Clemens - The Busy Girls Guide To Cake Decorating: The Fast, Simple Way to Impressive Cakes and Bakes

Welcome to The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating! Im guessing you have this book because you fancy your hand at a spot of cake decorating, you dont have much time and are the typical busy girl. Well, youre in the right place. This book is all about cake decorating without the fuss, the palaver and sometimes the tears too!

The projects within the book are split into three sections. The Evening Whip-Ups (one-hour projects) are perfect when you have very little time, and are easy to throw together one evening after work. The Half-Day Delights (two-hour projects) are for when you have an afternoon to spare. Finally, the Weekend Wonders (three- to four-hour projects) are for when youve got a bit more time available in your schedule!

In cake-decorating terms, all of the above are tiny amounts of time large, intricate projects take professional cake decorators days, if not weeks, of work. We busy girls dont have the time or the patience (OK then, thats just me) to create those kinds of works of art but this book contains stunning projects that can be achieved in next to no time.

I cheat, I do things the quick way for maximum impact, Ill have traditional cake decorators up in arms with my kamikaze ways but, hey, it is what it is and I was never one to toe the line. I am the typical busy girl (perhaps more the busy than the girl these days) I have three young boys needing my attention, wanting punctures fixed, the paddling pool filling up and feeding every two minutes; a bustling household filled with family, friends and pets; and not forgetting the other boy in the house, my husband. So here it is, The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating the perfect place to start your foray into the world of cakes.

So lets get this show on the road cake decorating the busy girls way

Ruth

Cake-decorating equipment can be expensive and specialist, however the projects in this book make the most of everyday items that you will find in any kitchen, supplemented with a few key pieces.

You will need a brand new all-purpose cleaning cloth, an elastic band and icing (confectioners) sugar. Lay the cloth open on your work surface and place two heaped tablespoons of sugar in the centre. Gather the cloth around the sugar and secure with an elastic band. This handy little duster can be tapped on the surface for a very light dusting of sugar when making decorations and modelling.

When you need a cake quickly, you want to be able to open the cupboard and have everything you need instantly to hand. The following ingredients are easy to source and should be kept in stock in your cupboards year-round!

It makes very little difference to the end result whether you use salted or unsalted (sweet) butter. I tend to use salted, as it is usually the cheaper of the two. Allow the butter to come to room temperature for a couple of hours before baking. If youve forgotten to do this or just havent had time, dice the butter into small pieces and place in the microwave on a low power for 30 seconds.

Try not to use granulated (table) sugar for baking, as the crystals do not dissolve as readily and you can end up with a grainy texture to your cakes and cookies. If you have no caster (superfine) sugar, place your granulated (table) sugar in a food processor and blitz lightly to reduce the size of the grains before using.

My recipes require both plain (all-purpose) and self-raising (self-rising) flours. If you only have plain (all-purpose) flour, you can add a teaspoon or two of baking powder, but the results may be a bit hit-and-miss. As long as your flour is good quality and fresh it shouldnt need sifting (good news for busy girls!).

My recipes always use large (US extra large) free-range eggs, which are my preferred choice for baking. Always break eggs cleanly into a separate bowl to ensure that no shell gets into the mixture.

This is not only a raising (leavening) agent, but also reacts with the natural acidity in a recipe and intensifies the flavour and darkness of the cocoa.

Try out different types of cocoa until you find a brand you are happy with. Ideally it needs to be a good dark colour and flavoursome, otherwise chocolate cakes are too pale and poor in taste. It doesnt need to be expensive to be of good quality.

Semi-skimmed (-skim) and whole milk is preferable for baking giving a much richer consistency than skimmed (skim) milk.

This is used in combination with milk to replace buttermilk, which can be difficult to source.

Try soaking your fruit in a little alcohol or hot water overnight to plump it up and improve its tenderness before you bake with it. If you have forgotten to do this, or if time is short, add the fruit to a pan with a little hot water and heat gently for ten minutes until the fruit is plump and the water has been absorbed.

This gives fruit cakes a warm, spicy flavour and a truly scrumptious scent.

You will need this to make buttercream and royal icing, and for dusting the work surface to make it non-stick. Sift to remove any lumps before use.