Thursday 24 May 2012

Wilton Cake Decorating Course - Decorating Basics, Week 2

Following on from last week's class at the Greensborough Cake Decorating Centre, we built on the skills that we had already learnt.

The first thing we did - besides spending an hour prepping our icing - was learn to pipe shells. Apparently this is the hardest thing you can learn, after properly smoothing a cake. It took me a while ot get the hang of it, but I got there in the end!

We also learnt to make drop flowers, which are a heckload easier than they look, and decorated cupcakes with them in various ways.

(I had to include one of the wrapper, cos they are just so darned cute!)

Once we had decorated the cupcakes, it was time to learn to make ribbon roses and turn our attention to the masterpiece - our cake.

I'm still feeling a little smug about the fact that I finished my roses a good ten minutes before the rest of the class. They're not that hard. I may sing a different tune when it comes to more complex things, but a ribbon rose is a walk in the park for me.

This is my completed cake. I have a way to go yet in controlling my dots and stopping them from turning out spiky, but I quite like the overall appearance. You know what they say - practice makes perfect!


Next week we're decorating novelty cakes. I'm doing a flower pot with flowers in it. Could be interesting...

14 comments:

  1. Nice job! I had my first class tonight.

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  2. Congratulations. That's a very beautiful looking cake. I love your roses too. From time to time people pay me to make a cake for them and I love to do it but it makes me quite anxious because I'm completely self taught and don't really know what I'm doing. I should be doing a course like you! xx

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    1. That's exactly why I did the course - because everything I knew was from books or YouTube, and I was nervous that I was doing it wrong. But there's nothing like someone trusting you to make their wedding cake to force you to reassess your skills and want to be better at what you do!

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  3. great looking roses, its such a great course!

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    1. Thanks :) Yeah, it is a good course. I seem to respond well to being taught formally and THEN freestyling, and those classes set you up perfectly for that. I'm doing the flowers course next and I'm a little bit excited...

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  4. They all look delicious AND delightful. Fantastic!

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    1. Thanks :) Added bonus: The cupcakes were filled with industrial jam. As in, the stuff you get in doughnuts. Sooooo gooood...

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  5. Your flowers look fantastic! I always buy those drop flowers but didn't realise how easy they were! :)

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    1. Me too! I was stunned when I realise how easy they are. I presume it will work the same with royal icing - I'll have a play sometime soon and be sure to let you know how it goes :)

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  6. I am craving cupcakes now. With roses. :-)

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  7. All your decorations are gorgeous! The roses are too pretty! I've been dying to take a cake decorating class, I think I'm going to take a night class this summer :) Looks like so much fun!

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    1. Thanks Kristina :) Yeah, I totally recommend taking a class. It gives you a whole new level of confidence that your decorations turning out wasn't a total fluke!

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