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Icing Hints And Ideas
- White Icing on Soft Cakes, such as chocolate or Madeira cakes,
may look different in colour than on a fruit cake. This is because
there is no almond covering underneath. Chocolate cakes in particular
appear darker. So when matching an iced fruit cake with an iced chocolate
cake, be aware that there may be colour differences to the finished
cake. This more noticeable on a stacked cake, where the two cakes
meet.
Solution 1: Ice the cake with white Truffle Icing, white chocolate
ganache, or butter cream icing.
Solution 2: Ice the cake with a thicker layer of white fondant
icing.
It is the same when a fruit cake is iced with double layer of white
icing, the result could be a lighter coloured cake than the one with
the almond icing underneath.
- Ice multi-tiered cakes with the same batch of icing. Ivory icing
in particular can have different shades between batches.
- Allow at least 5" extra on the base of the board size for
a stacked cake. Ice the board. Unless there are very obvious gaps,
ribbon can be placed directly around the base of the stacked cakes.
If there are gaps, ice them smooth. Snails trails will push the ribbon
above the base of the cake, and can distort the straight line of the
ribbon.
- Icing Boards: The least amount of sugar syrup or water on
the board will give the best finish.
Keep the icing thin. Transfer the icing to the board using a long tube
to avoid marking the icing. Push any bubbles out from the center of
the board. Pierce any bubbles that can't be removed by pushing them
to the edge of the board. Pierce bubbles close the edge of the board
with a pin pushed in from the edge of the board, (not the top of the
board), so as not to mark the icing.
When rolling out dark coloured icing, you are often left with an unsightly
white powder finish.
Solution 1: Use half mix of corn flour and icing sugar. This
will preven the white powdery finish.
Solution 2: Use vegetable fat instead to roll out the icing.
- Brush the minimum sugar syrup on the cake, and even less between
the almond and white icings. Excessive syrup can leak between the
layers and seep at the base of the board.
- If a customer supplies a cake for you to ice, UNWRAP AND INSPECT.
Remove the baking paper from the cake in front of the customer so
that you can see and explain the potential problems to him/her.
Look for a cooked, firm, but moist (not wet) cake. Watch for rounded
corners on square cakes, and straight edges on a round cake.
Solutions:
Point out to the customer any imperfections which you will not be able
to hide.
i.e.
- Grossly rounded corners.
- Odd shaped cakes due to incorrectly lined tins.
- Cakes baked in a tin with sloping sides.
- Uncooked centers, or overly moist cakes.
- Tipsy cakes, where the customer has added to much alcohol to the
baked cake.
Charge for extra almond icing if you need to build out corners of a
cake, or fill a really sunken cake. (Domed cakes can be trimmed).
Tipsy cakes: Leave oven to air, but covered with a tea shower.
This will allow the extra alcohol to evaporate. But first find out if
it's the alcohol which has made the cake wet.
Uncooked cakes: Ask the client to re-bake the cake(s) or bake
a new set. If the customer won't do either, and wants you to go ahead
and ice it anyway, NOTE IT ON THE QUOTE FORM, and get a signature as
a disclaimer.
Overcooked (burnt) cakes: Customer's discretion. BUT NOTE IT
ON THE QUOTE FORM, and get a signature as a disclaimer.
Moldy cakes: MUST be replaced. (You'd be surprised what is brought
to you!!). This is a very good reason to inspect all cakes prior to
accepting them, and unwrapping them totally.
- If, after you have completed applying icing to the cake, you see
that the cake is not level, use the lowest edge as the fron of the
cake. The eye will travel up the slope naturally, to the decorations.
- If the top tier is a soft cake, avoid heavy decorations as they
can sink into the icing. Some decorations can be supported with skewers.
- If the iced, lower cake of a stacked cake is slightly domed, the
next layer will not sit properly.
Solution: Cut the skewers to support the next tier a little
lower than the level of the base tier, and position the next cake on
top. Leave for 24 hours to 'settle' the cake before decorating as usual.
This should only be done on a freshly iced cake, or the icing will crack.
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