How to make a cake not only tasty, but also smooth and beautiful? How to beautifully sprinkle the sides of a cake with crumbs? Decorating a cake with sprinkles: subtleties and secrets How to sprinkle a cake with chocolate chips.

How to make a cake not only tasty, but also smooth and beautiful? How to beautifully sprinkle the sides of a cake with crumbs? Decorating a cake with sprinkles: subtleties and secrets How to sprinkle a cake with chocolate chips.

07.12.2023 Egg dishes

How to beautifully sprinkle the sides of a cake with crumbs?

The more I look at the photos of cakes posted on the website, the more... I would rather help and advise - everything is done simply, and the appearance of your delicious products will be more attractive.

We all baked and bake cake layers. Is it worth repeating what everyone knows that a lot depends on the oven? Therefore, let's leave the oven alone and focus on our capabilities.

The recipe says to “roll out the dough into a cake with such and such a diameter” - we obediently roll it out. What's next? And, I remember, roll the dough onto a rolling pin and transfer it to a baking sheet (this is from my own experience, if anything, maybe there are no such recipes now). Well, we baked the cake - it didn’t turn out very round, and the edge was thicker here, thinner there - was it? It’s okay, then we’ll cover the edges with cream and hide all the flaws, no one will notice anything.

Until recently, I thought so too - well, it turned out delicious, we ate everything instantly, what’s there to talk about? Homemade cake, this is not a pastry shop.
...
This cake is posted here on Povarenka, but... actually, the resentment for this wonderful recipe was the impetus for this post. Unfortunately, simplifying a recipe is not always beneficial. I will give examples based on this honey cake, but this is for example only; any of us has enough everyday experience to understand what we are talking about.

Nowadays there are many convenient kitchen gadgets (not all of them are equally necessary and useful, by the way), but the most important thing is that we need a cake of a beautiful and correct shape

- a cake ring and a springform pan of the same diameter (straight walls and fastened on the side with a clasp). (There is a one-piece form, where the bottom is pulled out upward, and the corrugated walls expand upward - this will not work).

The cake ring is a metal ring 3 centimeters high, without any special features.

While I didn’t have one, I took a regular baking dish made of aluminum foil of the diameter I needed (the walls should be straight) and simply cut out the bottom from there. (I live in Israel, we have a lot of such forms, they cost pennies).

We took baking paper. Place it on the table (or on a silicone mat with the diameters drawn, they shine through the paper). *I’m not exactly a re-insurer... but I’m used to lubricating this paper, approximately a circle of the size I need, by eye - just oil from the refrigerator, easy to swipe over the paper and that’s it. There is practically no such oil there, it’s more out of habit*

The dough for the crust can be of any consistency - from liquid, which is poured, to one that can only be laid out in pieces - in short, your dough needs to be distributed in any way according to a given shape. There are no problems with the liquid dough - I poured it and that’s it. With thick honey, place it in pieces in a mold, like plasticine, press it with your hands; for thick and viscous honey cakes, lightly moisten the palms of your hands with water. Well, on the table on paper we laid out the dough of the size we need (approximately), try on the shape so that there is no “shortage” at the edges, let there be an excess, this is only a plus, it will be used for topping. Have you tried it on? Fine? We take this sheet and transfer it with the dough to a baking sheet, and only now place the mold on top. If the dough is liquid, then pour it directly into the mold onto paper on a baking sheet.

Honey skins bake very quickly. While the cake is baking, I have time to make 2-3 more pieces on paper for the cake.

The cake is baked - take out the baking sheet, remove the sheet of parchment along with the cake (I put this sheet on the wire rack). If I took a ring from an aluminum foil pan, then you just take it (the pan) with your hand (it’s not at all hot) and put it on the next cake layer, and then put it in the oven. If the metal ring is hot, don’t take it with your bare hand (that’s why I don’t like to take the springform pan itself, it’s tall and it’s easy to get burned).

What we see in the ring and what we don’t see without the ring - in the ring the dough rises like a sponge cake, the cake is 1.5-2 cm high, honestly, and has a perfect round shape.

We take a knife and cut out a biscuit along the edge of the metal ring (I don’t lubricate the ring with anything), it turns out to be a very beautiful cut, nice to look at. We put the trimmings from the outside into a bowl (it will be used for topping).
Without a ring - an ordinary pancake: in the center it is thicker, along the edges the thickness of the cake tends to zero, the circumference is far from ideal. Alas.

We baked some cakes. We made a cream (it’s better to make it according to the original recipe, on Povarenka the recipe is reduced). There should be a lot of cream. Plums - there should also be a lot of plums, cut into long thin strips, the 24 cm cake will be practically covered with them (plum - 2 layers, don’t forget). Nuts - I understand what they found and bought at the nearest supermarket, but after the second cake I went to the market to look for delicious nuts and found them. You are making a cake for yourself, for your family.

The last cake layer, which is usually used for topping - by this point it should already be clear to you that this particular cake layer (if there is still a need for it) may not be a round cake layer at all. Lay out the dough as much as there is left and bake it a little harder (but not to the point of “a little burnt” and do not overdry)

We begin to assemble the cake in a springform pan. You need to put a little cream on the bottom of the mold, just a drop, the bottom cake will stick and will not slide (this will be important when moving the cake somewhere). The cakes fit tightly into the mold. In general, if you think of weighing the empty container in which you will make the cream, then after preparing the cream, you can weigh this dish again and understand approximately how much cream you need for 1 layer (in this case: 4 layers + cream on the side surface, We count it as another cake layer, so we roughly divided the resulting weight into 5 parts). For the first cake, you take this cream from the bowl and understand how much it is, how many spoons, then you don’t have to weigh anything.

Now it’s important not to skimp, we calculated 200 g (this is an option for cream with vanilla pudding), which means you lay out these 200, spread them over the entire surface, don’t skimp on the edges! If some edge of the cake almost reaches the edge (it happens - we are all people, we are all human), then add more cream to this problem area. The cream will not escape from the mold anywhere, but it will even out absolutely everything. Second cake and so on. Upper layer. Again the right amount of cream.

In general, you get a lot of cream (which is just a plus) - it’s not too much, but just the right amount. For example, I prefer to put a layer of cream on the cake, plums or nuts on top of this cream, and add cream on top again, and then the next cake layer. For what? - then the cake will be well soaked from below too, I like it better this way. It would be naive to expect that the side of the dry cake that lies entirely on prunes will be as soft and rich as the one covered with cream.

Now put the cake in the refrigerator, even for a few minutes (5 is enough), just during this time we have time to make the topping - mix the crumbs and the remaining nuts. You can crumble the whole thing with a rolling pin (the nuts or cake scraps should be in a bag), but if you have a blender, it will turn out much faster, more beautiful and easier. If you don’t have a blender, it’s okay, a rolling pin will help out. The main difference, as I noticed, is that if you crush the nuts with a rolling pin, they may become a little oily. By the way, first I sort out the nuts (I learned from my own bitter experience, when I came across a piece of shell in a nut pie in a cafe, it was very unpleasant), rinse it, then dry it in the oven - it’s all quick.

After a few minutes, take the cake out of the refrigerator.

* Now another lyrical digression. You want to make the cake big, don’t you? Well, so that there is something to eat. I understand, I myself had a large family until the children grew up and moved away. But if you do everything correctly, your cake will be about 10 cm high. The sprinkles on the sides will also add at least 1.5 cm in diameter. And the question immediately arises: do you have a dish of this diameter? Not just a large dish, but so that the flat surface is no smaller than the diameter you need? (that is, the sides of the dish or plate no longer count) And if you decide to bring this beauty to work, then HOW will you transport this giant??? Therefore, I do not recommend increasing the diameter, the shape is 24 cm - and the cake will be huge, believe me *

We have reached the exciting stage - the sprinkles (are you tired of reading? The materiel will soon be over). I’ll say right away that this turned out to be the most time-consuming operation! Therefore, after the first such cake, I began to look for a solution.

I found it and will tell you now. If you have such a spatula for cream - good, if not - then a silicone spatula will also work, but it has a long handle, which is not so convenient for me personally.

We take the cake out of the refrigerator. Carefully unfasten the form and remove it (the bottom remains, of course). Now attention. At this point, you can decide whether you need to bother icing the sides of your cake at all - I mean it. The cake looks very beautiful and presentable. The sides are perfectly even and smooth, all layers are visible, the thickness of the cream layer between the layers is not less than 1 cm. Often the edges of homemade cakes turn out dry, but not in this case, when you assemble the cake in a mold and do not skimp on laying out the entire required portion of cream . If you decide that this is enough, you can decorate the top of the cake, carefully return the mold to its place and return the cake to the refrigerator until X hour.

Who decided to go for a walk like this, shall we continue?

Remove your prepared cake plate. (I bought a cardboard plate with a diameter of 28 cm from a disposable tableware store.) Place a sheet of parchment paper on the dish and now place your cake here, carefully holding it under the bottom (it is metal). Look what happened - the parchment near the cake rose like frills. Now, when you sprinkle the cake, nothing will spill on the table, everything remains in this paper.

Now, to make it convenient, take a large-diameter pan, turn it upside down, and place your dish with the cake on it (to make it convenient to rotate the cake and not have to bend over too much).

Scoop up crumbs with a cream spatula, bring the spatula to the cake and gently press the crumbs from bottom to top. Some of it crumbles, of course - nothing, again with a cream spatula you grab a portion of delicious crumbs at the base of the cake and again easily press them to the side surface of the cake. We turned the plate a little - and everything started again. On the table itself you don’t have any crumbs, and no waste at all (and remember earlier, the whole kitchen is covered in crumbs... how much to clean up later... brrrr)
Now you can easily transport the cake, move it with this paper, remove it at the very last moment.

The cake turns out very big. I remembered the math and recalculated everything into a smaller shape (it's easy).

Questions (I get asked all the time at work, so I answer right away):
What to do if there is no such form or ring for the cake?
It will just spread on the sheet, that’s for sure. Better take a foil pan and cut out the bottom. If this is not possible, then you can get out of it this way: find a frying pan slightly larger than the required diameter (pay attention to the handle of the frying pan! So that it doesn’t cause excruciating pain when you try to squeeze the frying pan into the oven, you get the idea). Be sure to place a sheet of baking paper on the frying pan (cut out a circle). Once baked, cut out a circle of the required diameter from the baked cake (on a plate), just hold the knife perpendicularly so that the edges of the cake are even, then everything will turn out like in the picture above. But this is a completely extreme case.
If you don’t have a springform pan, try to find a paper one; they are usually straight in height and without any frills. If you didn’t find such a shape in the store - don’t panic, take the same baking paper, fold it in several layers, make yourself a ribbon - about 10 cm high, and now make yourself this shape, fasten a couple of sheets together so that the ribbon is long enough . (Circumference length for a shape with a diameter of 24 cm: P = Pi * d = 24 Pi ≈ 75.398208 cm, do not forget to add a couple of centimeters to your pattern so that the edge meets the edge and secure this edge. Girls, I didn’t find the symbol of the Greek letter Pi = 3.14 - geometry, 6th grade).

Why does honey cake with cream stay in the refrigerator for a day?- and it gets soaked. The analogy is literally how we defrost food from the freezer by placing it on the refrigerator shelf overnight, and in the morning it can be used. So is the cake - the cakes are soaked, but, figuratively speaking, they do not stick together into one pancake, which will happen if you just leave the cake on the table overnight (although the taste probably shouldn’t suffer).
The taste becomes completely different - bright, rich honey, sweet and sour.
(well, they also put it in the refrigerator for safety reasons, so that it doesn’t spoil if it’s hot, and the cake will retain its shape when cut. But I’m talking about honey cake with sour cream; other cakes may have their own nuances.)

There is another problem - if you have a child who is able to open the refrigerator on his own, then the inquisitive child will not be satisfied with just contemplating the cake in the refrigerator and will definitely find the opportunity to break off a piece to try. I place the cake in a low, large-diameter pan (28 cm) with a lid (with parchment paper the cake is very easy to move, don’t skimp on the paper) so that the cake doesn’t accidentally absorb any foreign odors, and so that the whole refrigerator doesn’t smell like honey.

About myself - I am never a cook or a pastry chef by profession.But an active user in the kitchenTherefore, the advice is more likely to come from the “News from the Fields” section.

At first I decided to post a cake recipe with photographs of each stage described here, but I thought that now I would bake it only on January 1, and by that time you will all have baked your own delicious cakes, so I decided to make a post now so that someone has time take advice. I’m new to the site, and of course I don’t know a lot - someone tell me if it’s possible to post a recipe similar to what’s on the site, but more detailed, or something, and with your own comments.
Thank you.
I wrote everything for a long time, but everything is done very quickly and without hassle

I wish everyone beautiful and delicious cakes!
Julia

P.S.
If I unknowingly violated the rules of the site, then do not attack in chorus and do not hit with ladle, I will correct myself! It’s better to tell me where to read these rules and how to post links correctly.
Photos are not mine, taken from the Internet. because here I am only telling you what these kitchen tools are and how to use them.

17.04.2018

Making a cake is a multi-stage process, one of the main stages of which is applying decoration. The choice of available options is quite wide. The easiest to perform is sprinkling. Working with such material does not require special confectionery skills, but does require compliance with a number of conditions.

What is the topping made from?

The basic products for this decor are:

Chocolate chips;
Crushed nuts;
Ready-made confectionery products - colored dragees, small figured toppings, beads, edible rhinestones;
Coconut flakes;
Powdered sugar;
Cocoa;
Waffle crumbs;
Marshmallow marshmallow.

The basis of finished colored products are natural dietary fiber, vanillin, dyes, glucose syrup, food additives, sugar. Decorating a cake with sprinkles is also possible using products made from mastic. We are talking about stars, balls, and other decorative elements made using stencils.

Rules for working with sprinkles

Despite the apparent ease of use, applying decor without the appropriate experience often leads to negative results and the lack of a presentable appearance of the confectionery product. Therefore, it is better to study in advance how to beautifully decorate a cake with sprinkles, based on the following information:

If the cake is covered with mastic-based topping, the final stage of decoration is coating the confectionery product with mirror glaze.
The decoration fits perfectly on a surface that has not yet hardened and remains sticky.
An interesting solution is a combination of sprinkles and jelly filling. If you plan to apply the gelatin mass to the surface of the cake in a thick layer, it is better to divide it into two parts. The top cake is coated first, after which the confectionery product is placed in the freezer to quickly harden. Then decorate the delicacy with coarse sprinkles and pour in the rest of the jelly. The result is an aquarium effect.
Sprinkle decoration can also be used on the sides of cakes. To accomplish this difficult task, the dish with the assembled confectionery product is placed on a large towel and decoration is poured directly onto the fabric around the perimeter of the cake. Then they begin to carefully lift the “sides”, pressing them against the dessert. As it rises, loose decor is added.
Sprinkles are widely used to create designs. Homemade or ready-made templates help with this. The simplest option for preparing a stencil is to cut out a circle from paper corresponding to the diameter of the cakes, and cut figures or a pattern into it. This technique requires an assistant who will hold the template at a short distance from the cake, while the second pastry chef pours the decoration thickly into the slots.
The contrasting decor looks impressive. For example, a cake covered with white cream is sprinkled with nuts or cocoa, and almonds, coconut flakes or powdered sugar are applied to the dark chocolate glaze.

The tool for applying the topping is a sieve or paper cornet. In order for the confectionery product to look no worse than store-bought products, special attention is paid to the homogeneity of the mass.

How to make your own bulk decoration

The problem of how to decorate a cake with confectionery sprinkles can be solved quite simply in accordance with the above recommendations. If there is a desire to create a unique confectionery creation, proven home decor recipes are used.

Sugar sprinkles

To prepare it, granulated sugar is painted in different colors using natural or food coloring. Each portion of the resulting decoration is dried, after which all components are combined to obtain a rainbow palette.

Fondant sprinkles or nonpareil

Pre-prepare fondant in several tones. The resulting product is rubbed through a large sieve and scattered onto sheets of paper in one layer. After drying the decor in a warm place, the colors are mixed and used to decorate cakes.

Nut topping

Any nuts are suitable for its creation - walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, peanuts. The crushed kernels are pre-fried and cooled. In this form, they are ready to be used for decorating not only cakes, but also other creamy pastries.

Chocolate and crust crumbs

When planning how to decorate a cake with sprinkles in this way, pay attention to a number of points:

The chocolate is preheated, then rubbed through a sieve directly over the baked goods.
If the base material is leftover cakes made from shortcrust or puff pastry, the pieces are first browned by frying. Then they are crushed with a knife or rolling pin and rubbed through a large sieve.
The biscuit scraps are crushed using a grater, then sifted through a sieve and placed in the oven to fry until chocolate brown. This crumb looks interesting in combination with cocoa powder or powdered sugar.

Even an inexperienced pastry chef can work with sprinkles. It is especially convenient that it can be prepared from available products in the shortest possible time without special confectionery equipment. It is possible to combine such decor with glaze and mastic. But it is always the bulk decoration that becomes the final design element.

Decorating the cake yourself using available materials is not difficult at all. The main thing is to have enough time and use your imagination. To bring your own ideas to life, it is not at all necessary to have the special knowledge and skills of a professional.

Before you start decorating a dessert, you need to understand the basics of working with this plastic edible material. The consistency of mastic is very similar to plasticine, so you can create different figures from it. In addition, it is stored for a long time - wrapped in film, it can lie in the refrigerator for 10 - 12 weeks. You can buy mastic ready-made or make it yourself.

Mastic has become a popular cake decorating element in recent years.

Ingredients for cooking:

powdered milk;
condensed milk;
powdered sugar.

All components are taken in the same ratio and kneaded. After this, divide the resulting dough into parts and add the necessary dyes.

Mastic is also made from marshmallows.

Ingredients:

marshmallows - a handful;
“lemon” diluted with water – 1 tsp;
butter – 25 g;
sweet powder and starch in a ratio of 1 to 3.

The mastic is prepared following this algorithm:

The marshmallows are dissolved in a water bath, a little dye is added and, if necessary, water and oil for elasticity.
Add powder and starch into the liquid and sticky mass in small portions, stirring thoroughly.
When the mastic ceases to be sticky, it is transferred to a table generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. Knead the mass, periodically adding powder, until the base becomes plastic.
Do you feel that the mass has stopped sticking to your palms? This means that it is completely ready for use.

It’s difficult to sculpt perfect figures without professional equipment and skills, but why not try. Just prepare at least a minimum of tools - a sharp small knife, toothpicks, a brush, a rolling pin, a roller.

When working with mastic, adhere to the following rules:

Do not leave the mass in the air (it dries quickly and becomes hard), but constantly wrap the remainder in film.
Rolling is done only on film sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Preference is given to small elements, since voluminous figures can crack.

You can decorate the cake in different ways, since mastic gives wide scope for imagination. As a rule, first the material is rolled out thinly to completely cover the cake, and then the finished surface is decorated with figures.

Decoration with cream

You can decorate a cake with cream in different ways. Roses, leaves, various curls and borders are made from the creamy mass - it looks very elegant and festive. But in order for these delicate products to keep their shape, you need to choose a suitable cream, and it is better to give preference to oil.

Decorating cakes with cream is quite a fascinating process.

To prepare butter cream you will need a minimum of ingredients:

melted butter - 1 pack
condensed milk – 10 tbsp. l.

The butter must first be removed from the refrigerator so that it melts, and then beat with a mixer until soft and fluffy. After this, add condensed milk in small portions and beat the mixture until smooth.

If desired, the mass is divided into several portions and different dyes are added to them.

You can buy them ready-made or make them yourself:

yellow color comes from saffron;
orange – orange or juicy young carrots;
scarlet – cherries, beets, cranberries;
light green – spinach;
brown – cocoa.

To make the cream decor neat and beautiful, you need to use special syringes with different attachments. If there are no such devices, you can make an imitation of a syringe from a thick sheet by rolling it into a cone and cutting off the sharp corner. You can do the same with a regular thick bag. Then the resulting blank is filled with cream and squeezed out through a small hole. This way you can draw straight or wavy stripes, leaves, flowers, ruffles, and inscriptions.

Ideas using fruits

Decorating a cake with fruit is very easy. This is one of the fastest and most inexpensive ways. By creating spectacular compositions from slices of different fruits, you can show your imagination and give free rein to your imagination.

Both decorations made from one type of berry and bright, multi-colored fruit and berry mixes look beautiful.

To prevent the fruit from losing its original color and the structure from falling apart, the entire composition is covered with colorless jelly. The liquid mass is carefully distributed over the decor with a brush and placed in the refrigerator. After half an hour, the “gelatin” treatment is repeated.

If you have time and desire, you can make roses from apples.

First, prepare the syrup (take a spoonful of sugar per 200 ml of water), adding dye at this stage, if necessary.
The apples are cut into thin strips and boiled in syrup until they become plastic.
Roses are formed from fruit preparations. The inner “petal” is rolled into a spiral, and the rest are added in a circle, forming a lush flower. The ends are slightly twisted outward so that the “rose” bud blooms.

How to decorate a cake with cream

Whipped cream is an airy and delicate decoration, but you need to work with it quickly.

Whipped cream is a great way to decorate a sweet treat.

Ingredients:

heavy cream – 500 g;
vanillin - sachet;
powdered sugar – 150 g;
gelatin – 1 sachet.

Preparation:

Pour the cooled cream into a deep bowl and place it in a saucepan with ice water.
Dissolve gelatin.
Beat the cream with a mixer until a strong foam appears.
Add powder, vanillin and mix gently.
Add gelatin in a thin stream.

Whipped cream is placed in a pastry syringe and decorated with cake.

Chocolate

Decorating a cake is a delicate matter, since the finished appearance and aesthetics of the entire product depend on it. Chocolate is one of the favorite products for confectioners to decorate desserts.

People with a sweet tooth love chocolate for its melting taste and delicate texture.

The easiest way is to chop up a chocolate bar and sprinkle the resulting shavings on the cake. You can try a more complex method: to do this, leave the chocolate in a warm place for a short time so that it becomes softer. Then thin long shavings are cut from the tile with a sharp knife. They immediately begin to curl, and in order to fix the shape, they are placed in a cold place to harden.

Openwork curls look very elegant:

The tiles are melted in a small container over low heat.
Templates of curls and patterns in the required quantity are drawn in advance on parchment paper.
Then hot liquid chocolate is placed in a syringe and all the sketches are carefully traced along the contour. This must be done quickly and efficiently, as the mass hardens quickly. It is advisable to make several spare patterns, since the finished curls turn out to be quite brittle and can simply fall apart into pieces if handled carelessly.
The parchment with the painted curls is placed in a cold place until it hardens completely.
Then the openwork products are carefully separated from the paper and laid out on the cake.

It's very easy to make chocolate leaves. To do this, take foliage from any tree, wash it thoroughly, and then cover it with melted chocolate and place it in a cold place. The most important task is to carefully separate the real leaves from the edible ones.

With sweets and candies

You can decorate even the simplest cake in an original way with sweets. The main thing is that the surface of the product is thick and viscous.

There are many design options:

Cover the sides with long thin waffles, tubes or bars and tie them with a bright satin ribbon. Fill the top of the cake with multi-colored dragees.
Use small toffees to make a beautiful inscription or pattern on the snow-white or beige surface of the cake.
Cut the marmalade into small pieces and arrange in a chaotic manner.
Place a handful of multi-colored dragees inside. When cutting, guests will find that the cake has a surprise.
Many people also use confectionery sprinkles. It comes in different colors and shapes. It is advisable to decorate the cake with sprinkles while its surface is not yet completely frozen.
Decorations made from crushed nuts, chocolate and coconut chips, and cookie crumbs are widely used.
Jelly with sprinkles looks very impressive on the surface of the cake, as it resembles an aquarium. To do this, half of the prepared liquid colored jelly is poured onto the cake and placed in a cold place to harden. Then the frozen mass is sprinkled with coarse sprinkles and again filled with the remaining liquid.
To decorate the cake with sprinkles in an unusual way, use stencils. You can make them yourself by cutting out a pattern, letters, design or numbers from a piece of paper. The template is easily pressed to the surface of the cake, and the top is thickly sprinkled with the selected powder. Then the stencil is carefully removed, leaving a beautiful number or pattern on the cake.

Using berries

Decorating a cake with berries is a stylish and fashionable solution.

Berries are one of the healthiest foods for decoration. They contain a lot of vitamins, they are juicy, tasty and bright. The easiest way is to evenly spread berries of one type (or several, if desired) over the surface of the cake and coat them with colorless jelly.

How to decorate a children's cake

For children, the appearance of a dessert means much more than its taste. Therefore, mothers have to come up with various unusual decorations from sweets, mastic, fruits, jelly and other products.

Every mother dreams of being able to create an unforgettable cake for her baby.

Cake decoration options:

sprinkle it with colorful Easter powder;
pour glaze over;
arrange the fruits in a mysterious pattern;
decorate with your own molded figures;
whip cream and sprinkle with shavings;
arrange a palisade around the edges from oblong cookies;
pour in jelly.

When decorating a cake for a child, you need to consider who it is intended for. Boys like culinary masterpieces in the form of cars, balls or superheroes, girls - in the form of dolls or flowers. But all children, as a rule, adore cartoon-themed cakes.

It is also necessary to remember that many modern children are allergic to various foods. Therefore, during the manufacturing process you should not use components that could potentially cause allergic reactions.

Cake decoration for March 8, February 23

Confectionery products for these dates can be decorated in different ways. As a rule, the decor almost always includes numbers - 8 or 23. They are made from chocolate, mastic and other materials.

Cakes decorated with chocolate, caramel or butter icing look very stylish and elegant.

Ingredients for caramel frosting:

warm water - ¾ cup;
granulated sugar – 180 g;
corn starch - 2 tsp;
cream with a high percentage of fat content - ¾ tbsp.;
gelatin in sheets – 5 g.

Preparation:

Soak gelatin in water.
Mix cream with starch.
Melt the sugar until it has a caramel color.
Pour cream with starch and viscous sugar into warm water. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
All that remains is to cool the mass and add ready-made gelatin to it.

Decorating meringues with your own hands

Cakes are also decorated with meringue.

Meringue is great for decorating cakes!

For such a snow-white crispy decor you will need:

proteins – 5 pcs.;
sugar or powder – 250 g.

The algorithm of actions is already known to everyone:

Beat the whites into a stable foam, then add powder in small portions.
Beat at medium speed for 10 minutes until the mixture acquires a fluffy and dense consistency.
After this, preheat the oven to 110ºC and line a baking sheet with paper.
Place a tablespoon of the prepared mixture in the form of small cakes onto greased baking paper and place in the oven.

Waffle decoration

Waffles are an inexpensive and easy-to-work material. On sale you can find ready-made colorful images on waffle cakes. Their assortment is very large: they include beautiful princesses, supermen, favorite cartoon characters, and animals. It’s almost impossible to make such decor yourself, so it’s easier to buy it ready-made.

The advantage of this decor is that it does not crack, does not melt like cream, and retains its given shape well.

The process of decorating with a waffle picture goes like this:

Form a perfectly smooth surface of the cake.
Turn the cake with the image upside down and brush with liquid honey using a silicone brush. Instead of honey, syrup or any light-colored jam is sometimes used so as not to spoil the picture when the cake is soaked.
Attach the picture to the surface.
Gently press down with your hands and smooth with a napkin.
Whip the cream and decorate the edges.

Sometimes the cake is decorated not with a whole picture, but with individual waffle figures. They are laid in the same way as the waffle cake.

Knowing how to decorate a cake at home, you can create real masterpieces, delighting yourself and your loved ones. Use your imagination and your dessert will outshine even the products of elite confectionery shops!

If you love baking cakes, then this article is especially for you! In this article we will look at a wide variety of ways to decorate cakes with your own hands at home. You can transform an ordinary cake with mastic, marzipan, icing, waffles, chocolate, glaze, cream, cream, meringue, fruit, jelly, sweets, marmalade and sprinkles. We will look at each ingredient of the decoration separately, get acquainted with the recipe for making it, and, of course, be inspired by a huge number of ideas.

For some cake decorating options, you will need special materials such as: a pastry syringe with nozzles, parchment paper, a sharp thin knife, spatulas of different thicknesses.

Mastic- This is a special dough for decorating a cake. You can roll it out and cover the top of the cake, you can also create various animal figures, letters, numbers, flowers, leaves, openwork patterns and whatever your imagination desires.

The basic rule for working with mastic is that you have to work with it very quickly, since it hardens instantly. But there is a way out! When you form the decoration, pinch off the desired piece and wrap the rest of the mastic in film. Large figures may crack when drying.

Mastic recipe No. 1

Ingredients: condensed milk, powdered milk or cream, powdered sugar, food coloring (optional). The amount of ingredients directly depends on the size of the cake.

Cooking process: Take a deep bowl and mix dry milk or cream with powdered sugar. Gradually add condensed milk and mix well. You should get an elastic dough that does not stick to your hands. Add food coloring drop by drop and mix into the dough. After cooking, immediately wrap the mastic in film.

Mastic recipe No. 2

Ingredients: water, lemon juice or citric acid, butter, powdered sugar, starch, marshmallows (white chewy marshmallows), food coloring (optional).

Cooking process: Melt the steamed marshmallows and add drops of food coloring if desired. Then add water and just a little lemon juice or citric acid. Mix the mixture well and then add 50 grams of butter. Separately mix powdered sugar and starch in a ratio of 1:3. Gradually add the powdered starch mixture to the marshmallow mixture and knead the dough well for about 10 minutes. After cooking, immediately wrap the mastic in film.

Marzipan is a nut mass that consists of almond flour and sugar paste. Its advantages are that it holds its shape perfectly, is quite elastic and has an amazing delicate taste. It is convenient to create all decoration elements from it - small figures, cake covering and voluminous decorations.

Marzipan recipe

Ingredients: 200 grams of sugar, a quarter glass of water, 1 glass of lightly roasted almonds, butter.

Cooking process: Peel the almonds and finely chop them in a blender or on a grater. Make syrup from sugar and water. The consistency of the syrup should be thick. Pour the ground almonds into the syrup, stir and cook for 3 minutes. Take a bowl and grease it well with butter. Pour the marzipan into a bowl. Cool the marzipan and pass through a meat grinder. Marzipan is ready! If it turns out liquid, add powdered sugar. If the marzipan is very thick, add a little boiled water.

I recommend a photo gallery of marzipan cakes!

Icing- This is an ice pattern that looks like a winter pattern on a window and tastes like crispy ice. The advantages of icing are that it is quite durable, does not spread, and adheres well to the surface of the confectionery product. It can be applied on top of hard chocolate glaze, mastic, fondant. It is worth noting that the surface on which icing can be applied should not spread or be sticky. The icing is applied with a pastry syringe, then the finished product is placed in the refrigerator for further hardening. Lace, inscriptions and patterns turn out very beautiful.

Icing recipe

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 500-600 grams of powdered sugar, 15 grams of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of glycerin.

Manufacturing process: Cool all ingredients, degrease the dishes and wipe them dry. Take the eggs, separate the whites from the yolks. Beat the egg whites, add glycerin, lemon juice and powdered sugar. Beat the mixture well with a whisk until it turns white. Cover the mixture with film and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to burst the air bubbles. The icing is ready, you can safely decorate the cake!

Waffles– these are materials for decorating flowers, various figures, numbers. They are made from crispy waffle dough. Ready-made edible pictures based on waffle crust are also popular. You can purchase this decoration in confectionery stores, supermarkets or on the Internet. You won’t be able to make waffles with an image on your own, as you will need edible ink and special equipment. The advantages of waffles are that they do not crack, keep their shape perfectly and do not melt. However, they can only be used on a light-colored surface of the cake, since when soaked, the picture may become saturated with dark cream.

Waffle design rules

Decorating with chocolate is considered a classic decoration for cakes. This ingredient goes well with biscuits, souffles, mousse, puff pastry and various creams. The advantages of chocolate are that, once melted, it can be given any possible shape, and when the chocolate hardens, it will not crack or spread. To decorate cakes, you can use any chocolate - black, white, milk, porous.

Methods for decorating cakes with chocolate

To decorate a cake with chocolate chips, simply grate a chocolate bar and sprinkle it over the cake.
To decorate the cake with curls, lightly warm the chocolate bar, then take a thin knife, or better yet, a vegetable cutter and cut thin strips, they will immediately begin to curl. You can create gorgeous patterns from them.
Here is another way to decorate a cake with openwork patterns, inscriptions and drawings. Melt the chocolate bar in a steam bath. Place the chocolate into a pastry syringe. Take parchment paper and draw patterns. Use a pastry syringe to draw patterns onto the parchment paper. Place the parchment in the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to set. Carefully remove the chocolate from the parchment and decorate the cake. If you are not good at drawing, find a beautiful pattern on the Internet, print it out, attach transparent parchment paper to the drawing and simply copy it.
To decorate the cake with chocolate leaves, you will need real tree leaves or houseplants. Wash and dry the leaves. Melt the chocolate in a steam bath and place it on the inside of the sheet with a silicone brush. Place in the refrigerator, and when it hardens, carefully remove the chocolate from the leaf and decorate the cake.
Another creative way to decorate a cake is to use cherries and chocolate. Discard the pits, place each cherry in the melted chocolate and decorate the cake.

At the moment there are chocolate, mirror, marmalade, caramel, multi-colored, soft, milk and creamy glazes.

Chocolate frosting recipe

Ingredients: 1.5 tablespoons of milk, 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder, 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, 40 grams of butter.

Cooking process: take a bowl, put cocoa, sugar, pieces of butter, and pour milk. Place on fire, melt and boil for 5-7 minutes. Cover the cake with chocolate glaze using a wide knife and place in the refrigerator to further harden.

Caramel frosting recipe

Ingredients: 150 grams warm water, 180 grams fine-grained sugar, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 150 grams heavy cream, 5 grams leaf gelatin.

Cooking process: Soak gelatin in water, mix cream with starch, melt sugar in a frying pan until light brown. Add cream with starch and sugar to warm water. Boil until the caramel dissolves. Don't forget to stir the mixture constantly. Then pour it into the cream, stir, cool and add the swollen gelatin. Cover the cake with caramel icing using a wide knife and place in the refrigerator to further harden.

Marmalade glaze recipe

Ingredients: 200 grams of marmalade of the same color, 50 grams of butter, 2 tablespoons of fat sour cream, 120 grams of sugar.

Cooking process: melt the marmalade in a steam bath or in the microwave, add sour cream, butter and sugar. Mix the mixture well and put on fire. Cook the glaze for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool the glaze slightly. Cover the cake with marmalade icing using a wide knife and refrigerate for 3-4 hours to further harden.

Cream– universal decoration for cakes. It is very convenient for them to write congratulations, make openwork frames, lush roses. Food coloring is often added to cream.

Buttercream recipe

Ingredients: 100 grams of butter, 5 tablespoons of condensed milk, food coloring.

Cooking process: Melt the butter in a steam bath or in the microwave. Whip it until it becomes white and fluffy. Add condensed milk, mix well and divide the cream into portions. Add dye of the desired color to each portion of cream. Place the cream in a pastry syringe and create beauty, then send the cake into the cold so that the cream hardens.

Whipped cream– this is an original airy, voluminous and delicate decoration. Their preparation does not require special products. To beautifully decorate the cake with whipped cream, you will need a pastry syringe. You need to work with cream fairly quickly. Make sure all ingredients and tools are prepared. The surface of the cake should be smooth and not too sticky.

Whipped Cream Recipe

Ingredients: half a liter of high fat cream from 33%, a bag of vanilla, 100-200 grams of powdered sugar, 1 bag of instant gelatin, food coloring (optional).

Cooking process: Place the cream in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Pour chilled cream into a deep container. Take another deep container and pour ice water into it. Place the container of cream in a container of ice water. Dissolve gelatin in the manner indicated on the package. Beat the cream with a mixer (do not use a blender, as it will not create foam). Beat them until the foam becomes strong enough. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, then whisk to combine. Add dissolved gelatin in a thin stream. Place the cream in a syringe and decorate the cake.

I recommend a photo gallery of cakes decorated with whipped cream!

Meringue- This is a snow-white, crispy and very tasty decoration. It is laid out on a layer of chocolate, jam, or cream.

Meringue recipe

Ingredients: a glass of powdered sugar, 5 chilled eggs, a bag of vanilla (optional).

Cooking process: Separate the whites from the yolks, pour the whites into a dry, fat-free deep container. Beat the whites until fluffy (10-15 minutes). Gradually add powder (1-2 teaspoons) and immediately dissolve it. Add vanilla and dissolve it well. Preheat the oven to 100 degrees, cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the protein foam into a pastry syringe. Pipe the egg white mixture onto the baking sheet, creating beautiful balls or other shapes. The meringue is dried, not baked; the time the future meringue stays in the oven depends on the size of the pieces. Approximate drying time is 1.5-2 hours.

Fruits are very tasty, healthy and contain a huge amount of vitamins. They brightly decorate the cake with flavor combinations and rich colors. The easiest way to decorate with fruit is to fan out sliced strawberries, kiwi, orange, mango and other various fruits. You can create a whole fruit cloth that combines perfectly with natural jelly.

Recipe

Ingredients: fresh fruits and berries, for fruit jelly - light juice, for example apple 600 ml, a glass of powdered sugar, 1 package of powdered gelatin.

Cooking process: Pour the gelatin over a glass of juice and set aside to swell. Prepare the fruits, peel them and cut them into small beautiful slices. Kiwis and bananas are cut into circles, apples and oranges - into half rings, strawberries - in half, raspberries, blackberries, cherries - left whole. Melt the gelatin in a water bath, add the remaining juice and powdered sugar. Strain the mixture, arrange the fruit beautifully in the jelly and refrigerate. When the jelly has hardened slightly, transfer it to the cake, turning the container over. If desired, cover the edges with buttercream or whipped cream. Place the cake in the refrigerator.

The jelly looks very beautiful and has a beneficial effect on people’s joints. Jelly filling goes well with various fruits. However, you can decorate the cake in its pure form, or you can decorate the top with jelly filling, sprinkled with coconut flakes or nuts, be original and think over the decoration concept!

Jelly filling recipe

Ingredients: 600 ml of juice (you can take juice of different colors), 1 package of quickly dissolving gelatin, a glass of powdered sugar.

Cooking process: Soak the gelatin in 1/3 of the juice and leave to swell. Then melt the gelatin with steamed juice. Mix powdered sugar and remaining juice, pour into molds and refrigerate. Pour 100 ml of jelly and put it in the refrigerator for a while so that it has time to set. Place the cake in a mold that is 3 cm higher than it. Place the jelly filling on the cake and decorate the top with jelly from the molds. Steam will help you easily remove the jelly from the molds. It is enough to hold the mold with jelly over the steam, and then turn it over for dessert. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours and remember to remove the mold before serving. If you want to make jelly filling with fruit, then prepare the jelly as described above. Place it in the refrigerator for a while to give it time to set. Transfer the jelly onto the beautifully arranged fruit, smooth it out with a spatula and refrigerate overnight. To prevent the jelly from breaking during serving, cut it with a heated knife.

Candies- This is a favorite treat for children. Kids pay attention to the design of the cake itself, and not to the products from which the cake was made. Try to decorate the cake for a children's party as brightly and creatively as possible. You can use all types of candies except lollipops. The surface of the cake should be thick and viscous, for example - whipped cream, buttercream, icing.

Ways to decorate cakes with candies

The sides of the cake can be decorated with chocolate bars or wafers, and the top can be filled with dragees.
Small toffees are perfect for creating a pattern or lettering on a cream surface or white glaze.
Cut the gummies into squares and randomly decorate the surface of the cake with white fondant or whipped cream.
It is good to decorate the sides with round candies, and put 3 candies in the central part of the cake.

Marmalade– an excellent material for decorating cakes. They can create beautiful designs in different colors. It is a flexible material and easy to work with.

Recipe

Ingredients: 50 grams of dark chocolate, marmalade of different colors, mastic or marzipan.

Cooking process: Take parchment paper and draw an image with a simple pencil. Roll out a thin layer of mastic or marzipan on parchment. Transfer the picture onto it by attaching a sheet of paper and rolling it out with a rolling pin. Melt 50 grams of dark chocolate, then place in a pastry syringe. Draw the outline of the design with chocolate. Melt the colored material in different containers; this can be done in a water bath or in the microwave. Fill the drawing with the desired colors of marmalade. Place in the refrigerator for 3 hours. You can also decorate the cake with unmelted marmalade of various shapes. You can make flowers from citrus slices and cubes. The surface of the cake to decorate with unmelted marmalade should be sticky, for example, buttercream, whipped cream.

Sprinkles- This is a universal decoration for any cake. There are a huge number of sprinkles: in the form of flowers, stars, balls, squares, circles, butterflies... They have a very rich range of colors. You can find multi-colored, golden, silver sprinkles with pearlescent tints. Toppings made from nuts, chocolate, coconut, cookie crumbs and meringue are common.

Ways to decorate cakes with sprinkles

The powder is used only on a sticky surface. Sprinkle the cake when the icing, cream, or cream has not hardened.
If you want to create an aquarium effect, use jelly filling and sprinkles. Pour in half of the jelly filling, freeze, sprinkle with sprinkles and fill with remaining jelly. Alternate layers of jelly with coarse sprinkles, and your cake will be incredibly beautiful!
To decorate the sides of the cake with sprinkles, place the cake on a larger towel. Sprinkle the sprinkles onto the sides of the cake and onto the towel, then gently lift the sides of the cake while pressing down on the towel with the sprinkles.

A cake ring and a springform pan of the same diameter (straight sides and fastened on the side with a clasp). (There is a one-piece form, where the bottom is pulled out upward, and the corrugated walls expand upward - this will not work).

The cake ring is a metal ring 3 centimeters high, without any special features.