The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating Read Online Free Page B

icing (confectioners’) sugar, trying to keep it in a circular shape and at an even thickness of 5mm ( 3 ⁄ 16 in). Measure the size of your cake with a piece of string and use to compare to your sugarpaste. Trim off any excess – if one side is far too long the weight of the overhang will pull and crack as it is laid onto the cake.
    3 Once the sugarpaste is rolled out to the correct size, use an icing smoother to polish it on the work surface. Then lift the sugarpaste using your rolling pin and lay it centrally onto the cake.

    4 Using your hands, concentrate on the very top of the cake. Moving in a circular motion, begin to polish and smooth the sugarpaste. Cup your hands and polish again around the very top edge. Now turn your attention to the sides, gently working your way down the cake towards the base. Lift the sugarpaste out from the bottom, as if smoothing out a skirt, to encourage the sugarpaste to the cover the cake flat, lifting out any creases.

    5 Once the sugarpaste is smoothed all the way down the sides, use an icing smoother to polish the surface. At the base of the cake, press down the smoother to start to form a mark where the sugarpaste can be trimmed.
    6 Using a sharp knife, cut cleanly around the base of the cake to cut away the excess sugarpaste and remove.

    7 Use your hands and the smoother to finish off the cut edge. Set to one side and allow to dry before decorating.

Covering a mini-cake
    1 To cover a mini-cake, roll out a square of sugarpaste (rolled fondant) as you would for a larger cake, however it will only need to be approximately 16cm (6 1 ⁄ 4 in) round. Use to cover the mini-cake as described for a larger cake (see Covering a cake with sugarpaste ).
    2 Because of their size it is often easier to polish the icing using two smoothers, one in each hand on either side of the mini-cake.

Quantities of sugarpaste (rolled fondant) needed to cover a cake
Size
Round
Square
15cm (6in)
600g (1lb 5oz)
650g (1 1 ⁄ 2 lb)
18cm (7in)
800g (1 3 ⁄ 4 lb)
900g (2lb)
20cm (8in)
1kg (2 1 ⁄ 4 lb)
1.2kg (2 1 ⁄ 2 lb)
23cm (9in)
1.2kg (2 1 ⁄ 2 lb)
1.4kg (3lb)
25cm (10in)
1.4kg (3lb)
1.75kg (3 3 ⁄ 4 lb)
28cm (11in)
1.75kg (3 3 ⁄ 4 lb)
1.9kg (4lb 3oz)
30.5cm (12in)
2.2kg (4 3 ⁄ 4 lb)
2.25kg (5lb)

Covering a board with sugarpaste
    Covering a cake board in sugarpaste (rolled fondant) before mounting your cake makes the whole project look much more professional. Always cover boards if you have the time, they can be decorated to match your cake too!
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TIP
    Water sprays are useful pieces of kit that can be picked up in little travel sets and are small and easy to store.
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    1 Roll out the sugarpaste to a depth of 3mm ( 1 ⁄ 8 in), measuring the size needed using string. While still flat on the work surface, polish using an icing smoother.
    2 Lightly mist the cake board with a water spray.
    3 Lift the sugarpaste using your rolling pin and lay down over the board. Polish again with the icing smoother.
    4 Trim the excess sugarpaste from the board using a sharp knife in the same way you would trim excess pastry from a pie. Smooth the cut edge with the palm of your hand. Emboss if desired (see Embossing ). Set to one side and allow to dry before decorating.

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    â€œTo cover mini-cake boards, make life easier by matching the size of the cake card to that of a round cutter. Cut out the circle and adhere to the card – hey presto!”
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Trimming a board with ribbon
    1 Run a length of double-sided tape around the edge of the board.

    2 Fix the ribbon into place and secure at the back with a pearl-headed pin.

Colouring
    To colour sugarpaste (rolled fondant) and royal icing it is best to use edible gel paste colours. These colours are extremely concentrated. Recommended brands include Wilton, Sugarflair and Squires Kitchen (see Suppliers ). Powder colours are used for dusting and can also be mixed with a little clear alcohol (vodka or gin) to form a