Icing a birthday cake, how?

Uniscots97

Hi all, I generally use ready roll icing to ice birthday cakes. For fairy cakes and lemon tray bakes I'll make up my own. But I wanted to ice this one myself. The cake will be about 12 inches by 14 inches. I want to ice it in plain white smooth icing as I have a cake topper I've had done with a picure on it. Can anyone give me any pointers?


Also (again cheating I know), I'll normally buy the tubes of piping icing (coloured), what's the best way to make this up myself and how much colouring do I add? I have a piping bag and nozzles.


Please help!!!!

Gingernutmeg

To ice the cake, just use the ready-to-roll fondant icing that you can buy. It's what all of the professionals use and it's not 'cheating' at all, it's what'll give you the best, smoothest finish.

For the piping icing, I've never used this so I'm not sure what consistency it is, but for piping I'd normally use a royal icing (this will dry fairly crisp and hard). There's a recipe here - don't leave out the glycerine, as this'll stop it setting like concrete If you're worried about using eggs then you can buy dried pasteurised alternatives, like Meri-white.

The best kind of colouring to use is the paste kind, and you only need a tiny, tiny bit of it - basically what you need to do is build up the colour slowly, as it's easy to add more but not easy to take it away! If you've got liquid colouring, then add it slowly too. You won't get as intense a colour and you need to be careful not to add too much as it'll change the texture of the icing, but it'll work perfectly well.

Uniscots97

HI Gingernutmeg I really didn't want to use the ready roll stuff as it seems hard to get a hold of where I stay and I need it by friday. Normally I'd order it but not guaranteed it'd be here on time.


Does anyone know how I can make it from scratch ?

Uniscots97

After doing a little googling, I'm wondering if DIY sugarpaste would be better? I have lots of Icing sugar. Any ideas?

freyasmum

IME, DIY sugarpaste is a pain in the proverbial I found it very difficult to get a smooth finish, and it was very sticky. I would definitely try to buy the ready to roll stuff if you can.

If the only way you're going to be able to do the cake is to make the sugarpaste yourself, then I would advise you to practice - lots! - before you do it for real

Uniscots97

Thats just it I can't get the ready roll icing in time before friday. Nowhere near me keeps it. I do normally order it and thought I had some so hence didn't order it.

Which would work better fondant or sugarpaste? I need to make it from scratch. Any recipes (tried and tested)?

Bunny200

I did a cake yesterday using ready roll fondant icing which I got from Tesco. Its really easy to get hold of at this time of the year and really easy to use, would recomend a ribbon or frill to wrap around the cake and then you don't have to be too neat about the edge!

Uniscots97

None of the shops near where I stay keep ready roll icing (I've checked and asked). Please does anyone have a foolproof way of making it from scratch?

Gingernutmeg

It's extremely difficult to make fondant icing at home - you'll need a large pan, a marble slab, a sugar thermometer and a LOT of time lol. Basically what you'd do is boil up the sugar (and cream of tartar, I think) to a certain point (I think it's soft ball but I'm not sure) then you pour it out onto the slab and sort of fold it inwards with a pallette knife, and eventually you get a large lump of white, opaque, crumbly fondant which you can store in the fridge. When you want to cover a cake with it, what you'd do is melt it again, then pour it over the cake so that you get a nice, smooth coating. It's really not something you can do at home, and it's not something that professional chefs even bother with that much - you might find it in a posh patisserie, but very rarely as ready-roll has overtaken it. However, if you want to have a go and you've got the equipment, then have a look online and I'm sure you'll find a method.

jenagain

Hi,

I've just started my own cake decorating business and I make my own marshmallow fondant - it's basically just melted marshmallows and icing sugar. This is the recipe I use:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm

My first try was a bit iffy but the 2nd time it came out perfectly! It looks just like ready to roll fondant but tastes so much better

Hope that helps you!

Jen

Edit to add that I use Pura instead of Crisco, I get it in Sainsburys and it's in a bright yellow wrapper.

L-train

If you don't have any luck with the fondant could you use buttercream icing instead (or royal icing. I'm not familiar with that myself)? If you have a large, smooth knife or spatula, dipping it in very hot water will help you spread the icing on smoothly.