Cake Decorating Basics. Rachel Brown

cake to hold it in position. Pull the wire through the cake, keeping your hand at the same level all the time (Fig. 4). If you do not have a cake wire, take a length of fine food grade wire, wrap each end round a dowel, then tape over it. This will prevent the wire from moving. Lift the top half of the cake with a thin, 4-mm (¼-in) board, as in Method One.

      Tools of the Trade

      If you cannot find cake wire, use a length of plain dental floss. Wrap it round your fingers or tie it round two dowels, then proceed as for the cake wire (see above). This is a very hygienic way of cutting a cake, because the dental floss is disposable.

      Filling Sponge Cakes

      Fillings are a matter of personal choice, but many people opt to use classic buttercream, which keeps well in the refrigerator for up to one month.

      Making Buttercream

      INGREDIENTS

       (see page 121 for specific amounts)

      Butter or margarine

      Icing (confectioners’) sugar

      Hot water

      METHOD

      1.Cream the butter/margarine in a mixing bowl until it is almost white in colour.

      2.Stir in the icing (confectioners’) sugar a little at a time.

      3.Continue stirring in the icing sugar and gradually add the water. (The main purpose of the water in this recipe is to soften the consistency of the buttercream if necessary.)

      4.Blend until the buttercream has a smooth, spreading consistency.

      5.Use the buttercream immediately or freeze it in a plastic bag or airtight container for up to a month. Give it a thorough stir just before use.

      If you are filling a cake with both jam (jelly) and buttercream, remove the top half of the cake, leaving the bottom half and board on a turntable, as described in Cutting Sponge Cakes in Half, page 25. Use a palette knife (metal spatula) to spread the buttercream on the bottom half of the cake, then top this with the jam (Fig. 1).

      Avoid putting on too much of any filling, because it will ooze out when the top of the cake is set in place. Do not worry if the filling does not initially go right up to the edges of the cake. You will find that the weight of the cake’s top half will spread it out, and the whole cake will have plenty of filling when it is cut.

      To put the top half of the cake back in position, pick up the board and tilt it until the cake is perfectly centred on the bottom half (Fig. 2). Press the top half down gently with your hand. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on the top and sides of the cake with one hand, using your other hand to gently rotate the turntable (Fig. 3). The buttercream coating will act as a masking to which the sugarpaste (rolled fondant or ready-to-roll icing) covering, which you will add later, will stick.