My First Icing - Class I

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This last Saturday was my first class in Cake Decoration (level I) , I was so exited. I had never made royal icing before or  used a decoratin bag and all those tools.

The days before I went to the lcoal decoration shops (only two in the city) to buy the material, I will list the material for you in case that you want to follow with my this wonderful experience.  The list of materials that you will se below is what we will be using during the entire course, of couse with the icing sugar and the eggs that you will use every time that you are making icing.

List of Material:
1 pack of icing sugar
messuring cups
2 couplers for changing tips
2 hand towels
2 piping plastic bags (disposables, call also pastry bags)
1 plastic bowl 6" (much beter using glass or stainless steel)
2 eggs (you will need the egg whites every time you make icing)
food coloring, basic colors (gel spread moch better in acing and are more intense than liquid)
glass 10" x 10 " (it can be a smooth plastic board)
lily nail set, rose nail No. 7
mixer or egg whisk
Angled spatula  (offset spatulas)
stamens (colors: whiye, yellow, pink)
Wilton tips (tubes) No. 1, 2, 16, 18, 23, 104, 103, 125, 352, 70, 112 & 5

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Our first class featured:

• Hygiene and sanitation of the working area and tools.
• Care and storage of equipment of hand tools, food borne diseases (eggs)
• How to mix royal icing which is the ABC of cake decorating with royal icing
• Basic borders, rosettes, shell borders, reverse shells, zigzag (for all these techniques see videos below)

Basic Hygienic and  sanitation tips:

• Keep your hair tight while you are working
• Wear a upron
• Remove apron before going to the bathroom
• Keep your nail short and clean
• Wash your hand all the time - keep your hands clean at all times
• Sanitize with bleach the area  (table) where your are working
• Keep your tools clean and dry
• Store your tools in a clean and dry box
• Clean your tools before and after using them
• Wash eggs before using them  (use soap)

ICING:

In a  small bowl pour the white eagg, use the mixer and mix until soft picks, add the icing suggar, keep mixing until getting the desire consistancy.

Option 1: Stiff Icing

Stiff icing is used for decorations such as flowers with upright petals, like roses, carnations and sweet peas. Stiff icing also creates your figure piping and stringwork. If icing is not stiff enough, flower petals will droop. If icing cracks when piped out, icing is probably too stiff. Add light corn syrup to icing used for stringwork to give strings greater elasticity so they will not break.

Option 2: Medium Icing

Medium icing is used for decorations such as stars, borders and flowers with flat petals. If the icing is too stiff or too thin, you will not get the uniformity that characterizes these decorations. Medium to thin icing is used for icing your cake. Add water or milk to your icing recipe to achieve the correct consistency.

Option 3: Thin Icing

Thin icing is used for decorations such as printing and writing, vines and leaves. Leaves will be pointier, vines will not break and writing will flow easily if you add 1-2 teaspoons light corn syrup to each cup of icing.

Tips:

1. Practice with the icing on a plate to gain confidence. Frosting can be scooped up and reused as long as it's rebeaten every half hour to maintain elasticity.
2. Throughout piping, periodically twist the top of the bag and apply gentle pressure to push the frosting down toward the decorating tip. This helps eliminate air bubbles and ensures that an even stream of frosting comes out of the tip.
3. Inspect the decorating tip regularly, wiping away any frosting buildup, which could interfere with your decorations

After reaching home from my class y went to the internet and I found very usefull videos showing the same techniques that I ust learned in class.



TECHNIQUES:
I am not a expert inc ake decoration, that whay I am doing this course, my bad I did not carry any camara that day, bud when I came back home I seached in the internet and I found a serie of very usefull videos, that I selected for you. You will see in those videos all the techniques that I learn in the class. I hope you enjoy my video selection.




DECORATING BAGS





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ROYAL  ICING






ICING ESSENTIAL FOR CAKE DECORATING




ICING SHELL AND ROSETTES




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MORE BORDERS

ZIZ-ZAG BORDER'





Books Recomended in Class:

Chocolate Fudge Cake - Toba Garrett

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups (285 g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (170 g) dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup (110 g) Dutch processed cocoa powder
• 2 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups (18 fl oz or 540 ml) buttermilk
• 1 cup (230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 6 oz (168 g) melted semisweet fine quality chocolate

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and parchment line two 8x2-inch (20x5-cm) baking pans.

2. Measure all ingredients (except the chocolate) into a large mixer bowl.

3. Blend for 30 seconds on LOW speed, scraping bowl constantly.

4. Blend in the melted chocolate and beat 3 minutes on HIGH speed, scraping the bowl.

5. Spoon into the pans and level them well with an offset spatula.

6. Bake layers for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Storage: Double wrap the cake in plastic wrap. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Yield: two 8-inch (20-cm) cakes

Recipe by Toba Garret, The well-decorated cake

Decorator's Buttercream Icing

This decorator's staple remains an old reliable when all else fails. It even performs well in warm weather.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (1 pound or 454 gram) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (230 gram) vegetable shortening or hi-ratio shortening
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice or 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract, pure vanilla extract, or almond extract
• 3 lbs (1.36 kilograms) 10X confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp (4 1/2 fl ounces or 135 mililiter) water, milk, or clear liqueur
• 3 Tbsp meringue powder (see, Epicurious Editors' Notes)
• 1 tsp salt

Preparation

1. Cream shortening and butter with an electric, handheld, or paddle-whip mixer. Add flavoring and salt. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time. Add meringue powder. (The mixture will appear dry.)

2. Add liquid of choice and beat until light and fluffy (approximately 5 to 8 minutes). Keep the bowl covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.

Storage: Store the icing in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Yield: 2 1/2 quarts (2.37 L)

MASTER CHEF'S HINT
Add extra liquid to soften the buttercream or extra 10X confectioners' sugar to stiffen it.

• This recipe yields more than enough for two cakes—if icing only one cake, make a half recipe or freeze the extra.
• If using the icing to write on a cake, soften it with extra liquid. If using it to pipe roses, add extra confectioners' sugar.
• Meringue powder is available at amazon.com

How to Make Royal Icing

This is a portion of the royal icing with some color

This is one of my favorites recipes when I need to make about 5 cups of royal icing. I got this recipe from The Well-Decorated Cake from Toba  Garrett.

When I started the Cake Decoration class we started with something very simple like two (02) egg-white and some sifted confectioners' sugar  until the consistency was "right" and some lime juice, that was okey for small cakes, but then I was always short and I needed to make more in the middle of the class, it was just a waste of time.

I use also the egg-white icing type because the Meringue Powder is a bit expensive here in Trinidad & Tobago (about  3 times more expensive than in Amazon.com), but this is a very good option for those who cannot or do not like to use egg-whites.

I have the book The Well- Decorated Cake from Toba Garrett, and started to use here recipe. What I love from her book is that She is  a TEACHER, and in her book she really guide you in the journey to become in a Cake Decorator.

You can find this recipe  in the page 138.

Note: in the Caribbean we use Royal Icing to decorate the entire cake, I mean we eat this icing (with out covering the cake with marzipan firts, like in the US) and also here we use this icing for ornamental purpose.

EGG-WHITE ROYAL ICING
Yield: 5 cups

Ingredients:
3 oz (84 gr) egg whites or pasteurized egg whites, room temperature
1 lb (454 gr) 10X confectioner's sugar, sifted.
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Lightly whip the egg whites on MEDIUM  speed, using a paddle until the whites form soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Lower the speed and gradually add the sugar 1 cup (4oz. or112 g) at a time. Add lemon  juice and beat on MEDIUM-HIGH speed for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the icing forms medium to stiff peaks. Cover the icing with plastic wrap until it's ready to use.

Note:

1. This icing should be used within 1 day. For individual sensitive  to egg whites or to avoid salmonella food poisoning, use only pasteurized egg whites.
2. Storage in an airtight container with plastic wrap directly over the icing and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Beat with metal spatula before using.

ROYAL FROSTING (Cake Decoration Level 1, UWI Open Campus)
Ingredients:
2  eggs white
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
3-1/2   cup icing sugar
1 - 2 tsp Lime juice

1. Beat eggs whites until fluffy.
2. Add cream of tartar and beat until firm but not dry.
3. Add icing sugar gradually beating between each addition. Adding one or two tsp. lime juice helps icing to dry after decorating.
4. Cover bowl with damp clothe to prevent frosting from drying out before it is placed on cake.

MERINGUE POWDER ROYAL ICING (EGG LESS ROYAL ICING)

Yield: 5 cups

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1.6 oz. or 45 g) meringue powder
1/2 cup (120 ml) cols water
1 lb (454 g) 10X confectioners' sugar, sifted.
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Add meringue powder to cold water in a ixing bowl. Beat to a soft peak stage - about 3 minutes. Add the confetioners' sugar 1 cup at a time. Beat between each cup. Add the lemon juice. Beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH speed or until the icing form medium to stiff peaks. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.

Note:

1. Store in an airtight container.
2. Use a grease-free glass container.
3. This meringue powder royal icing can stay at room temperature for 2 weeks or it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
4. Beat before using.

Baking... and Cake Decoration - A New Stage of My Life

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Hi everyone, I am so exited in announcing that next weekend I will start a Cake Decoration Course, it a short course given by the University of West Indies, Open Campus in Trinidad, is only 60 hours.  I am so happy that finally I have got time to get some training in Cake Decoration!!!  I suppose to do the course about Cake, Bread and Pastry (8 months, YTTEP) but there was no more room  :(

I was so sad when I found that I was going to be unable to do any training in baking this year. Making desserts cakes and all those sweet things is what I love. Cake or cookie decoration is the right combination of art, engineering and baking. Perfect for me.

I hope to be able to acquire enough knowledge and confident to eventually open a "dessert bar" or a “Café” small and  cozy  and leave behind all the engineering things, and concentrate my effort and time  in something that I love more and enjoy more.

I do not know how long that is going to take ma to achieve, but I know that I am going in that direction.

I will keep you post with all the information that I get from this training in a weekly basis. I am so exiting that I cannot wait for next Saturday.

I most thanks the government of Trinidad & Tobago for making this training affordable for everyone.

Here some of my favorite cake decoration books for your review.