Cake Decoration - It's All in the Icing

Cake decoration is incomplete without some decorative icing. The first thing to keep in mind is to have the appropriate equipment such as picks, icing bag, spatulas and good piping bag. If you are just starting out, you may buy a complete decorating set for a reasonable price. But just make sure they are of good quality to avoid any decorating disasters.

Armed with the tools, you can now throw up some basic cake decorations with beautiful icing. However, do you know that there are actually as many as 5 different icings for you to choose from? Every type has its distinct quality and can be perfect for a specific style or cake. To maximize each, continue reading and discover in what ways you can use the various kinds.

1. Fondant Icing

Fondant icing, one of the most popular types of icings around, is what you commonly see on wedding and birthday cakes. It looks like a porcelain and provides silky smooth texture which gives an elegant look to your cake. Fondant icings are a great choice for creating flowers, ribbons and other generic designs that fit into the category of classy and elegant. Of course, you can use them for almost anything but white roses look exceptional on a wedding cake. Just like any kind of icing, these are made out of sugar and water, thus it is icing is very fattening.

2. Foam Icing

This is the cornerstone of cake decoration. Together with fondant icing, the foam type of icing is the most popular type of icing used in cake decoration. It has a very creamy texture to it and is soft to the touch. For those who prefer a fluffy and creamy cake top, this is the ideal icing for you.

3. Fudge Icing

As the name suggests, this is an excellent choice for those who love chocolates. And yes, there is fudge icing, which is what you typically see on big tiramisus and double chocolate cakes. Also often referred to as ganache, fudge icing is dark in nature, so it is a great complement to any cake top that is lighter in color. Fudge icing is also good in any ordinary cake if you want to add some more chocolaty taste.

4. Glazes

An entirely different sort of icing from those mentioned above, glazes are watery in texture and tend to flow down the sides of a cake. A lot of cakes use glaze to give the pastry a unique overflowing look. This works well on a chocolate cake with white top. White glaze along with passion fruit icing is also delicious.

Take the time to learn a bit about the different types of icing as they each have different properties and are suited to different styles of cakes.