How to decorate cakes: 5 quick and easy do-it-yourself ideas
Taste and aesthetics represent an indissoluble binomial in the pastry sector: besides being good, therefore, a cake must also be beautiful to look at. Decoration is certainly an art, as shown by decorative techniques so fashionable as cake design. However, we can make original cake decorations also at home, so that the cakes become immediately beautiful and scenic: a little manual work and imagination will be enough to make your creations unique, even without cream. Then let’s discover 5 ways to decorate cakes in a simple and creative way with tips to create real works of art.
1. Simple but impressive chocolate decorations
If you are looking for a simple but effective idea, you can decorate the cake with chocolate, also ideal for birthday cakes. It is the ideal decoration for those who love to create something spectacular in a short time, but without difficulty. Just melt the dark or milk chocolate in a bain-marie, then insert the melted chocolate in the pastry bag and make the drawings or writings you prefer on the baking paper. Then let it cool and place the decoration on your cake. In addition to making a single design, to be applied around your cake, you can also create many different chocolate decorations and insert them both around and above the cake. You will make a great impression.
2. Stencil and icing sugar for a quick decoration
Among the simplest and fastest do-it-yourself cake decorations, there are certainly decorations with icing sugar. In addition to simply dusting icing sugar on your cake, in fact, you can make drawings or writings using stencils of the shape you want: from simple strips, to also hearts, stars, flowers. Make the stencil with parchment paper, place it on the cake and sprinkle with icing sugar or cocoa powder: in a very short time you will get a beautiful decoration. Make it just before serving your cake, so that the design remains perfect.
3. Decoration with icing for a shiny mirror cake
If you love simple decorations that exalt the shape of your cake, the decoration with icing remains the best choice: you can make a royal icing based on icing sugar, egg white and lemon juice, which you can also color with the addition of food coloring, or a chocolate icing, made with dark chocolate, sugar and water. Once the icing is done, pour it on the surface of the cake, leveling it with a spatula: do not work it too much but let it dry to see it shiny and smooth.
4. Candies and fruit for an original decoration
To make a cake unique with a simple and original decoration, you can simply create a decoration with candies and fruit, ideal for pears. It is an ideal decoration to personalize a cake covered only with cream. Put the candies in a plastic bag and break them. Cut the pears into very thin slices, place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and sprinkle them with the crumbled candies. Bake at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes. Once ready, let your decorations cool and apply them to the cake according to your creativity.
5. Decorate chocolate cakes with cutlery
Another simple idea, especially for chocolate-covered cakes, is the decoration with cutlery: using forks, spoons and knives, you can customize your cakes and make them original in very few moves. You can make a vortex on the surface by simply turning the cake and resting the fork on it. A similar effect can be obtained with the use of the spoon: the strips will be wider. With the knife, on the other hand, you can make vertical or horizontal stripes, to create a simple decoration in no time.
