Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Jan./Feb. 2012
THIS ISSUE
CONTENTS
7
24
46
INSPIRATION
34
40
42
4
6
62
ON THE COVER
An award-winning wedding cake designed by Irene B. Maston, CEC,
AAC, o f Ludlow,. Vermont, where the challange was to create a cake
for a fictional couple using at least four concepts from their imaginary
biography. Photo by Craig Mierop.
38
TUTORIAL
CONTEMPORARY COLOR
A clean, architectural wedding cake design inspired by the
runways of Paris and New York.
By Chef Nicholas Lodge
EVERY ISSUE
ON THIS PAGE
Shown left is a detail from a Victorian hat box design by June Lynch of
Ontario, Canada. Photo by Craig Mierop. Shown right is a detail from
Annette Halas entry in the 2011 OSSAS wedding cake competition. For
more OSSAS cakes, see page 24.
www.americancakedecorating.com 1
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Decorators! Learn more about products and shop online for all
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Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
Beryls
Cake Decorating
& Pastry Supplies
www.beryls.com
EDITORIAL
LOOKING FORWARD
For most of my adult life I have had the premonition that how I felt on New Years Day would be an
indication of how the rest of the year would go. Im
excited to report that I woke up feeling that 2012
will be a terrific year for not just me personally but
my business, which includes all of you passionate
cake decorators!
A recent survey gave us a good perspective of what
you want. For your favorite section, most readers
chose cake photos, followed by tutorials. When we
asked what you wanted to see more of, the most
popular responses were how-to tutorials and baking
techniques. To demonstrate that we do listen to our
readers, we introduce a new feature in this issue, Sweet
Science on page 40. Each issue we will tackle a specific
technique, ingredient or other aspect of baking that
will make your final piece better than ever.
Grace McNamara
Publisher
6 January/February 2012
THE UTLIMATE
WEDDING FANTASIES
Beautifully designed
wedding cakes are always
crowd favorites at the
shows and why not?
Decorators go all out to
create these sweet and
stunning looks, following
visions of their own or
those inspired by clients.
Cake by Bob Johnson
Photo by Craig Mierop
www.americancakedecorating.com 7
8 January/February 2012
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10 January/February 2012
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12 January/February 2012
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14 January/February 2012
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16 January/February 2012
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18 January/February 2012
NEW!
2012 CATALOG
No. 1327 - 2 Sided Cake Maker $6.00 No. 1449 - 4 Heating Cores $4.20
Ask for them at your favorite bakery distributor or cake decorating supply shop or visit www.atecousa.com
www.americancakedecorating.com 19
Designed for the 2011 Art of the Cake show in Ohio, which
had a wedding cake theme based on mens ties, Ruth Rickey
chose the bolo tie her husband wore at their wedding. I
used the Make Your Own Mold product to create a mold of
the bolo, the hat band from my husbands cowboy hat and of
the conchos on one of my western belts, said Rickey, adding
that she used a purchased mold for the ladies jewelry on the
top tier.
The pieces were all molded from gumpaste and then painted
with gold, silver or bronze and finished with Leaf Glaze on all
the metal surfaces for extra shine. The turquoise stones were
made from a marbled turquoise fondant that Rickey further
enhanced with painted accent line. The necklace lines were
piped with gray royal icing and then painted silver.
All roses were made with Platinum Paste, then dusted with
shimmers/pearl accents and steamed to set the colors. After
comments from the judges in Ohio, I changed the blue roses
to white ones for the Austin show and I added silver leaves,
said Rickey. I thought it was more attractive and it is now the
cover cake for the 2012 ICES Brochures for the Reno Convention!
20 January/February 2012
All the cut outs are in fondant. The details were piped with yellow
royal icing and then painted with gold. For the sequins, she used a
#9 tip to cut out gumpaste circles, poked them with a straight pin
and shaped them slightly. These were then painted gold, given a
glaze and then applied to the royal icing detail lines as accents.
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22 January/February 2012
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OKLAHOMA
24 January/February 2012
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26 January/February 2012
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28 January/February 2012
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30 January/February 2012
To create her silverware platter, she mixed tylose with water to create a very thick paste and applied this in only certain areas. She let
this set, but not fully dry, and airbrushed it in this still-tacky stage
to create an antique finish.
The purple fondant sphere does not touch the encasing crown,
which necessitated some tricky wiring. Pham, who said that it felt
like she worked on the cake forever, admits she has no idea how
much time the design took in total, but says the the 26-hour drive
to Tulsa was the most nerve-wracking part of the whole experience.
www.americancakedecorating.com 31
32 January/February 2012
Our new
website
really
americancakedecorating.com
www.americancakedecorating.com 33
CERRTIFICATION 2012:
34 January/February 2012
baking a part of my life forever. My first business was making wedding cakes for friends
at church; they were standard Wilton-style
cakes with lace and ribbons, etc. None of
the fondant and fancy stuff for me back in
the day.
I made cakes
for friends and
family off and
on and eventually moved
on to candy
making as
well. Life takes
over as we all
know and cake
decorating unfortunately was
put on the back
burner. But I had always wanted to attend
the Wilton School in Darien, IL, and the only
person stopping me from going was me. So I
scheduled a vacation from work and flew to
Chicago. Then, in 2009 I graduated from the
Baking & Pastry program from the International Culinary School at the Art Institute in
Seattle. Over the years I have taken numerous
classes from some of the best in the industry
such as Nicholas Lodge, Bronwen Weber,
Debbie Brown, Lorraine MaKay, Kathleen
Lange, Kasey Lackey, Lauren Kitchens and
Ron Ben Isreal.
I began
entering
cooking
competitions
and won a
scholarship
to Johnson
and Wales
in Rhode
Island, so I took their pastry arts program.
There I learned more of the classical cake
decorating, chocolate and sugar work. Leaving JWU, I was well rounded as a cook, baker
and pastry chef.
Over the next 10 years I traveled and worked
at some of the finest hotels, restaurants and
private clubs from Rhode Island to Hawaii,
including the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa and Stars Seattle,
among others. In 2007, I opened my own
bakery, the Pomona Baking Co., with my
wife Alice, running it for three years before
selling it in 2010.
After I started school at Boise States Culinary program, I knew I was going to make
www.americancakedecorating.com 35
36 January/February 2012
Buddy Valastro
Carlos Bakery, NJ
Anne Heap
Jorg Amsler
Elisa Strauss
Ron Ben-Israel
www.americancakedecorating.com 37
18,000 BRITISH
38 January/February 2012
CHARACTERS WELCOME
I admit I love character cakes and Cake International was filled with
amazing examples whimsical, humorous, romantic and charming.
These particularly appealed to me because of the skill and subject. It
was difficult to choose from the incredible array of cakes on display
but I felt these were quite spectactular.
www.americancakedecorating.com 39
Sw
Sweet
Science
Editors Note
Were introducing a new column with this issue
based on comments and requests from our readers. The goal of the Sweet Science column is
to explain the hows of baking in a technical but
approachable manner. This could be a discussion
of different flours, or sugars, or fats, or the role of
leavening agents, or even a discussion on weight
vs. volume measurements.
Were thrilled to have Paula Figoni as our first contributor with her great book, How Baking Works.
If you have ideas for topics youd like covered in
future Sweet Science columns, or are interested
in contributing, get in touch with me: susan@
spacedowntown.com.
40 January/February 2012
Baking is chemistry, and the key to success for any baker is an understanding of the principles that make baking work. In How Baking Works,
Third Edition, author Paula Figoni thoroughly covers the entire baking process. She takes the user through the major ingredient groups,
explaining how sweeteners, fats, milk, leavening agents and other
ingredients affect the appearance, flavor and texture of the end product, emphasizing the whys at work behind basic techniques. Here she
explains some of the reasons and results of various methods of
mixingand why water is so important.
water to dissolve or hydrate particles and
molecules is a very important part of the
mixing process.
Until molecules either dissolve or are
hydrated in water, they do not act as
expected. For example, undissolved
sugar crystals are not able to moisten or
tenderize cakes, to stabilize whipped egg
whites, or to taste sweet. Undissolved
salt is unable to slow yeast fermentation
or to preserve food. Undissolved baking
powder does not produce carbon dioxide
for leavening. Eachthe sugar, salt, and
baking powdermust first dissolve in
water before it can act.
Many larger molecules, such as proteins
and starches, do not dissolve completely
in water, but they do swell and hydrate.
Layers of water form liquid shells around
hydrated molecules, swelling and suspending them. Just as sugar, salt, and baking
powder must dissolve before they act, so,
too, must large molecules hydrate.
Flour contains hard chunks of protein that
must hydrate before being transformed into
gluten, a large, flexible web that is important
for proper volume and crumb structure in
baked goods. Mixing helps slough off the
protein, layer by layer, from the solid chunks
in flour, to speed up hydration and formation
of gluten. No matter the amount of mix-
Description
Example
Straight dough
All ingredients combined and mixed until dough is smooth and well developed
Yeast-raised breads
Creaming or conventional
Shortening and sugar creamed; eggs added, then liquids (if any) added alternately
with sifted dry ingredients at low speed
Two-stage or blending
Sifted dry ingredients blended on low speed; softened fat cut in with paddle; liquids
added slowly to blend in two stages (eggs added in second stage); beaten to aerate
High-ratio cakes
Liquid shortening
All ingredients blended on low speed, then whipped on high, and finally on
medium speed to aerate
Sponge or whipping
Warmed whole eggs (or yolks) and sugar whipped until very light and thick;
liquids added; sifted dry ingredients gently folded in, followed by melted butter
(if any) or whipped whites (if separated
Angel food
Egg whites and sugar whipped until soft peaks form; sifted dry ingredients
gently folded in
Chiffon
Sifted dry ingredients stirred or blended on low speed; oil and other liquid
ingredients added and lightly blended until smooth; egg whites and sugar
whipped until soft peaks form and folded into flour-oil mixture
Chiffon cake
Muffin or one-stage
Sifted dry ingredients stirred or blended on low speed; liquid fat and other
liquid ingredients added in one stage and lightly blended just until moistened
Biscuit or pastry
Sifted dry ingredients stirred or blended on low speed; solid fat rubbed or cut
in by hand or with paddle; liquids stirred in gently
Biscuits, scones,
pie pastry, blitz puff pastry
www.americancakedecorating.com 41
Sugar artists Lori Sladyk Gilmore and Karen Sladyk are known for their innovative approach to cake presentations.
American Cake Decorating spotted their hanging cake (shown below right) at the 2011 ICES show and convention in Charlotte, NC. We asked for more information and the pair gladly shared information on where they look
for inspiration and some how-to advice for creating your own hanging display.
Whether you are a serious hobbyist or a career professional in sugar
arts, you are likely looking for something new to impress friends or
clients. We like looking for cake ideas in everyday items, so shopping is always a cake adventure, whether its in a garden shop, home
improvement store, thrift shop or a store known for home decor.
Inspiration Everywhere
If flowers can be displayed on a stand, so can a cake, which is why
we love shopping at garden centers. Look for stands with varying
support heights to set off different tierscheck out the bird baths,
solar light posts and decorative lanterns
as options for pillars or bases.
After checking out the garden shop, try a
home improvement store. There you can
purchase decorative chains often used for
ceiling fans and hanging plants. These colorful chains can be used to hang individual tiers of cakes from the ceiling or from
an arched trellis. Consider glass blocks for
use as a base, or as a separator between
tiers. Some big box stores also have home
dcor sections where you might choose a
decorative birdcage to display your cake.
Similar wrought iron pieces, shaped as
bicycles or carts, can be used. And while
Christmas lights are a popular addition to
table edges, consider also that a revolving
Christmas tree stand is sturdy enough to
hold and light your cake.
The thrift stores can always provide
interesting, although inconsistent ideas.
Look for retro items such as a record
player, which can be used as a base and
as a way to make your cake revolve. And
dont ignore the toy section which might
provide an idea for a cake on wheels!
HANGING CAKES
Stands designed for hanging plants work great
for cakes. When evaluating them for use, look for
a wide base to reduce the possibility of tipping.
Choose materials such as wrought iron, strong
enough to support a layer cake. On the left, an
elegant tapered structure supports one tier on
the bottom and another hanging from a chain.
On the right is the mirror image hanging cake
we showed in Charlotte.
42 January/February 2012
www.americancakedecorating.com 43
Karen Sladyk is a creative sugar hobbyist who teaches food crafts in the
community and at a local college. To
finance her cake decorating purchases,
she works as a college professor teaching
Occupational Therapy. They both live
in northeastern Connecticut.
44 January/February 2012
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and click on
Monthly eNewsletter
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46 January/February 2012
The vibrant orange and bright white color combination for this cake by Chef Nicholas Lodge is taken straight off
the European fashion runways, while the design was inspired by a mix of contemporary and traditional ceramics
and fabrics.
COMPONENTS:
One 3" x 3" square cake or dummy
One 4" x 2" square cake or dummy
One 6" x 4" square cake or dummy
One 8" x 5" square cake or dummy
One 10" x 2" square cake or dummy
Stress-Free Cake Support System or doweling method of choice
1 kg Massa couture orange rolled fondant
750 g Massa Americana white rolled fondant
250 g Massa white gumpaste
Chef Nicholas notes: Massa products are available at auiswiss.com.
Shortening
Egg white
Piping gel
Tylose powder
Cosmetic sponge with a hole in the middle
HOW-TO:
Chef Nicholas notes: When designing contemporary themed cakes, adding visual interest by alternating colors, varying the height of the tiers,
and offsetting their position will really make the cake pop.
This cake was stacked directly onto a modern white cake stand, securing
the layers with a mixture of fondant softened with piping gel.
1 Roll out the fondant both orange and whiteto cover the four
largest cake tiers; dowel as needed (if using real cake), and stack, so
the creativity can begin.
2 On the bottom 10" cake, roll out some white 50/50 paste (50/50
paste is made by taking equal quantities of Massa Americana and
Massa gumpaste, combining them together with a little vegetable
shortening). Feed the paste through the pasta attachment on setting
two. Rub a little shortening onto your work surface, and lay your paste
on top. Cut out eight sections of the border design using the straight
frill cutter. Trim to 3/4" wide, lay face side down onto a strip of foam.
www.americancakedecorating.com 47
3 Brush a little piping gel over the back and flip up to attach to the
base of the cake. Repeat this process on all sides. Extrude some
orange fondant using a small plain round disc through the clay
extruder to create a strand border, and attach with small dots of
piping gel at two or three points on each side.
4 For the 8" cake, roll out some white 50/50 paste and modified
orange fondant. (This
is done by mixing
150g of Massa orange
fondant with 3g of
tylose powder and 3g
of shortening. Place in
a zip-top bag to firm up
for approximately 10-15
min. before using). Roll
out both pastes on the
pasta machine on setting three. Cut out using
the 1" square from the
geometric cutter set.
Place on foam to firm
up for a few minutes,
then attach around
the 8" cake with a little piping gel, starting in the back corner and
continuing around the cake.
5 Extrude and attach an orange fondant strand border as for the
10" tier.
6 For the 6" cake, roll out some white 50/50 paste and run it
through setting two on the pasta machine. Cut out using the small
decorative cutter from the patchwork cutter set. Trim the pieces for
the top and bottom rows as shown in the photograph using a mini
pallet knife and attach to the cake using a little piping gel.
48 January/February 2012
9 For the 3" cake, take 100g of orange fondant, roll out to a 7" by 3"
wide rectangle and run through the pasta machine on setting one.
Emboss with the Tuscan tile impression mat. Cut a 12" by 3" strip,
roll up and attach around the 3" cake, starting in the back corner.
Trim as needed.
15 Attach in the frame with a few dots of piping gel. Allow the monogram frame to dry on
the foam for three hours, then turn over and
allow to dry for several hours or overnight.
16 Once dry, secure in the prepared
cavity with white 50/50 paste softened
with piping gel.
17 For the flowers,
take a ball of gumpaste, about the size
of a corsage pin head,
and color it with the
leaf green.
18 Dip the carved end of a toothpick into egg
white and insert into the ball of paste. Form into a
3/8" long teardrop shape. Mark eight vertical lines
with the metal knife tool.
www.americancakedecorating.com 49
Chef Nicholas Lodge was inducted into the International Cake Exploration Societe (ICES) Hall of Fame in 2001, being the youngest person ever
to receive this honor. In 2010, Dessert Professional magazine named Chef
Nicholas one of the top 10 cake artists and top 10 pastry chefs, making him
the first to receive both awards in one year.
Chef Nicholas divides most of his time between teaching at his retail store
and school in Norcross, GA, The International Sugar Art Collection, and the
French Pastry School in Chicago where he is a chef instructor in the LArt du
Gateau program. When not teaching, Chef Nicholas spends his spare time
searching for new and innovative ideas that can be introduced and adapted
into cakes and sugar art. Part of this inspiration comes from his love of gardening, fashion and interior design.
Weblinks: NicholasLodge.com
50 January/February 2012
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52 January/February 2012
COMPONENTS:
Two 6" round vanilla cakes
One 8" round vanilla cake
Three 10" round vanilla cakes
12 cups buttercream
Paintbrush
Fondant ribbon cutter
Pencil sharpener
Ivory satin ribbon
Glue stick
Piping gel
Royal icing
100 oz. white fondant
Cornstarch
Fine and medium silver drages or fondant beads
Medium pearl drages or fondant beads
Gumpaste
HOW TO:
1 With the pastry brush, spread piping gel evenly over the cake
drum. On a cornstarch-covered surface, roll out 10 ounces of the
white fondant to 1/4"thick and cover the cake drum. Trim the
excess with the sharp knife.
2 Prepare the 6" and 8" tiers by leveling their tops with the serrated
knife, splitting them in half horizontally, and filling between the
layers with buttercream. Place each tier on its corresponding cake
board. Cover both tiers with a thin layer of buttercream. You will
have one 4" high tier and one 2" high tier.
www.americancakedecorating.com 53
3 For the 10" tier, level all three cake rounds and split them in half
horizontally. Fill between the layers with buttercream. Stack
just two of the cake rounds (four layers of cake in total) on the 10"
board. Cut six pieces of dowel to 3" long, and insert them vertically
into the filled 10" cake. Spread a layer of buttercream on top.
9 Working on one leaf at a time, place the leaves on the thin piece
of foam and thin the edges with the round stick.
4 Place the remaining 8" round cake board in the center. Take the
two remaing 10" cake rounds and fill between the layers with buttercream. Stack this on top of the 8" cake board. The result will be a
10" tier measuring 6" high.
5 Cut another six pieces of dowel to 3" in length. Insert the dowels
vertically into the top half of the stacked 10" tier.
6 Spread a thin layer of buttercream on all three tiers. Refrigerate
for 20 minutes. Cover the top and sides with a second, thicker coat
of buttercream. Smooth with the dough scraper and refrigerate for
one hour.
7 Roll out all the remaining white fondant to 1/4" thick and cover
all three tiers. Smooth with the fondant smoother and trim the
excess with the pizza cutter. Save the trimmings, wrapped in plastic
wrap. Transfer the 10" tier to the cake drum, securing in place with
a dab of royal icing.
8 Roll out the leftover fondant to 1/8" thick. Using the medium
leaf cutter, cut out medium-sized leaves.
54 January/February 2012
10 Starting from the base and working your way up, attach the
leaves to the side of the 10" tier with water.
11 Cover the entire tier, leaving an 8" diameter opening on the top,
where the second tier will sit.
14 With the seam facing out, attach the strip to the top of the
6-inch (15 cm) tier with a little water. Allow the ends to overlap
and trim the excess with a knife.
www.americancakedecorating.com 55
21 Finish off the cake drum by attaching the ivory ribbon with a
glue stick. ACD
Annie Dam was born in Saigon and grew up in Canada. She currently
owns and operates a cake boutique in Edmonton, Alberta. She has
written about cake decoration for a range of publications and has had
her wedding cakes and cupcakes featured on blogs and in magazines
around the world.
Weblinks: FireflyBooks.com
CakeCouture-edibleart.ca
17 Cut six 2" pieces of dowel and insert them vertically into the 8"
tier, approximately 2" from the edge.
18 Place a dab of royal icing on top of the dowels. Set the 8" tier on
top of the 10" tier. Then, set the 6" tier on top of the 8" tier.
19 Sharpen one end of a 12" long dowel. Drive it vertically into the
center of all three tiers. Cover the hole on top with some royal icing.
56 January/February 2012
Try a complete
decorating idea
Sample the
inspiration each
issue offers
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58 January/February 2012
This simple rose by Lew Churnick is an adaptation of a coiled paper rose ornament. I am told the original
method may have been shown by Martha Stewart many years ago he said. If so, thank you Martha!
FOR DESIGN AND ASSEMBLY:
PhotoFrost Cut-N-Frost Sheets in green
PhotoFrost Cut-N-Frost Sheets in red (or your choice
of flower color)
Foam cutting mat
Stencil for rose pattern (included upon request with PhotoFrost
Sheet order)
Leaf cookie cutters
Non-toxic food-safe felt tip highlighter marker
Non-toxic food-safe felt tip black marker
Scissors
Spatula
Tylose-water gel for glue
Applicator wand for tylose
3 A standard spiral stencil has been modified with mild scallop pattern to create a rose petal effect. Lay the stencil over the red PhotoFrost sheet and use the non-toxic felt highlighter to trace the pattern
resulting in a faint line on the edible sheet to guide your scissors.
HOW-TO:
Lew notes: If you have an electronic die cutter we can supply the file to
import into the program for a perfect cut via your computer. The rest of us
cut by hand. The result is a spiral with irregular outer edges.
4 Turn the shiny side of the sheet upward. Curl and roll the spiral
into a cone-shaped coil.
www.americancakedecorating.com 59
5 At the end of the coil strip apply tylose gel under where the coil
will stand upright.
Lew notes: Apply a very thin layer of tylose to avoid melting through the
bottom flower layer and use a non-stick or waxed surface to allow final
drying. A spatula will then slide easily under the finished flower to be
removed without breaking.
6 Insert leaves, press
the back end into the
tylose to attach.
7 Roll the coiled flower
upright, gently unfurl
to arrange petals and
press into the tylose
to anchor. Repeat for
as many roses as your
design requires.
Lew notes: Altering the stencil pattern allows you to create a variety of
flowers using the same technique, such as this water lily. ACD
60 January/February 2012
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Est. 1962
145 unique
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Available at fine
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800-862-8620
www.LorAnnOils.com
www.americancakedecorating.com 61
FAVORITE TOOLS
62 January/February 2012
g My favorite tool is my
Exact-O knife. It's a basic
one that I got from Hobby
Lobby, said Anh Gross. I
switch the blade out regularly; you get cleaner cuts
when the blade is sharp.
f I often talk about the ten
tools I can never be without,
said Kim Morrison, but if I have
to choose just one, it would
be the Holly Products Ceramic
Random Veining Tool. With just
this tool, I can vein many flowers
without needing all the silicon
veiners. Daisies, pansies, peonies, sweetpeas and poppies
look softer and more realistic, and the tool is wonderful for
helping to reflex the edges of other flower petals.
f The dresden tool
veiner on one end and
foot tool on the other,
said Earlene Moore. I
love to use this tool to add
a little more dimension to
a design. A deeper veining, cleaning up edges,
trimming in small places and pressing the extra
fondant down between the pearls when you use the
beadmakers. Then use foot end for smoothing design
elements or deepening raised designs.
Products
www.americancakedecorating.com 63
g My favorite tool is
my ball tool, said Irene B.
Maston. It's one with ball
bearing type ends and a
wooden handle center. (I
have a tendency to break
plastic ones!) I make so many cakes with flowers
and leaves on them , as we are rather "woodsy" here
in Vermont, that I find I use it like another hand. Its
also great for sculpting and making impressions in
cakes to attached flowers so they have a 3-D effect.
fMy favorite tool, said Lisa Bugeja, how can I pick? I have a few
tools I could not live without. One of my favorites is my PME 1.5 tipI love
it! And I cannot live without my small palette knifeI get angry if anyone
tries to borrow it! It's perfect for gliding under strips of fondant or gumpaste, for lifting small items, and for making small adjustments to ribbons
and bands on cakes. And my ultimate favorite cutter setthe nine piece
teardrop setI used it to make all the flowers (short of the sweet peas). Its
amazing. You can make a zillion different flowers from that set.
64 January/February 2012
Professional QualityBakeware
and Decorating Tools helps you create your
own Spectacular Cakes & Desserts.