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Chapter 2

Tricks of the Trade

Bake, chill, carve, and decorate. That’s all it takes to make the cakelets in this book. Admittedly, decorating takes the most effort, but it’s also the best part. Here are a few of my tricks to make things even easier.

TIPS

COLD CAKES ARE EASIER TO CARVE

The key to making cakelets easy to carve and decorate is to always work with a chilled cake. They’re firmer and they lose fewer crumbs. But that means you need to plan ahead and give your fully cooled cake time to chill in the freezer for a couple hours. If you try to carve a cake that is room temperature, it may start to fall apart—and then so will you. Nobody needs that kind of stress!

TEMPLATES MAKE IT EASY

Templates are great tools as they take the guesswork out of carving your cake into a cakelet. Place the template over the cake and cut around it using a serrated steak knife (since the cakes are small, there’s no need for a big bread knife). Use the template as a guide to cut around the shape. I’ve provided several templates at the end of this book. But you can also create your own templates to create cakelets of your own design.

THICK CAKES ARE TASTIER WITH FILLING

I create some of the taller designs by stacking pieces of cake with layers of frosting in the middle, so they’re more delicious. But this can be tricky with some designs. That’s when I use loaf pans so I have a big firm chunk of cake to work with. To keep the cake portion from being overwhelming when eaten, simply core out a few holes in the bottom of the cake before decorating, then fill in the holes with your favorite icings or fillings.

WORKING WITH COLORED DUSTS

In general, choose a shade slightly darker than the fondant. Luster dust adds shimmer while petal dust adds the appearance of depth, and both go on best with puffy brushes, which you can find at art stores. To use, tap some dust from the jar onto a plate, dab your brush in the dust, tap the handle to allow the excess to fall off, then brush over your design.

While luster dusts are generally brushed over a large area of fondant to give it shine, petal dusts are more often used on smaller, more concentrated areas to add depth. For example, if I am making light pink flowers and would like to add a more realistic effect, I dab a darker shade of pink petal dust from the center of the flower outward. If I am making a brown doggie cakelet, I would use a darker brown dust around the eyes, mouth and legs to add dimension.

If you want to paint on fondant, dusts are the way to go. Just mix them with vodka. Don’t mix dusts with water, since the water won’t dry and will instead leave your fondant feeling tacky to the touch. Luster dust makes metallic paint, which is great for accents and jewelry, while petal dust makes more traditional paint. The less vodka you use, the more opaque the paint is. Add a little more vodka and you will have a more translucent painting stroke.

Since disco dust is essentially edible glitter, paint the fondant with vodka, then shake the dust over it while it’s still wet. A word of caution: After using it, you will be find remnants of disco dust for a few days no matter how thoroughly you clean up!

TINTING FONDANT

It’s easy to tint fondant. The trick is to start with a small amount of gel color and knead it in completely before deciding if you need more to reach the desired shade. You might be surprised by how effective just a few drops can be once they’re completely incorporated into the fondant.

To avoid staining your hands, be sure to use food-service gloves. Warm the fondant by kneading it until it’s pliable. Add a few dots of gel color to the surface in several spots, then knead the color into the ball until it’s evenly distributed. Add more dots of color if necessary. Dark colors—such as black, brown, and red—typically need more applications of gel color, even up to one full ounce (25 ml). Keep any fondant sealed in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it.

USING A PIPING BAG

Piping bags are available in many different varieties. Preparation is simple if you’re using plastic disposable piping bags. If using only one decorating tip, simply cut off the bottom point of the bag just enough so that the design of the tip is exposed. If you cut away too much, the tip will fall through the bag or icing can leak out of the sides of the opening.

If you want to use multiple tips for the same piping bag, you will need a coupler. Couplers consist of a base and a ring. First, cut a hole big enough for the bottom half of the base to be exposed. Pull the bag tight so that the base is firmly in place. Next, place a tip onto the exposed coupler base and tighten it in place with the ring. That way, all you will have to do is unscrew the ring to change out your decorating tips.

After your decorating tip is in place, fill the bag with icing. Open it up and fold the top part of the bag over the hand that is holding the bag. Now you can easily fill the bag without getting icing on your hands. Unfold the bag from your hands and give the bag a twist so that icing does not leak out of the top. If you are working with kids, simply use string to tie the top of the bag tight so that they will not have icing leaking out of the top. Place the twisted part of the bag between the base of your thumb and index finger. Press your thumb to your index finger and begin piping. Use all four fingers to squeeze the bag. Be sure to practice using the appropriate amount of pressure for your decorating.

BASIC RECIPES

VERSATILE VANILLA CAKE

MAKES 4 CUPS OF BATTER

This moist, tender cake is easy make and uses staples you likely have on hand. It bakes up beautifully no matter what type of cake pan you use. Vanilla bean paste gives the cake the best flavor. The paste’s popularity is rising among bakers, making it easier to find at better grocery stores. It’s also widely available online.

½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla bean paste (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

1½ cups (215 g) all-purpose flour

1¾ teaspoons (8 ml) baking powder

½ cup (125 ml) whole milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray cake pan with nonstick spray, sprinkle with flour and tap out the excess.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes (stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice). With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating the first one until completely incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla paste (or extract, if using).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan and bake according to the chart above. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly touched.

BAKING TIMES BY PAN

Brownie pan (9 x 6 in; 23 x 15 cm

or 8-in/20.5-cm square)—

20 to 30 minutes

Wilton Mini Wonder Mold Pan—

approximately 20 minutes

Wilton King-Size Muffin Pan—

approximately 25 minutes

Wilton Mini Ball pan—

approximately 15 minutes

9 x 5-in (23 x 12.5-cm) loaf pan—

30 to 35 minutes

9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) cake pan—

30 to 40 minutes

ROYAL ICING

MAKES 3 CUPS

Royal icing is perfect for writing names and adding delicate designs to your cakelets because it’s easy to pipe and dries hard, so there’s no risk of smudging. You can tint it with gel food coloring, as well. For making outlines and names, be sure the icing is relatively stiff. If you want to fill in an area with icing (the technical term is “flooding”), thin it out a little with more water. Meringue powder can be found in the cake decorating aisle at craft stores.

4 cups (450 g) powdered sugar

2 tablespoons meringue powder

6 tablespoons water

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the all the ingredients together on low speed for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the icing loses its shine (stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times). Add more water by the teaspoon if the icing appears too stiff to pipe easily. Store icing in an air-tight container at room temperature.

VANILLA FROSTING

MAKES 3 CUPS

What I love about this frosting is how easy it is to work with. Vegetable shortening-based frosting keeps longer and resists melting better than butter-based frostings and results in a pure-white color that is easier to tint.

1 cup (191 g) vegetable shortening

1 tablespoon (15 g) meringue powder

1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla bean paste (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

2 tablespoons plus 1½ teaspoons (35 ml) water

1 lb (454 g) confectioner’s sugar

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients. Place a damp kitchen towel over the mixer to keep the powdered sugar from billowing out. Turn the mixer on low and gradually increase the speed to medium-high as the ingredients come together. Beat until light and fluffy. Store icing in an air-tight container at room temperature.