As culinary practice shows, it’s not enough to bake a delicious cake, it also needs to be given an original “salable” look in order to please its near and dear ones. And if various culinary magazines are full of recipes for delicious desserts, few recommend how to decorate cakes in an unusual way.
In fact, to decorate the cake, it is enough to include imagination. Today, many supermarkets sell ready-made figurines and flowers made of marzipan, which are pretty nice to place on the cake. Well, in case you want to make the cake unique and original with your own hands, then proceed with creativity more boldly.
Chocolate Ways to Decorate Cakes
- Chocolate Petals
It’s not at all difficult to make chocolate rose petals at home. To do this, you need to melt a bar of dark chocolate in a water bath and dip a live rose petal into it. After the chocolate has hardened, it is worth removing carefully from the petal and you can make a rose. In the same way, you can make chocolate leaves for roses.
- "Shavings"
One of the easiest ways to decorate cakes is with chocolate chips. To do this, just grate a bar of chocolate and sprinkle the surface of the cake. You can diversify this type of decoration with different varieties of chocolate, which you grate on different sizes of graters. For example, dark chocolate on the smallest, milk on the middle, and white on the largest.
- "Lace"
This is one of the original and elegant decorations for homemade cakes and desserts. But in order to make “lace” on your own, you will need a bar of pure chocolate, that is, without impurities (raisins and nuts) and a culinary syringe. Melt the chocolate, pour into a syringe and apply a drawing on a sheet of baking paper. Let it dry, and you can safely decorate desserts and cakes.
- "Curls"
The airy and unusual decoration with chocolate “curls” is very easy to bring to life. To do this, take a solid, but not frozen bar of chocolate and with a sharp knife cut a long chip. The longer the chip, the more spectacular it looks.
How to decorate a cake at home with icing
Glaze is the most traditional decoration of confectionery. And the desire of the housewives to decorate their masterpiece with glaze is understandable. First, beat 120g of soft butter with a mixer until it is full. In a cup, dilute in a small amount of water half a teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of vanilla, add this mixture to the oil, whisking continuously.
Continuing to beat, gradually add the powdered sugar (450g), and then milk in a teaspoon (only 5 teaspoons). Beat until a homogeneous dense mass that is applied to the surface and edges of the cake.
Glazes can be given beautiful shades using natural dyes. For example, the frosting will turn pink if you add a little beetroot juice. You will achieve a yellow-lemon tint if you add a few teaspoons of orange juice. Carrot juice will help to color the icing in orange.
How to decorate cakes with fresh flowers
Culinary experts have long used fresh flowers as the most original decoration for cakes and pastries. Do you like this idea? Then it’s worth a try and such a way as decorating cakes.
Naturally, although the flowers are natural, they should still be candied, then they will be not only beautiful, but also edible. For this, chamomiles, roses, pansies, viols, the color of an apple tree, cherry, acacia are suitable. Yes, in principle, many flowers can be used, include your imagination.
In cooking, there are two methods for sugaring flowers. In the first case, gum arabic is used, in the second - egg protein.
- Flowers and fragrant leaves (melissa, mint), which are sugared with gum arabic, are stored for several months. To do this, heat 50 g of water in a water bath, add gum arabic (12 g) and, as soon as it dissolves, remove from heat. In another bowl, prepare sugar syrup from 50g of water and sugar (100g). On the flower petals, first apply a solution of gum arabic with a brush, then sugar syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Let the flowers dry. You can decorate cakes.
- Flowers and leaves candied with egg white look much more natural and elegant. They are stored in hermetically sealed containers. Beat the protein of one egg in a thick foam and brush the flower petals with a brush, then sprinkle it with powdered sugar using a strainer. Let it dry and you can begin the decoration process.