Rose Atwater - Cake Decorating for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Decorating Like a Pro

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Joshua, Caleb, Sarah, Noah, Christian, and Asheryou are my joy and the sweetest part of my life. Richyyou will always be my favorite. Thanks for always holding my hand and carrying my cakes. I love you.

Contents

H ey there, sweet friends!

Let me start by telling you my cake story and why I wanted to write this book. Cake has been part of my dreams for almost as long as I can remember. When I was 12 years old, I asked for a cake-decorating kit for Christmas, and thankfully my parents did not disappoint. From that Christmas forward, I dreamed of growing up to own a bakery and decorate cakes. I used that set every chance I got, but for years my cake-decorating opportunities were few and far between (and pitiful, I might add).

Even as a teenager and into my twenties, I continued to do the occasional cake for church events and family members, but I was never very good at it. In the meantime, I got married. My husband and I started a family, and I graduated from college with a degree in mathematics. My main job at that time was being a stay-at-home mommy, but somewhere deep inside, I never completely lost my desire to decorate cakes.

Then, in 2009, my baby brother Jake got engaged, and for reasons Ill never understand, he asked me to make his wedding cake. Initially I said no, but when he kept asking, I decided to take the risk (or maybe he was the one really taking a risk), learn what I needed to learn, and go for it! Thats the year Rose Bakes was born.

When Jake asked me to make his wedding cake, I had no idea how to make a professional cake, and I only had seven months to figure it out. I had to research, practice, and research some more to learn everything I needed to know to bake, stack, and decorate a cake that he and I could both be proud of. With almost no real experience of my own, I was incredibly frustrated to find that there was no single resource that provided all the information I needed.

To get some practice under my belt, I started volunteering to bake cakes for friends, family, and anyone else who would let me. After sharing a few pictures on social media, I even began to take orders before the wedding date came around. With every cake I made, I learned something new and got even more excited about seeing my dreams come true. I truly felt like I was finally doing what I was meant to do and using a gift God had given me.

Thats when and why I started writing about cake on my blogand why I wanted to write this book for you, the beginner cake decorator. As I learned new things, I wanted to share them with my readers. When my blog began to grow, I realized there were a lot of new cake decorators out there like myself, searching for information on how to learn the most basic of cake-decorating skills. Thats when I knew Id found my sweet spotdoing something I was passionate about and helping others do the same.

My goal is to give you, a beginner, everything you need to know to learn the art of cake decorating. From choosing the right equipment to baking delicious cakes and making them beautiful, Ive tried to cover every detail. Within these pages, youll find hundreds of photos and simple, easy-to-follow steps that will help you become a successful, confident cake decorator.

This book starts with basic cake prepincluding delicious, reliable foundation recipesand goes on to teach you how to frost and fill cakes, how to stack cake tiers, and finally how to decorate those cakes with ease. Ive included troubleshooting tips for the most common problems first-time decorators are likely to run into and charts to help you mix just the right colors and know exactly how much batter youll need.

To keep things flowing, each chapter builds on the last so that you can work your way through the book, mastering new skills and eventually combining them in ways that make the most of your creativity.

In addition to the foundational techniques, Im sharing ten unique cakes that youll be able to complete on your owncakes that will work for birthdays, baby showers, and even weddings. The tutorials include step-by-step photos and detailed instructions that will guide you from start to finish.

Whether you want to learn about cake decorating to make your childs dream birthday cake or you aspire to start your very own cake business, my hope is that by the end of this book, youll have a solid understanding of cake decorating that will allow you to impress your kids, your friends, your family, and hopefully some clients. You may even surprise yourself!

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