Rooney Deirdre - Cake decorating step by step: simple instructions for cakes, cupcakes and cookies

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced baker, this book is designed to provide you with all the baking and decorating techniques youll need to become a confident and creative cake, cupcake and cookie maker.

With easy-to-follow recipes and advice about essential tools, experienced cake decorator Giovanna Torrico guides you through the planning and preparation stages, including baking and icing tips and how to layer and stack a cake. Using stylish designs and handcrafted edible flowers and animals, you can create personalised masterpieces for all occasions. Step-by-step photography enables you to follow the decorating techniques closely to achieve stunning results every time.

Simple instructions for gorgeous cakes

When Giovanna Torrico became a mother, she began cooking from her mothers recipes to make birthday cakes for her own children. Each year, the birthday cakes became more elaborate, and soon friends started asking her to make cakes for them, too.

Born in southern Italy, where she inherited a deep passion for food, Giovanna obtained a Diplme de Ptisserie from Le Cordon Bleu, and then honed her skills at the Ritz Hotel. In 2011, Giovanna set up her own London-based catering company, Dolci di Gio (www.dolcidigio.com).

CONTENTS

Introduction

After I became a mother, I started using my own mothers age-old recipes to make my childrens birthday cakes. Each year I made them more and more elaborate and friends started asking me to make cakes for them, too. As I enjoyed creating new designs I realised that baking was where my passion lay. I hope that this book will birth, or help develop, such a passion in you, too! In it I have provided you with all the baking and decorating techniques and tips you need to get creative with your own cakes and cookies.

Everything has been organised to make it easy for both beginners and experienced cake makers alike to master all the methods and recipes.

Throughout the book practical, accessible text is accompanied by clear photography so that you are able to follow all the techniques closely as you try them out for yourself.

The book starts with the preparation and planning of a cake from the list of the tools you need to the way to line a cake tin. The basic cake and cookie recipes are then described, followed by recipes for covering and filling them.

In layering, covering and stacking you will learn how to get the perfect cake ready for all the decorations you may wish to include. The next chapters then explain the following decorating techniques and methods in detail: hand piping, hand moulding and the use of different cutters and silicone moulds.

The book ends with some of my favourite cake and cookie projects, which amalgamate much of the expertise you will have perfected by this point into specific designs. These are totally interchangeable so feel free to experiment and create your own cakes, simply using the designs as inspiration for your own imagination.

Enjoy!

Tools & Equipment

Before you begin baking, ensure you have all the tools and equipment that youll need on hand. Here is a summary of the things needed for baking and decorating cakes and cookies.

Baking tray: a rimless, flat, metal sheet, designed for baking rows of cookies.

Cake boards: of various sizes and thicknesses.

Cake dowels: use to create a strong internal support system for tiered cakes.

Cake stands and plates: many pretty, stylish stands and plates are available.

Cake tins: traditional shapes are round, square and rectangular.

Cookie cutters: use to cut decorative shapes from rolled-out dough.

Cupcake tins: metal baking tins with usually 6 or 12 cups used to bake muffins and cupcakes.

Foam pad: useful for working on to add veins to flowers and leaves, for softening the edges of flower petals and for frilling.

Freestanding or standmixer: takes all the effort out of beating cake mixtures or mixing frosting ingredients together.

Grater: use to remove the zest from citrus fruit or to grate chocolate.

Measuring spoons: use for measuring small amounts of ingredients like natural vanilla extract, salt or baking powder.

Metal spoons: have many uses in the kitchen.

Mixing bowls: at least one or two large and small bowls are a must.

Modelling tool set: a starter kit has a variety of ball tools, a scallop tool, a tool with a cone at the end, a veining tool and a dog bone tool.

Non-stick baking paper: use to line baking trays and cake tins, and for folding into paper cones to create piping (icing) bags.

Paper cases: cupcake liners are convenient, save on cleaning and are very easy to use.

Pastry brushes: use to spread glazes and egg wash, to grease tins or to brush excess flour and icing (confectioners) sugar from dough and sugarpaste (fondant).

Piping (icing) bags and nozzles: use for cake and cookie decorating; piping bags can also be fitted with decorative nozzles for piping frosting and cream.

Pizza cutter: handy for trimming excess rolled sugarpaste (fondant) after covering cakes or cutting strips of sugarpaste.

Plunger cutters: use to add details to your cake, cupcakes and cookies.

Rolling pins: useful for rolling sugarpaste (fondant), pastry and cookie doughs.

Sieve: use to sift and eliminate or separate clumps from flour, cocoa powder and icing (confectioners) sugar.

Silicone moulds: easy to use, flexible and highly detailed moulds.

Spatulas: these have many uses including scraping batters from the sides and bottoms of bowls, as well as spreading, filling, folding and stirring.

Sugarpaste (fondant) smoother: ingenious tool that gives a sugarpaste-covered cake a satiny, smooth even finish.

Thermometer: useful for Italian meringue or when mixing butter into chocolate ganache.

Whisks: use to whisk dry ingredients together, beat eggs or whip cream.

Wire racks: use to cool cakes after baking. Also useful to place a cake on when pouring a ganache over it.

Wooden spoons: use for beating cake mixtures and frostings.

Ingredients

Have a good supply of the following essential ingredients in your kitchen when baking and decorating cakes.

Eggs

These play an important role in the baking world, adding structure, colour and flavour. It is the balance between eggs and flour that helps to provide the height and texture to cakes.