Cake Decorating Techniques - I

Combining two previously published books, CREATE WITH CRIMPER WORK and BRUSH EMBROIDERY, this book whets the cake decorator's appetite with clear instructions and both formal and "fun" designs. It encourages you to be creative and make your own imaginative designs with these beautiful and fascinating techniques. A covering of rolled fondant gives a wonderfully smooth, satin like finish to a cake which offers a perfect base for delicate lacework, finely molded flowers and fine embroidery. Decorative designs can be made using crimp work, a technique using tweezer-like crimpers to pinch or crimp the fondant into raised patterns. Brush Embroidery is an Australian technique in which designs are piped on the cake and then smoothed with a damp paintbrush to give a semblance of embroidery. It is an ideal method for duplicating the lace of a bride's dress on a wedding cake and looks exquisite white on white. However, it shows up more effectively where there is a contrast between cake colour and "embroidery," e.g., white on a coloured background or on glass. Lace and embroidery patterns provide a wealth of beautiful designs to choose from.