The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating

Introduction

Equipment and ingredients to help you prepare…

Cake and icing recipes to make your mouth water…

Techniques and know-how to build your confidence…

Twenty-five projects to motivate and inspire you…

(to make in an hour or less)

(for when you've got a couple of hours to spare)

(longer projects to take your time over)

Troubleshooting

Glossary

Templates

Suppliers

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Copyright

Welcome to
The Busy Girl's Guide to Cake Decorating
! I'm guessing you have this book because you fancy your hand at a spot of cake decorating, you don't have much time and are the typical ‘busy girl'. Well, you're in the right place. This book is all about cake decorating without the fuss, the palaver and sometimes the tears too!

The projects within the book are split into three sections. The Evening Whip-Ups (one-hour projects) are perfect when you have very little time, and are easy to throw together one evening after work. The Half-Day Delights (two-hour projects) are for when you have an afternoon to spare. Finally, the Weekend Wonders (three- to four-hour projects) are for when you've got a bit more time available in your schedule!

In cake-decorating terms, all of the above are tiny amounts of time – large, intricate projects take professional cake decorator's days, if not weeks, of work. We busy girls don't have the time or the patience (OK then, that's just me) to create those kinds of works of art but this book contains stunning projects that can be achieved in next to no time.

I cheat, I do things the quick way for maximum impact, I'll have ‘traditional' cake decorators up in arms with my kamikaze ways but, hey, it is what it is and I was never one to toe the line. I am the typical busy girl (perhaps more the busy than the girl these days) – I have three young boys needing my attention, wanting punctures fixed, the paddling pool filling up and feeding every two minutes; a bustling household filled with family, friends and pets; and not forgetting the other ‘boy' in the house, my husband. So here it is,
The Busy Girl's Guide to Cake Decorating
– the perfect place to start your foray into the world of cakes.

So let's get this show on the road – cake decorating – the busy girls' way…

Ruth

Cake-decorating equipment can be expensive and specialist, however the projects in this book make the most of everyday items that you will find in any kitchen, supplemented with a few key pieces.

You will need a brand new all-purpose cleaning cloth, an elastic band and icing (confectioners') sugar. Lay the cloth open on your work surface and place two heaped tablespoons of sugar in the centre. Gather the cloth around the sugar and secure with an elastic band. This handy little duster can be tapped on the surface for a very light dusting of sugar when making decorations and modelling.

When you need a cake quickly, you want to be able to open the cupboard and have everything you need instantly to hand. The following ingredients are easy to source and should be kept in stock in your cupboards year-round!

It makes very little difference to the end result whether you use salted or unsalted (sweet) butter. I tend to use salted, as it is usually the cheaper of the two. Allow the butter to come to room temperature for a couple of hours before baking. If you've forgotten to do this or just haven't had time, dice the butter into small pieces and place in the microwave on a low power for 30 seconds.

Try not to use granulated (table) sugar for baking, as the crystals do not dissolve as readily and you can end up with a grainy texture to your cakes and cookies. If you have no caster (superfine) sugar, place your granulated (table) sugar in a food processor and blitz lightly to reduce the size of the grains before using.

My recipes require both plain (all-purpose) and self-raising (self-rising) flours. If you only have plain (all-purpose) flour, you can add a teaspoon or two of baking powder, but the results may be a bit hit-and-miss. As long as your flour is good quality and fresh it shouldn't need sifting (good news for busy girls!).