Page 75 - The Digital Cloth - Issue 5

Tracey’s top 5 tips for cake decorating

Use high quality, room temperature ingredients in
when baking. There’s nothing worse than cheap
compound chocolate in ganache or mud cake.
I always use high quality couverture chocolate for
the best tasting cakes.

Bake your cakes low and slow for the best result. I
bake most of mine at 150c. This will eliminate a lot
of that dome on top that only goes to waste when
trimming them down later.

Always spend more time on getting that smooth
surface of ganache or buttercream over the cake
before your fondant layer goes on. Remember that
any lumps and bumps will show through to the
final layer.

Make toppers ahead of schedule so they have time
to set. Once dry, fondant decorations can be stored
in an airtight container till they are ready for use.
A lot of the time you don’t need all those fancy
tools and equipment. As long as you have a good
rolling pin, sharp knife and a few basic tools it’s
amazing what you can create.

Be patient, take your time and above all enjoy the
process.