Cake Decorating Lesson 1

So we had our first cake decorating class this week.  It was a really fun introduction to the weeks ahead.  The instructor is really nice and sweet - she's very 'grandma' like!  She said she worked for a Boston hotel for most of her life decorating wedding cakes!  What a job!

So we jumped in by learning the proper way to bake, ice and store a cake. Surprisingly the best way to store a cake before you ice it is on the counter on a paper towel.  I've always thought you should cover it up but no - if there isn't any air getting to it then it gets sticky on the top.  Also - there are some oils in the cake so if you let it sit, some of those drop to the bottom and therefore on the paper towel.  Also, she said that its not good to ice it right away because you want to let it settle for the reason mentioned above - letting some oils come out of it and just letting it be.  Next she showed us how make icing for the cake and she gave us a copy of her own icing recipe!  We got to taste test it too and it was delicious.

Then she went on to put the cake on a decorative cardboard and then on a cake turner.  She showed us how she turns the cake and ice's it as she goes.  Its important to put a 'crumb coat' on it first - just a light layer of icing.  You actually let the 'crumb coat' sit for 10 mins before you put on the second coat.  I thought to myself as she was saying this - what are we doing, painting?! Haha!

Anyways after waiting a few minutes for the 'crumb coat' to set, she started in on the main icing coat.  She put a ton on and said thats the best way not to pull any cake up while you are icing.....equals no crumbs in your icing.  She finished it off by smoothing it out - looked great - and I can only hope I can get the same perfection when I try it this week. 

Next she showed us how to put the icing in the bag with our first decorator tip and coupling. The star tip is the first one we tried - this is when we brought the cookies out to decorate.  It was fun finally getting to use the bag, icing and tips!  I felt like a pro but my stars didn't look like pro stars...I need practice!  And BOY does that hurt your hand after a little while.  You are definitely using muscles that you wouldn't normally be using.  Anyways my stars got better with practice and we ended the night by decorating the last few cookies.  The night went by so fast!

Can't wait for next class - we'll be icing our first cake and learning how to put a design on it!