Chef Anne Heap demonstrates how to use a pastry bag, as well as techniques for decorating cupcakes. Frosting a cake or cupcakes with a pastry bag is much easier than using a knife. The bags come with many different styles of tips. Just choose the tip you want to use, fill the bag with frosting, squeeze to apply the frosting, pull up and let go.

How To: Make a red velvet cake

In this recipe, we learn how to make red velvet cake at home. YOu will need: 2 1/2 c flour, 2 pans (coated with Crisco, flour and wax paper), 1 1/2 c sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp falt, 3 tsp cocoa powder, 1 1/2 c vegetable oil, 1 c buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 2 tbsp red food coloring, 1 tsp white vinegar, 1 tsp vanilla and cream cheese frosting. First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare your pans. Next, in a mixing bowl add together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder....

How To: Make football cupcakes

This video from Family Fun shows how to make football cupcakes. You will need some cupcakes that you have already baked, some green frosting, white decorating gel and icing, fruit leather, pretzel sticks and chocolate covered almonds.

How To: Frost a Cake with Butter Cream Frosting

The first thing that should be done when icing a cake with buttercream frosting is to wrap the cake in plastic wrap and chill it in the freezer. This will ensure that when you trim the top of the cake there will not be as many crumbs. After triming the top of the cake to make it even, turn the cake over so that the bottom of the cake is now the top. Now take a piping bag filled with buttercream frosting fitted with a large basket weave tip and pipe horizontally going around the entire cake.

How To: Make a pull-apart football cupcakes

BettyCrockerTV shows viewers how to make pull-apart football cupcakes! First, you should cook cupcakes, and then arrange the cupcakes on the platter. Start with three rows of three cupcakes. Next add two on each side! Then add one on the end to finish this off. Now it should look like a football. Now to frost, you should not frost each cupcake. Instead, pipes frosting on to all of the cupcakes in the shape of a football. It should take 2 cups of frosting. Now, after piping frosting onto the c...

How To: Cover and Decorate a Cake with Fondant

This is a demonstration of covering and decorating a cake with fondant. The cake is chilled and kept aside for covering. Fondant is bought from a cake decorating shop in bulk of about one pound as less is hardly available. The fondant is kneeded like a bread dough and made smooth and soft. The dough is rolled by a rolling pin after spraying a little corn starch on both sides so that it does not stick to the table or the rolling pin. It is rolled upto a thickness of 1/4" to 1/8" thick if the c...

How To: Make a butterfly birthday cake

This video shows you how to transform a plain cake into a butterfly cake. You start with a round cake. Cut off the dome, cut the cake in half, then cut the cake like a peace sign. Arrange the pieces to form the butterfly. Apply a thin layer of icing to form a crumb coat. To set crumb coat, place cake in freezer for fifteen to thirty minutes. Now you apply a thick layer of icing, about a quarter inch thick over the entire surface of the cake. Use different colored icing to create a pattern of ...

How To: Decorate an angel food cake with cranberry garnish

This video tells us the method to decorate an angel food cake with cranberry garnish. Cut the cake into half horizontally by using a serrated knife. Remove the upper portion of the cake. Mix together half cup of raspberry jam and two teaspoons of orange peel. This mixture is spooned over the top of the lower portion of the cake. Put the top of the cake back on the lower portion. Take 8 ounce of whip topping and apply it to the outer portion of the cake. Now, take frozen cranberries and thaw t...

How To: Make a Noel cake with Sandra Lee

To decorate a noel cake, buy four layers of chocolate (two large sized, two small sized), two layers of spice cake (two medium sized), and a chocolate cupcake. Using a long serated knife, trim the tops of the cake to make the even. Put the one of the large chocoate cakes on your serving plater and put some frosting on top to "glue" it to the next layer. Now put the other large chocolate cake on top and gently press it into place. Frost the sides of the layer. Place a cardboard circle that is ...

How To: Make and decorate a ready for bath baby shower cake

The video is a demonstration of how to decorate a cake for a baby shower decorated to look like a baby bib. For the cake recipe, use a cake mix and add 2 teaspoons of freshly grated orange zest, 1 cup orange juice, 4 eggs and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and bake it the normal way. For the filling, 1 cup of cold milk, 1 package of vanilla instant pudding, and two teaspoons of orange zest and fold in two cups of Cool Whip. Level the cake by cutting the top off and cut it into layers. On the bot...

How To: Make a mermaid birthday cake

This video shows how to make a mermaid birthday cake that would be perfect for a little girl. To make the mermaid take a fashion doll, or a Barbie doll, and wrap her legs in plastic wrap. Now cover her in green and blue fruit roll-ups to form the mermaid's tail. You will need about three strips to make the entire dress and tail. The fruit roll-ups will stick to itself. For the cake you will need two 8 inch rounds and a smaller cake baked in a custard cup. Make sure the cakes are flat on top, ...

How To: Do ruffle & ruffle bow cake decorating techniques

Wilton Cake Decorating demonstrates how to do a ruffle and a ruffle bow cake decorating techniques. Use a #104 petal tip to create this effect. Also use a medium icing consistency and hold the bag at a 45 degree angle. A petal tip can be used to make ribbons and bows. The icing tip has a narrow end and a larger end. Place the larger end down and move your hand up and down to create the ribbon. Make a figure eight to make the bow. Add a knot in the middle, if desired, and add strings. Star tip...

How To: Make your own frosting plug

This is a video tutorial that is showing its audience how to make their own frosting plug for when you need to decorate cakes, cookies, pies, or cupcakes. The first step in making your own frosting plug is to put a piece of plastic wrap onto your counter. Spread it out so that it is in a square shape. Next put a dollop of frosting onto the piece of plastic and roll up your plastic. Next after the plastic is rolled into a tube you can get your plastic bag with your attached frosting plug and c...