excess neatly and polish with an icing smoother (see Covering a cake with sugarpaste ). Set both the board and the cake to one side to allow the sugarpaste to begin to dry.
3 Roll out a little more white sugarpaste to a 3mm ( 1 ⁄ 8 in) thickness and cut out six small butterflies. Place the butterflies into the recesses of an empty egg box to curl the wings slightly and allow to dry. Dusting the egg box with a little icing (confectioners’) sugar will prevent them from sticking.
4 Thinly roll out a little pale and dark pink sugarpaste. Stamp out a good amount of small and extra-small blossom shapes in both colours. If using a plunger cutter, stamp out the blossom and with it still in the cutter, position the back of the blossom on your fingertip dusted lightly with icing (confectioners’) sugar. Press down the plunger to shape the blossom against your finger then set down on your work surface.
----
TIP
Using the plunger to shape the blossom on your finger rather than doing it on the work surface creates a much nicer shape of blossom.
----
----
“Any excess blossoms not used for this project can be kept in a small jar once they have dried out and used on other projects at a later date.”
----
5 Using a piece of greaseproof (wax) paper, trace the template for the piped swirls outline (see Templates ). Place the template gently onto the top of the covered cake and softly trace the outline with the end of a paintbrush to indent the pattern onto the icing. You can then use this as a guide when piping.
6 Fill a piping (pastry) bag fitted with a no. 2 nozzle (tip) with pink royal icing. Pipe a small section of the swirls at a time. If the piping has little peaks, dab them down using a damp paintbrush. When piping, work from one side of the cake to the other, taking care not to smudge it with your hand as you continue. Pipe pink dots to the end of the swirls as shown on the template.
----
TIP
Any wobbly sections or breaks in your piping can be covered using a blossom or a butterfly.
----
7 Take the white royal icing and fill a piping (pastry) bag fitted with a no. 0 or no. 1 nozzle (tip). Pipe five small dots of icing onto each of the four positions marked on the template and place two pink, one pearl and two tiny pearl dragees onto the dots as shown in the photo.
----
“Use disposable piping bags to save time, and to save on the washing up too!”
----
8 Apply a dot of icing at each of the three pink piped intersections and secure a small blossom in place. Pipe a dot to create the centre of each blossom.
9 Continue to decorate the cake with the blossoms, securing each and creating the centres with white royal icing. Position them in a variety of clusters using single blossoms, pairs and threes.
10 Dust the centres of the butterflies with a little pink lustre dust. Secure each butterfly onto the cake using a dab of white royal icing. Pipe a pink snail trail (see Piping a snail trail ) down the centre of each butterfly to create the body.
11 Position the cake centrally onto the cake board securing with a little royal icing. Trim the cake using the wide pink ribbon, securing at the back of the cake with two pearl-headed pins. The ribbon should sit flush with the cake board.
12 Trim the edge of the board with narrow pink ribbon, securing at the back with a pearl-headed pin.
13 Decorate the cake board using the remaining pink blossoms and butterflies.
Blossoming All Over
Densely decorating a mini-cake
A beautiful mini-cake bursting with beautiful colours is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face.
Get it together…
6.5cm (2 1 ⁄ 2 in) mini-cake, prepared for covering
10cm (4in) round cake card
Sugarpaste: cream, mauve, yellow, pink and deep pink
Cutters: 10cm (4in) round, small and medium blossoms
Royal icing
Piping (pastry) bag and no. 3 nozzle (tip)
12mm ( 1 ⁄ 2 in) wide pale purple ribbon
Pearl-headed pins
Basic equipment (see Equipment )
1 Roll out the cream sugarpaste to a 3mm ( 1 ⁄ 8
3 Roll out a little more white sugarpaste to a 3mm ( 1 ⁄ 8 in) thickness and cut out six small butterflies. Place the butterflies into the recesses of an empty egg box to curl the wings slightly and allow to dry. Dusting the egg box with a little icing (confectioners’) sugar will prevent them from sticking.
4 Thinly roll out a little pale and dark pink sugarpaste. Stamp out a good amount of small and extra-small blossom shapes in both colours. If using a plunger cutter, stamp out the blossom and with it still in the cutter, position the back of the blossom on your fingertip dusted lightly with icing (confectioners’) sugar. Press down the plunger to shape the blossom against your finger then set down on your work surface.
----
TIP
Using the plunger to shape the blossom on your finger rather than doing it on the work surface creates a much nicer shape of blossom.
----
----
“Any excess blossoms not used for this project can be kept in a small jar once they have dried out and used on other projects at a later date.”
----
5 Using a piece of greaseproof (wax) paper, trace the template for the piped swirls outline (see Templates ). Place the template gently onto the top of the covered cake and softly trace the outline with the end of a paintbrush to indent the pattern onto the icing. You can then use this as a guide when piping.
6 Fill a piping (pastry) bag fitted with a no. 2 nozzle (tip) with pink royal icing. Pipe a small section of the swirls at a time. If the piping has little peaks, dab them down using a damp paintbrush. When piping, work from one side of the cake to the other, taking care not to smudge it with your hand as you continue. Pipe pink dots to the end of the swirls as shown on the template.
----
TIP
Any wobbly sections or breaks in your piping can be covered using a blossom or a butterfly.
----
7 Take the white royal icing and fill a piping (pastry) bag fitted with a no. 0 or no. 1 nozzle (tip). Pipe five small dots of icing onto each of the four positions marked on the template and place two pink, one pearl and two tiny pearl dragees onto the dots as shown in the photo.
----
“Use disposable piping bags to save time, and to save on the washing up too!”
----
8 Apply a dot of icing at each of the three pink piped intersections and secure a small blossom in place. Pipe a dot to create the centre of each blossom.
9 Continue to decorate the cake with the blossoms, securing each and creating the centres with white royal icing. Position them in a variety of clusters using single blossoms, pairs and threes.
10 Dust the centres of the butterflies with a little pink lustre dust. Secure each butterfly onto the cake using a dab of white royal icing. Pipe a pink snail trail (see Piping a snail trail ) down the centre of each butterfly to create the body.
11 Position the cake centrally onto the cake board securing with a little royal icing. Trim the cake using the wide pink ribbon, securing at the back of the cake with two pearl-headed pins. The ribbon should sit flush with the cake board.
12 Trim the edge of the board with narrow pink ribbon, securing at the back with a pearl-headed pin.
13 Decorate the cake board using the remaining pink blossoms and butterflies.
Blossoming All Over
Densely decorating a mini-cake
A beautiful mini-cake bursting with beautiful colours is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face.
Get it together…
6.5cm (2 1 ⁄ 2 in) mini-cake, prepared for covering
10cm (4in) round cake card
Sugarpaste: cream, mauve, yellow, pink and deep pink
Cutters: 10cm (4in) round, small and medium blossoms
Royal icing
Piping (pastry) bag and no. 3 nozzle (tip)
12mm ( 1 ⁄ 2 in) wide pale purple ribbon
Pearl-headed pins
Basic equipment (see Equipment )
1 Roll out the cream sugarpaste to a 3mm ( 1 ⁄ 8
Similar Books
