Fashion has a major impact on all aspects of human life. Culinary art, in particular, decoration of confectionery, is no exception. And if fifteen to twenty years ago, elaborate and numerous decorative elements were in fashion, today today on the crest of the wave there is laconicism and severity.
So, if you strive to decorate your cake in accordance with fashion trends, then the icing for the cake will be the best choice. Since with the help of traditional oil cream it is impossible to obtain the necessary smoothness of the surface and to achieve subtlety and grace of the lines of patterns.
In order to decorate the cake with glaze, you will need special tools - a pastry spatula (you can use a wide knife) and the rule is a plastic plate with a perfectly even and smooth surface. For convenience, you also need a rotating stand, on which you will need to install a cake.
How is icing for cake applied? The tray with the product prepared for decoration is installed on a rotating stand, part of the glaze is laid out on it. Now you need to untwist the stand and holding the spatula at an acute angle to the surface of the cake, level the glazing. The harder you press the spatula, the thinner the layer of glaze. The angle at which you will keep the spatula also affects the thickness of the layer, the closer it is to ninety degrees, the more glaze will be removed, that is, the layer will be thinner.
After smoothing the glaze, the cake is removed from the stand and, with the help of the surface rule, perfect smoothness is given. The movement of the rule begins on the far side of the cake, that is, we are leading the tool towards us. The pressure throughout the movement of the rule should not change. If smoothness is not achieved the first time, the operation must be repeated.
After that, the remains of the glaze are removed from the edges of the cake, and the product is left for two to three hours to dry the top layer. Now you need to apply the icing for the cake on the side surfaces. If the cake has a round shape, then it is again installed on the stand and glaze is applied using a spatula. In square cakes, first the opposite sides are coated with glaze, forming even corners, and after the applied layer dries, the remaining two sides are covered with glaze.
But how to make icing for the cake? There are many recipes . For example, sugar cane can be classified as the simplest. In order to cook it, you need to sift 225 grams of powdered sugar into a bowl and dilute it with two or three tablespoons of hot water, rubbing the mass with a spoon all the time. Glaze in density should resemble homemade sour cream, and beat and grind it until it becomes homogeneous and lush. An important point: sugar icing dries very quickly, so it must be applied to the cake immediately after preparation.
Chocolate icing for the cake is prepared like this. 175 grams of chocolate should be broken into pieces and put it in a saucepan, where 150 ml of low-fat cream is poured. Heat this mass over low heat, stirring constantly. We wait until the chocolate has completely melted, and remove the pan from the fire, adding 30 grams of butter to it, stir. It is better to apply such glaze to the cooled down.
Very tasty caramel glaze is made from toffee sweets. For two hundred grams of butterscotch (such as “Golden Key” or “Kiss-kis”) we need a quarter glass of cream or milk, 40 grams of butter and a couple of spoons of powdered sugar. We put sweets in hot milk and melt them over low heat. Then add powdered sugar and butter to the mass. Apply caramel glaze in a warm form.
It is simple enough to cook and protein glaze. 150 grams of powdered sugar and a little lemon juice are taken per protein. Beat the protein, gradually pouring icing sugar. At the end of the whipping, when we get a thick, stable foam, add a little lemon juice.
Royal icing, which is often used to decorate wedding cakes, is prepared in the same way. This type of glaze is used to cover the surface of the cake, and to apply a variety of patterns. We combine two chilled proteins with a quarter of a teaspoon of lemon juice and grind to a homogeneous mass. Now add 150 grams of sifted powdered sugar to the proteins and knead thoroughly again. Gradually add another three hundred grams of powdered sugar, grinding the mixture. Our glaze should turn out magnificent, uniform and rather dense.
In any glaze, you can add various flavors (vanillin, cognac, citrus zest) or food colors.