If icing a cake isn't your thing or you lack the required tools, there are other ways to create an eye-catching masterpiece. Want to know how?
The mere presentation of a freshly made cake is no longer sufficient these days. Decorated cakes have a greater impact on the audience. In all sincerity, this to some degree applies to us as well. Doesn't it?
There are many tutorials and articles available on icing, piping, fondant, gum paste, sugar work, and other cake decorating techniques. However, these methods do require a lot of supplies and equipment. This can at times be confusing and intimidating for newbies or people who are short on time when it comes to cake decorating.
If you're one of those folks who want a fast and simple way to design a cake without having to invest in equipment that you may not use that frequently, then this cake decoration is for you.
Read on to learn how we can dramatically elevate a plain cake into one that your guests will swoon over.
Before you start decoration, ensure to bake the cake, level it, and glaze it with chocolate ganache. Links to the cake recipe as well as directions for leveling and glazing the cake are provided below:
How to level a cake
Once you've glazed the cake, it's time to adorn it.
Step 1: Cake edges
While placing the glazed cake on the cake stand, you probably observed that the cake's edges aren't perfectly smooth. The question is, how are we going to deal with this?
You may spend hours refining the edges, or you can use my simple techniques to disguise them. Based on your décor theme or the resources you have access to, there are a few ways to go about this. You can add crushed/sliced nuts of your choosing, colourful sprinkles (if making for children), sliced fruits, crunchy chocolate pearls or cachous pearls (as I did in the Classy Chocolate Ganache cake), or Maltesers necklace (used in Butterfly Island themed cake) along the margin to cover the imperfection.
To hide the flaws, in this case, I've used chocolate sprinkles to keep it chocolate rich.
Spread chocolate sprinkles along the length of one side of the cake. Press the sprinkles into the cake edge using a flat surface of a butter knife or a spatula to help it adhere to the glaze.
Gather loose sprinkles into a bowl, being careful not to contact the cake's borders. There will be a few more loose sprinkles remaining closer to the edge and are harder to reach. To collect them, place a big tray underneath the cake stand and tilt it just enough to slide the loose sprinkles that aren't stuck to the cake onto the plate. Be cautious not to over-tilt the cake stand, or the cake will begin to slip down.
Repeat the procedure on all sides of the cake. You now have a stunning cake border with all of the imperfections concealed behind it.
Step 2: Fruit toppings
Any kind of fruit may be used to decorate the cake. When possible, choose locally grown in-season fruits and stay away from super watery ones like watermelon. It's up to you whether you want an assortment of fruits or a single fruit theme, or go with similar colour fruits and add complementing herb leaves to tie everything together. Always thoroughly wash and pat dry fruits before placing them on the cake top.
The possibilities are endless. Some examples include combining red apples with green or black grapes, oranges, and kiwi fruits for a colourful, dimensional, and flavorful display.
Alternatively, for a uniform yellow tone, use a combination of oranges, lemons, yellow kiwis, and peaches. Whilst, mango slivers or pineapple florets are good options for solitary fruit topping.
For this cake, I have gone with the berry theme. Why...? Firstly, berries are my personal favourite. Secondly, where I live, they are readily available all year round, and lastly, berries when paired with chocolate have this magical power to look opulent and suave.
Because I had large strawberries, I quartered them lengthwise. If they're smaller, cut them in half or leave them whole. I kept the leaves on purpose since they add a speckle of green and also bring out the red in the strawberries. They are completely edible, but I can't guarantee the taste.
Before placing fruits on the cake top, plan out the arrangement in your mind or on a separate plate. Cause once you place the fruit or any decoration item on the glazed cake top then that will be the final spot. If you try to move it, it will ruin the perfect shiny glazed surface. If accidents happen then come up with a creative idea to cover the blemish just like how I will be doing later in this post. Haha... I, too, am not immune to such occurrences.
Note how I am placing the strawberries. Starting from one corner along the edges I am laying each piece of strawberries slightly overlapping the previous one and also facing the pointy end in opposite direction to create depth and little interesting pockets to place other types of berries in between for contrast. I followed this pattern on all the four top edges of the cake. You can, however, chose to decorate only one side, straight down the middle, off-centered or go diagonal. You may place as many or as few fruits as you like. All based on what design or look you want to create.
Fill the tiny vacant pockets between the strawberries with raspberries and blueberries.
Alternate them in such a manner that they are not crowded. See how blueberries can offset the crimson of strawberries and raspberries without taking away their radiance. In fact, it gives the entire scheme a deeper, richer feel.
Step 3: Chocolate Shards Placement
Cake decorations can be completed with fruit toppings alone or with the addition of chocolate bits for a more upscale look. I repurposed some chocolate shards from another cake. Alternatively, you may use a flat chocolate bar from a grocery shop and break them up into random shapes to make shards.
As mentioned earlier, I did accidentally dropped a chocolate piece on the glazed cake which tarnished the pristine mirror cake surface. I knew, fixing it would not remove the imperfection, so I put a chocolate dome (which I had created for another cake design) on the affected area. This did the trick since it not only concealed the blemish but also blended in with the theme, making it more decadent. Even without a chocolate dome, you can cleverly cover the damaged area with fruits or nuts, or even a Ferrero rocher chocolate ball!
Now that the collateral damage was addressed, I went ahead and inserted chocolate shards in spaces between berries. There was no specific order in mind, just wherever it seemed appropriate for the overall design.
Top View
The cake is now completely decked up with edible decorations. Isn't it quick and easy? No one would ever suspect that there was any kind of snafu with the glaze.
Side View
Notice how the simple addition of the luscious juicy fruits has lifted the cake to the level of a fine pastry shop cake.
Cake Cutting
Even after making this cake a dozen times, I still feel anxious when it's time to slice it.
Cake Slice
I knew it would be perfect. Wow!!! Inviting from every angle.
Although the explanation was long, believe me when I say that the actual arrangement of fruits and chocolate shards only took minutes to complete! So go ahead, glaze your cake with chocolate ganache, and top it with fresh fruits to stun your family and friends.
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