I'm icing a cake for a family members wedding , can anyone give me the best recipe for icing, that i can use to pipe the bride and groom's names on the cake. Also any tips on how to actually pipe the lettering (as i have never done it before)professionally on the cake,your comment's will be gratefully recieved.
Lettering on a cake is rough, because there's no easy way to erase a mistake and you have to move fairly quickly to get the writing to look smooth.
I'd cheat.
I like using either royal icing (which hardens really hard (ever had those rock-hard candy roses? That's royal icing). I'd recommend making a batch and practicing on wax paper. Then you can let the letters (or whole words) harden, pick the ones you like, and take them with you to put on the cake.
I transport icing pieces in old margarine containers, cushioned inside by paper towel.
Royal icing recipies are available online if you google them.
Thankyou Margaret.
I would recommend that you pick up a book on basic cake decorating. Wilton has several inexpensive books on the subject. I believe that the Wilton Yearbook of cake decorating has some recipes and some basic instructions on cake decorating. You can buy one where Wilton cake decorating supplies are sold (most craft stores.) You might also look at their website
Good luck!
gloria p
I agree with you on all points. However, I really doubt that a bakery would decorate a cake that someone else baked. The person who decorates the cakes, however, might agree to do it "on the side." That said, about 90% of the work in producing a wedding cake is in the decorating, so I doubt that it would save money to contract out the decorating. I would suggest that the OP approach the bakery and ask how much some simply decorated "party cakes" would cost, without letting them know it was for a wedding. You might be able to get a 6", 9", and 12" cake with a simple top and bottom border and perhaps some garlands and/or flowers for much less than the same cakes that were ordered as wedding cakes. The OP could then arrange them on a stand or stack them using plates and pillars. The final decorations might be some fresh flowers. I did a stunning cake last year with white frosting, simple boarders, and a mound of red and white dahlias from the garden. You could use carnation, mums, lilies, roses or other flower from the florist.
I questioned the writing on the cake, but it is their wedding and if they want writing on the cake then they should get writing on the cake. As you point out, it isn't traditional. I have seen a lot of example of cakes for bridal SHOWERS with writing on them. That makes some sense to me since the groom usually doesn't attend the shower.
As for the design issue. I do think that it is possible to make an acceptable wedding cake without a lot of fancy decorations. Wilton generally has a few cakes in their publications that are very simple. In fact, you could use a comb on the sides of the cakes and that would eliminate the need to have them frosted smoothly. A simple shell border on the top and bottom wouldn't be too hard to produce. You can buy flowers made in both royal frosting and gum paste. Fresh flowers would be another good alternative.
The thing I would recommend staying away from is stacking the cakes. I certainly wouldn't go very high with them as it is an invitation to disaster. However, there are all manner of cake stands available that eliminate the need to stack the cakes.
...another option (if you have good handwriting) would be to take a bamboo skewer and lightly write on the cake with that, and then use that as a guide to pipe the words...
Most icings are sickeningly sweet. Heres one thats not: coconut oil block water cardamom
heat the block in just a little water, say water is 10-20% of the block quantity. Heat very slowly and very gently, the coconut will gradually melt into the water. Add a pinch of cardamom powder, mix it up, adjust water content to determine how stiff the set icing is. This is a true quality icing, not like the usual slab of sugar offering.
Regards, NT
Frankly, it sounds disgusting. Also, I have never seen "coconut oil block" available in any store including baking supply stores.
REally it is.... Even if you use cocoa butter as coating it will still taste weird...
It sounds as delicious as a thick coating of Vaseline.
lol! Its a lovely moist coating. Readers will note youve not actually tried it.
Regards, NT
PS its not called 'coconut oil block', but thats what it is. I still cant remember the usual name. Its coconut but not dry slivers, its a solid block. The dry slivers are no use at all for this.
Isn't it something like copha?
gloria p
Moist isn't equivalent to delicious. However, I recall reading an obscure book on the history of wedding cakes which said that cakes were originally coated with lard as a preservative. Later, sugar was added to the lard and "frosting" was changed from a preservative to a more palatable finish for a cake. Of course the cake was probably chock full of rancid nuts and insects and imbibed with alcohol.
snipped-for-privacy@meeow.co.uk (N. Thornton) wrote in message news:...
It cannot be called an icing but a coating. A savory and fatty one devoid of any form of aeration to lighten up the texture. I have seen some sample of that so called fat block made with coconut fat. It is called Copha.It is a firm block of fat appearing like tallow but whiter. I am using it as the fat component ( instead of costly butter)to prepare commercial caramel and fudge sweets. From my experience in using it, its not dispersible in water. It needs an emulsifier.Even if I add glycerol monostearate( GMS) to form an emulsion( so that caramel sweet will be homogenous looking) with continous stirring,its is difficult to disperse in water. I also notice that if the fat was improperly emulsified in the cooking of such particular candy, you will find globules of fat on the surface of the finished confection. Now going back to your idea of making a water in oil emulsion or i.e. technically speaking the aqueous phase is dispersed in the fat phase( or simply a greater ratio of fat in relation to water;) how do you stabilize that? I do not see good stability of such coating. After a short time the water will ooze out and is called a phenomenon of emulsion breakdown. Another thing that is has lower stability is that the fatty acid called lauric acid is abundant in such fat.In presence of moisture( you are adding water in it) and the microbes floating in the air will come in contact with the mixture releasing enzymes( lipases) that will split the fat (triglyceride) say( palm-oloein laurein),stearo-laurein palmitin,etc) resulting in the breakdown to its component palmitic acid, stearic aid, oleic acid and lauric acid.The last component is responsiblef for the soapy taste. This lauric acid will react with existing sodium ions ( mineral content)present in the formulation to form a soap. Therefore in the end you will end up with a soapy tasting food. Gosh! it might even slightly foam in the mouth like toothpaste !
Roy
This is all a beautiful illustration of the old saying 'theory and practice are the same in theory, but different in practice.' Although what you say might sound believable, its far from what happens. I've been making coconut icing for years, and whether you believe me or not, its definitely a superior icing. Try some and find out. If you dont, youre guessing, or maybe reasoning, but not reasoning right somewhere.
a guess
no: what you say is true if the concentration is low, but over a wide range it disperses very well. I've never had a dispersion problem, but I know not to try using it the way you describe.
low concentration, different hardening temps probably as well.
its perfectly stable
doesnt happen. If you store it enough days it will slowly dry, but slower than sugar icing does.
no. There are other constituents in coconut youre overlooking.
Try it, or dont, your choice. :)
Regards, NT
Although
Coconut icing with no sugar? That is a misnomer? An icing or even called a frosting usually contains sugar. It may or may not contain fat.Such as the boiled icing and related meringue based icing. But what you are talking about is a mixture of coconut oil and cardamom powder. That is considered a coating and not an icing. However if that how you call it then that's fine.
I think I will never be able to try that as in my situation icings are sweet and if its bland and spicy the bakery business will go bankrupt. You do not make things just to prove a point; I produce things because somebody needs it and the business I am working with depends on it.
It is not a conjecture,,,,What you are doing is considered (frankly speaking)sheer madness ?.. Mixing fat and spice and call that an icing? What a silly idea that no respectable bakery employer will even think about. being sold in his bakery.
If I have to make your style use that to coat my cakes and present that to the customer, .... Gosh! Somebody will bring a straitjacket to tie me up and bring me to the insane asylum! That will be the end to my illustrious and lucrative career.
Well again I do not have the opportunity to verify such claim. If I will experiment with that (and as requied by company regulation) record the complete details of the trial in our R&D information atabase; and somebody in the company reads it; I will be subjected to ridicule and my professional credibility will be tarnished. The company technical manager will say ?there is a wacko in this establishment. Get rid of him while he still partly sober!'
Well no matter if the concentration is higher or lower. In past trials with coconut based shortening when I was still in Asia. I had applied that shortening in many aspects of bakery application. From bread,cakes, cookies, pastries. It had a consistent result that the products upon storage( for even a few days) tend to exhibit that soapy aftertaste and a faint aroma technically described as methyl ketone which is unpleasant.In some cases it can exhibit an odour of dried copra.
You still have much to learn about the peculiarity of coconut oil based fats. Indeed its stable to oxidative rancidity because of little amount of linoleic acid; but not to hydrolytic rancidity because of the high content of lauric fatty acid which is almost 50 Percent of the total fatty acids in coconut fat.? This is why the latter spoilage pathway is more faster (10X faster if compared to other fats)in coconut fat than in other oils (except palm kernel oil which is similar in composition to the coconut and exhibit the same spoilage pattern). This latter kind of spoilage is common when you put water in the coconut fat and agitate it without any heat treatment.To tell you I did not have good success with using coconut fat as the base for white icing which I had good results with soybean and cottonseed based shortening in terms which are capable of producing a clean tasting icing that can carry a wide range of flavors.
If you think that you really love the coconut fat, it implies that you had a fetish for such fat.
' If It just surprises me that you did not even experienced that.
,Wait,,,, what are the constituents of coconut fat? Let us see the chemistry?. this is the breakdown of the fatty acid content of such fat: Caprylic acid 7.6% Capric acid 7.3% Lauric acid 48.2% Myristic acid 16.6% Palmitic acid 8 Palmitoleic acid 1.0% Stearic acid 3.8% Oleic acid 5% Linoleic acid 2.5%
The other fatty acids are found also in other fats such palm oil, soyabean, corn, sunflower, cottonseed. So may I ask what are the constituents of coconut fat that I missed? Unless you are using a proprietary composition that contains not only coconut but also other materials.
Naah, I;'m sorry ??I still love my job?. BTW, when you start making that ?loony icing' again I think its better if : you can start singing at the same time this coconut song.
?The coconut nut is not a nut. IF you eat too much you get very fat' ???? ?It is the coco fruit, from the coco tree , of the coco palm family.'
Are you from northern territory in Australia? I was trying to think of what is the reason for your fondness for coconut. Northern territory being in the tropical part of australia has lots of coconut in it. Regards, Roy Basan
Every one of your points you raised here was already answered in my post to which you responded - except one. The answer to that one is caprylic acid. You sound to me like a true fool. You dont seem to have followed any of it, or applied even basic sense. I wish you luck with your bakery, though it doesnt sounds like your range is anything to write home about.
Regards, NT
Hey, maybe you're just looking at this the wrong way.=20
Maybe you could market this as "Atkins-Friendly Low-Carb Sugar-Free Glaze"
Yes, I know it's got essentially no carbohydrates, but as Pepsi and Coke are noticing, a non-carbohydrate, nay, even non-caloric product is not nearly as attractive to the modern dieter as a low-carbohydrate product.
Best to just, fudge the truth a little, and see if you can find some way to get someone on fatkins to buy a donut from you. If it tastes like a scented candle, that's actually a recommendation for it, since dieters have this bizarre sense of flagellation where they feel guilty if their food isn't nasty and unappetizing.=20
Hey, maybe you're just looking at this the wrong way.=20
Maybe you could market this as "Atkins-Friendly Low-Carb Sugar-Free Glaze"
Yes, I know it's got essentially no carbohydrates, but as Pepsi and Coke are noticing, a non-carbohydrate, nay, even non-caloric product is not nearly as attractive to the modern dieter as a low-carbohydrate product.
Best to just, fudge the truth a little, and see if you can find some way to get someone on fatkins to buy a donut from you. If it tastes like a scented candle, that's actually a recommendation for it, since dieters have this bizarre sense of flagellation where they feel guilty if their food isn't nasty and unappetizing.=20
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