SCISSORS Don’t use your kids’ art scissors or that rusty pair from the junk drawer. Every kitchen should have a dedicated, sharp, food-safe pair of scissors on hand.
SERRATED KNIFE A serrated edge cuts through cake without squashing or flattening it.
SPATULA When working with cakelets, I prefer a tapered angled spatula. I prefer the Ateco brand because the metal is very thin and flexible making it easy to ice contoured cake shapes.
WATER AND PAINT BRUSH These are essential for adhering fondant pieces to each other.
X-ACTO KNIFE Commonly found in art supply stores and hardware stores, X-Acto knives are essential for making detailed, precise cuts.
REVITALIZE DRYING FONDANT WITH A SMALL AMOUNT OF SHORTENING APPLIED TO THE SURFACE.
SHORTENING When working on fondant decorations, you may find that your fondant is drying too quickly, causing it to tear and wrinkle. Just put a little bit of shortening on your finger and work it into the fondant to make it workable again.
OTHER ESSENTIALS
EMBOSSING ROLLERS Easily add beautiful patterns and dimensional textures to fondant with these handy tools.
FONDANT CUTTERS There is a wide variety of cutters out there, including flowers, geometric shapes, damask patterns, themed sets, and funky shapes. Don’t limit yourself to the cutters in your local craft store. Online cake decorating stores offer an amazing selection of cutters, and eBay is a great source of cutters not available in the U.S. Consider buying a craft organizer for storage.
FONDANT SMOOTHERS Although you can smooth fondant over a cakelet with your hands, a fondant smoother will help you make perfect edges and super-flat surfaces. They’re also useful for making perfectly rounded and smooth handles for purses and shopping bags.
IMPRESSION MATS These textured plastic sheets are used to press an embossed pattern into a sheet of fondant. They come in a huge variety of patterns, from bricks and stones, to swirls, stripes, and laces.
LETTER PRESSES Adding a monogram or name is a great way to personalize a cakelet, and letter presses ensure it’ll look slick and professional. Although there are letter and number cutters known as Tapits, they’re not always user friendly. Instead, I use letter presses designed for clay projects. They are easy to use, affordable, and commonly found in most craft stores.
MOLDS Using molds makes your cake look like a pro’s. Simply push a ball of fondant into a silicone mold and you get an edible design or figure that would take ages to create by hand. Molds can be expensive, so shop around and try to pick a mold that you’ll find multiple uses for.
PIPING BAGS Use piping bags to place a neat bead of frosting or royal icing precisely where you want it. They are great for adding fine details or lettering. The bags are available in many different varieties including silicone, reusable cotton, parchment assembled, and plastic disposables.
STENCILS Even if you have no artistic ability, you can use a stencil to add intricate decorations to your cakes. Just place the stencil on top of the fondant, then use a spatula to spread royal icing over the stenciled pattern. Remove any excess icing and gently peel away the stencil. That’s it!
DUSTS
Dusts are a great way to add shading for flowers, contour to sculpted shapes, and a shimmer or a metallic shine. They come in dozens of colors. When choosing which one to use, try to match it closely to the color of the fondant. There are three main types that I use:
DISCO DUST Edible glitter! That’s the best way to describe this relatively new kind of dust.
LUSTER DUSTS These are like eye shadow. They add a shimmery, luster effect to your fondant. When mixed with vodka, they turn into metallic paint.
PETAL DUSTS These dusts add a matte finish, which is great for adding depth and shading to your designs. And if you’re interested in hand painting on fondant, petal dust is the way to go. Just mix it with vodka.
INGREDIENTS
There have been many times when I’ve been in the middle of a cake design when I suddenly realize I don’t have exactly what I need. Over the years, I’ve been able to improvise and have found that there are plenty of ingredients commonly found in your local grocery store that will do just fine.
CAKE Since cakelets are small, there is no need for complex support systems or ultra-firm cakes. Almost any recipe (except angel food) will work, including box cake mixes.
FONDANT There was a time when fondant had a bad rap—it didn’t taste good and it was hard to find. Thankfully that’s not the case today because it’s so much fun to work with. Every design in this book relies on fondant. You can buy delicious fondant online or in craft stores in a rainbow of colors.
Chapter 2
Tricks of the Trade
Bake, chill, carve, and decorate. That’s all it takes to make the cakelets in this book. Admittedly, decorating takes the most effort, but it’s also the best part. Here are a few of my tricks to make things even easier.
TIPS
COLD CAKES ARE EASIER TO CARVE
The key to making cakelets easy to carve and decorate is to always work with a chilled cake. They’re firmer and they lose fewer crumbs. But that means you need to plan ahead and give your fully cooled cake time to chill in the freezer for a couple hours. If you try to carve a cake that is room temperature, it may start to fall apart—and then so will you. Nobody needs that kind of stress!
TEMPLATES MAKE IT EASY
Templates are great tools as they take the guesswork out of carving your cake into a cakelet. Place the template over the cake and cut around it using a serrated steak knife (since the cakes are small, there’s no need for a big bread knife). Use the template as a guide to cut around the shape. I’ve provided several templates at the end of this book. But you can also create your own templates to create cakelets of your own design.
THICK CAKES ARE TASTIER WITH FILLING
I create some of the taller designs by stacking pieces of cake with layers of frosting in the middle, so they’re more delicious. But this can be tricky with some designs. That’s when I use loaf pans so I have a big firm chunk of cake to work with. To keep the cake portion from being overwhelming when eaten, simply core out a few holes in the bottom of the cake before decorating, then fill in the holes with your favorite icings or fillings.
WORKING WITH COLORED DUSTS
In general, choose a shade slightly darker than the fondant. Luster dust adds shimmer while petal dust adds the appearance of depth, and both go on best with puffy brushes, which you can find at art stores. To use, tap some dust from the jar onto a plate, dab your brush in the dust, tap the handle to allow the excess to fall off, then brush over your design.
While luster dusts are generally brushed over a large area of fondant to give it shine, petal dusts are more often used on smaller, more concentrated areas to add depth. For example, if I am making light pink flowers and would like to add a more realistic effect, I dab a darker shade of pink petal dust from the center of the flower outward. If I am making a brown doggie cakelet, I would use a darker brown dust around the eyes, mouth and legs to add dimension.
If you want