AY Honors/Cake Decorating/Answer Key

1. List equipment necessary for cake decorating.

Decorating bags

Small triangular shaped bags made from cloth, plastic or parchment paper which are fitted with decorating tips and filled with icing and used to pipe decorative items such as icing flowers, borders, scrollwork and lacework designs.

Decorating tips and collars

Sometimes called nozzles. These tips are used to create decorative items such as icing roses, shell borders, basketweave patterns and more. These come in various shapes and are used with an icing or pastry bag so that when the bag is squeezed the icing or cream is piped out in the shape of the tip, which may or may not be the final shape desired. For example, drop flowers are created with a single squeeze, while rose petals are created with skilled maneuvering. The collars are optional equipment that allow the tip to be changed without removing frosting from the bag.

Frosting spatula

Similar to a butter knife, but with smooth edges on the unsharpened blade. This is used to apply a smooth layer of frosting to a cake.

Flower nail

Shaped like a nail with an oversized head, this is used for piping royal icing and buttercream flowers onto before transferring to the cake.

Cake platter

A platter on which the cake sits as it is decorated and served. It can be as simple as a piece of corrugated cardboard covered with aluminum foil.

2. Learn from memory the two cake icings-butter cream and royal-and their proper uses. Name one other icing used for frosting.

Butter Cream Icing
Ingredients	Procedure
125 ml Butter, softened 125 ml Shortening 1000 ml Confectioner's sugar 5 ml Vanilla extract 30 ml Milk or cream Food coloring (Put mouse over calculator to get English measurements)	Soften the butter by leaving it out of the refrigerator for a few hours before you need it. Place the butter and shortening in a mixing bowl and cream it with a mixer. Add the sugar, one cup at a time, beating it in as you go. Add the vanilla extract and milk and continue mixing. For a white frosting, substitute more shortening for the butter (that is, use 250 ml shortening, and no butter). For a tastier icing, substitute butter for shortening. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to use, or seal in an airtight container and refrigerate (it will keep for up to two weeks). Add food coloring as desired and mix it in thoroughly.

Royal Icing

Royal Icing
Ingredients	Procedure
1000 ml Confectioner's sugar 45 ml Meringue powder 2.5 ml Vanilla extract 1000 ml Confectioner's sugar 125-180 ml Warm water Food coloring (Put mouse over calculator to get English measurements)	Combine the confectioner's sugar and the meringue powder in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer. Add the water, vanilla extract, and food coloring and beat on medium to high speed until the icing forms stiff peaks (5-7 minutes). Adjust the consistency by adding either more confectioner's sugar or more water. Use immediately, or cover in an airtight container and refrigerate. Royal icing hardens when exposed to air.

Stabilized Whipped Cream Icing

Stabilized Whipped Cream Icing
Ingredients	Procedure
250 ml Heavy Whipping Cream 30 ml Confectioners' Sugar 2.5 ml Vanilla extract 30 ml Piping Gel (Put mouse over calculator to get English measurements)	Combine whipping cream and sugar in mixing bowl. Whip to soft peak stage. Add Piping Gel and vanilla, then continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat. Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups.

4. Name three essential steps to good cake decorating.

Icing Consistency

If the consistency of your decorating icing is not just right, your decorations won't be right either. Just a few drops of liquid will make a great deal of difference in your results.

Correct Bag Position

The way your decorations curl, point, and lie depends not only on the icing consitency but also on the way you hold the bag and the way you move it. Bag positions are described in terms of both angle and direction.

Angle

Angle refers to the position of the bag relative to the work surface. There are two basic angle positions.

90° angle, or straight up, perpendicular to the surface. Used when making stars or flat petal flowers.

45° angle, or half way between vertical and horizontal. Used for writing and borders.

Direction

The angle of the bag to the work surgace is only half the story of the bag position. The other half is the direction in which the back of the bag is pointed. Correct bag direction is easiest to learn when you think of the back of the bag as the hour hand of a clock. When you hold the bag with the tip in the center of the clock, you can sweep out a circle with the back end of the bag. Pretend the circle you formed in the air is the clock face. The hours on the clock face correspond to the direction you point the back end of the bag.

Pressure Control

The size and uniformity of your icing designs are affected by the amount of pressure you apply to the bag and the steadiness of the pressure : how you squeeze and relax your grip on the decorating bag. Your goal is to learn to apply pressure so consistently that you can move the bag in a free and easy glide while just the right amount of icing flows through the tip. Practice will help you achieve this control.