Self Taught Decorators Club

Comment by SeriousCakes on July 28, 2010 at 11:06am

You'll find that everyone has a different way of doing things, each caker according to what works best for them. The key is finding what works best for you, trying different things and see how the cake comes together. When I first started a few years ago I was always putting my cake in the fridge but when I took it out decorations would start sliding, colors would run, etc. I found out by accident that I didn't need to refrigerate and I haven't since. I do a thin crumb coat with frosting to even out my sides, let that set up at room temp and it also gives the cake a chance to settle so there's less chance of a bulge around the middle. Then I'll frost the entire cake with the same frosting and decorate. Piping gel is sometimes used to thin frosting down for certain decorations but it can also be colored and used by itself for decorating to look kind of like glass. From what I've read it's just corn syrup but a slightly different consistency.
Hope this helps :D

Comment by Shanna on July 28, 2010 at 2:16pm

Thank you so much for your help I have been so confused the piping gel. I am still real nervous about the cakes.

Comment by SeriousCakes on July 28, 2010 at 2:31pm

Best way to get over the fear is practice. I made a lot of cookies when I first started and that was a great way to practicing decorating techniques without messing up a whole cake. Even better is to use the back of a cake pan, whip up a batch of frosting and experiment! Then you can just scrap it off and try again.
Now that I think about it, I didn't decorate any cakes until I had a couple months of practicing under my belt. I wasn't confident enough until I had learned how each tip worked :) Even now I'll practicing something a few times before putting it on a cake:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SeriousCakes#p/a/u/3/dqPMjdcgorc

Comment by Jeannine Sikora on July 28, 2010 at 2:45pm

That's what I did also seriouscakes, practice on wax paper until I'm satisfied with it before putting it on a cake. And even tho I've been doing this for a long time, I still have to practice. Now I'm really getting into fondant (covering the cakes and decorations), and my next challenge will be to make a wonky cake. I'm sure I'll go thru quite a few cakes till I get it right! Just remember Shana that we were all in your shoes at one time, the more you practice the more confident you will become and certain things will become second nature to you!

Comment by Diana Viera on July 28, 2010 at 5:39pm

SeriousCakes ~ you are too funny and I love our video on the calla. It looks like watercolor art!

Shana ~ at one point or another, we all feel like throwing in the towel and just giving up but you can't! If it's something you want to do, then go for it. Just like everything else you do in life, it takes practice. Even cooking something for the first time takes practice. Everyone has their own technique/ways of doing things. What may be a short cut for one person may not be for another.

The point is, do not give up! Look at SeriousCakes, she laughs at her own mistakes on her videos, which makes me laugh. She shows her flaws and keeps on doing it until she gets it right. Practice, practice, practice:D

Comment by Daisy Brown on July 28, 2010 at 7:23pm

You guy's have the best responses!! I love it!!

Comment by Diana Viera on July 28, 2010 at 8:41pm

Shana ~ one more thing which I think is very important. Don't overwhelm yourself by trying to learn everything at once. It's great that you are asking a lot of questions and make sure you write them down with the answers so you can refer to them at a moment's notice when you are working. Sometimes we want to learn everything now and that's when we either want to give up because it's too much information and not working as quickly as we put it to the test. Take your time but most importantly, have fun!!!

Comment by Rebecca Wavinya on July 29, 2010 at 4:56am

Wow! I have the same problem with buttercream that SeriousCakes used to have, everything starts to slide off and colours mix when I remove the cake from the refrigerator. I have been trying to figure out my consistencies and figure out what am doing wrong. I was slowly giving up on this but Diana and Seriouscakes are so inspiring! Thank you! This forum is excellent! Am also going to try both options suggested on crumb coating. I look forward to neater looking cakes :-)

Comment by jessi volz on July 29, 2010 at 9:00am

Shana - I just thought of an alternative for you to practice on! If you have a actual supply store where you live (not a Michaels,Hobby Lobby or Walmart) they can order you cake dummies. These are styrofoam "cakes" that you can decorate and then simply wipe off, rinse off and start over! They come in all the typical sizes of round, square and topsy turvy and only cost a few bucks each. Those would give you a great practice field without spending time or money actually baking cake to practice on!! Hope this helps!! Good luck and keep up the hard work!

Comment by Shanna on July 29, 2010 at 9:33am

Thank you everyone I am excited to start working but so scared. I am going to get one of those cake dummies too this weekend. I plan having all day Saturday to working then like you guys said one thing at a time. I checked my area for local classes and I am out of luck on that one. I am so grateful to be here and having support from you all. You guys are the best.

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