Dana Meachen Rau - Piece of Cake!: Decorating Awesome Cakes

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Dana Meachen Rau writes about many topics, including food! When shes not writing,shes being creative in other waysespecially in the kitchen. Sometimes she followsrecipes, but other times she experiments with new flavors. And she doesnt need aspecial occasion to whip up a special dessert for her friends and family in Burlington,Connecticut.

From birthdays to welcome-home parties, every occasion is better with cake. Whenyou add your imagination, you can create a masterpiece people will cheer for!

Think of cakes as sculptures. But instead of clay, youll be working with somethingmuch sweeter. Cakes come in a variety of flavors. And they can be circles, squares,or rectangles. To make your sweet sculpture, choose the best cake to fit your plan.You can make your own or buy an unfrosted cake at a bakery. And dont forget thetoppings! Frosting and decorations add flavor and fun.

How to Use This Book

Youll find lots of project ideas in these pages. Follow the simple steps to createa sweet work of art.

Before you begin a project, read over the ingredient list. Make sure you have everythingyou need. Youll find most ingredients you need at the grocery store. Craft and hobbystores sell cake decorating tools. But your kitchen and pantry may already be a treasurechest of supplies.

The Best Part!

Some might argue that frosting is the most important part of a cake. Stores sellsuper-tasty tubs of premade frosting. But if you want to whip up your own, heresa simple recipe. It makes about 2 cups (600 milliliters) of frosting.

~ Frosting ~

cup (120 mL) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

teaspoon (2.5 mL) vanilla extract

2 cups (480 mL) confectioners sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons (1530 mL) milk

Steps

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and vanilla with a mixer on medium speed untilfluffy.

2. Beating on low, alternate adding sugar and milk until the ingredients are mixedwell. The frosting should be thick, creamy, and spreadable.

3. Store the frosting in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Bring it to roomtemperature and rewhip before using.

For some cakes in this book, youll need to make royal icing. Royal icing hardensinto a firm shell so your cake has a smooth finish. There are two kinds of royalicing. Flood royal icing is thinner and good for filling in large areas. Edge icingis thicker and good for making details and edges.

~ EDGE ICING ~

2 teaspoons (10 mL) meringue powder

2 tablespoons (30 mL) water

2 to 2 cups (480 to 600 mL) confectioners sugar

With a mixer on high, blend the ingredients together in a bowl for about four tofive minutes. The icing is the right consistency when it forms little peaks thathold their shape.

Makes 1 cup (240 mL) of icing

~ FLOOD Icing ~

Make a batch of edge icing. Then add water teaspoon (2.5 mL) at a time, blendingafter each addition. The icing is ready when drips hold their shape for just a momentbefore they blend back into the icing.

~ Use Your imagination ~

The ideas in this book are just thatideas! Dont like a color or decoration we used?Change it! Cant find the same candy? Use something else. The best part of dessertdesigning is getting to be creative. Have fun!

A painter needs brushes and canvases. A carpenter needs hammers and nails. A cake decorator like you needs tools too!

Do you crave the sweet thrill of a roller coaster? Create the ups and downs withthis very tasty attraction.

INGREDIENTS

1 8-inch (20-centimeter) square cake

2 9-inch (23-cm) round cakes

vanilla frosting

green, blue, and brown food coloring

red licorice whips

rainbow licorice twists

gum balls

pretzel sticks

8 teddy bear crackers

4 fun-size candy bars

4 pieces each of red and yellowy candy-coated chewing gum

16 round candy necklace pieces

1. Cut one round cake in half. Cut the other cake so one half is slightly largerthan the other.

2. Lay the square cake on your cake board. Place the two evenly cut cake halves ateach end of the square cake.

3. Mix up a batch of green frosting. Frost the cakes on the board.

4. Mix up a batch of blue frosting. Place the unevenly cut cake halves side-by-sideon top of the green cake. Frost these two pieces blue.

5. Mix up a batch of brown frosting. Pipe horizontal tracks up and down the bluecakes and around the green cake.

6. Place the licorice whips on each side of the tracks. Use kitchen shears to cutwhips to the lengths needed.

7. Use rainbow licorice twists to decorate around the sides of the green cake andth sides of the blue hills. Use kitchen shears to cut these to the right lengthstoo.