What's Your Favorite Impressive Yet Beginner Cake?

Decorating By Mom2Rebecca Updated 14 Mar 2014 , 8:54am by maisie73

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Mom2Rebecca Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 1:54am
post #1 of 24

There is a bake sale coming up for my daughter's school and I would like to make two cakes. I took Wilton's decorating classes MANY years ago so I have a tiny amount of experience.

What is your favorite impressive cake to make that doesnt take much experience? I really like the candy barrel cakes, any other ideas? Preferably not fondant as that is not popular in my area.

Thanks!

23 replies
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Beck5540 Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 3:52am
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I think any cake in itself has its own impressive qualities as long as you put dedication into it. A simple cake that doesn't require any advanced skill, just a little extra time and patience are the ombre petal cakes. 

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Apti Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 4:07am
post #3 of 24

Rose cake.  Easiest, fastest, most impressive cake e....v....e.....r....!

 

Google:  1M tip rose cake

 

I was going to give you links etc but my computer is acting like it's got something wrong so I'm outta here to run a full scan.

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hbquikcomjamesl Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 7:21am
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A"Impressive but doesn't take much experience"?

Two simple words.

Two simple words in the English language:

"Edible printing."

Find a cake supply shop, or a bakery, that outsources edible printing, come up with a picture you want to put on a cake (it does NOT have to be a photograph, but it DOES have to be an image you have a legal right to put on a cake), and go for it.

Go to the Flicker link in my signature; you'll see several SIMPLE, "family style" sheet cakes (i.e., single-layer, served in-pan), that nonetheless were very well received.

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maisie73 Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 10:58am
post #5 of 24

AI'm a novice decorator, I'd say giant cupcake. I know you'd have to buy the pan and that might be too much for a one off cake but I reckon once you've got it, you'll use it all the time. My family love them, they're always asking me for them. :-)

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FlourPots Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 11:30am
post #6 of 24

I agree with Apti...


I LOVE the Rose cake and it definitely qualifies as impressive and beginner.

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gemmal Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 4:39pm
post #7 of 24

PME I know do this icing comb that looks so lovely and elegant round a cake, something like this for a nice pattern at the sides and if your are using a crusting buttercream, maybe tie some thin ribbon in between the ridges. I did something similar for a course and it looked great for something so simple. Then some piped or fondant mini simple flowers like those rolled circle roses on the top or some piped writing.

 

Good luck! I'm sure it will be great.=]

 

P.s. OOOO! or those chocolate cigarellos or sweets stuck on the sides arranged ina pattern?

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Apti Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 6:40pm
post #8 of 24

Nothing wrong with my computer---WHEW!---so I'm back with the some photos and links for the 1M tip Rose Cake.  I've attached 2 pics of rose cakes I have done. 

Christmas Rose Cake

4th of July Red White & Blue Swirl rose cake

 

These impress the heck out of people with little effort or supplies needed.   You can make it is separate "bands" of color, ombre (darkest band of roses on the bottom, then lighter, then lighter, etc.), or you can swirl the colors in the same piping bag.

 

All you need is a crusting buttercream stiff enough to hold the shape, piping bags, and 1M (or 2D) tips.

 

People think you work for hours and hours to get this effect.  

 

 

Here's one of many free tutorials available online:

Tips for Making a Swirled Rose Cake

http://thegirlinspired.com/2013/03/tips-for-making-swirled-rose-cake/

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maisie73 Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 8:57pm
post #9 of 24

AWow, my rose swirl cake didn't look like that, I love the red, white and blue one.! Excellent suggestion Gemmal, I did one last week, it was a jungle cake but you could put the wafer cigarello's round the side then maltesers or whatever chocolate you like on top. They went on very easily actually just a bit fiddly in pkaces.

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maisie73 Posted 12 Mar 2014 , 9:26pm
post #10 of 24

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemmal 
 

PME I know do this icing comb that looks so lovely and elegant round a cake, something like this for a nice pattern at the sides and if your are using a crusting buttercream, maybe tie some thin ribbon in between the ridges. I did something similar for a course and it looked great for something so simple. Then some piped or fondant mini simple flowers like those rolled circle roses on the top or some piped writing.

 

Good luck! I'm sure it will be great.=]

 

P.s. OOOO! or those chocolate cigarellos or sweets stuck on the sides arranged ina pattern?

Is this what you mean Gemmal? One tier with colourful sweets or chocolate and a bright ribbon would look good I think.

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gemmal Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 10:03am
post #11 of 24

Maisie73, thats brilliant! I love your monkeys, why are there no monkeys in party hats in my life?!?!?!

 

Yeah thats the kind of think i mean, I've really only seen it done before with the chocolate ones, I never even though about wafers! The sweets could be like M and M's or skittles or buttons or something stuck on the sides in rows, mind you it would probably be a bit time consuming! Or those cakes with the spinkles sides from a while ago, I wonder would that look good with something like gold/silver dragees or edible glitter or something like coconut or choc shavings. 

 

Actually the wafers are very fence like, maybe some animal cookies stuck in the top could look like a farmyard for the kids! OH! Don't you guys in the US have those multi coloured licorice sticks, maybe those for a rainbow coloured cake.

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maisie73 Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 10:10am
post #12 of 24

Haha! Thankyou. :-) I couldn't find the chocolate ones but actually I think the wafers looked better on that cake. It was really easy and looked like much more work had gone into it than actually had. They were my first fondant animals, the hats were to draw attention away from the bad faces! Ooh, good idea about the biscuits! Asda also sell a pack of small 3d edible jungle animals, I bought some as back up in case mine went horribly wrong, they were only about £3 I think.

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maisie73 Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 10:11am
post #13 of 24

I'm in Wales btw.

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gemmal Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 10:18am
post #14 of 24

:O then you know! Your animals are gorgeous, even more so if that's your first attempt! I am shamed... heehee the faces are adorable. But yeah, I'm sure most places have some kind of ready made things, there is a cake shop just a bit above london I've been to that did jelly animals and dragons with iced on details, insanely cute. I had an email this morning, an offer email from a cake place that are now selling jelly roses! I'm starting to think jelly is the way forward here.

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Crazy-Gray Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 12:16pm
post #15 of 24

A

Quote:
Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl 

"Impressive but doesn't take much experience"?
Two simple words.
Two simple words in the English language:
"Edible printing."
Find a cake supply shop, or a bakery, that outsources edible printing, come up with a picture you want to put on a cake (it does NOT have to be a photograph, but it DOES have to be an image you have a legal right to put on a cake), and go for it.

Go to the Flicker link in my signature; you'll see several SIMPLE, "family style" sheet cakes (i.e., single-layer, served in-pan), that nonetheless were very well received.

 

James did you make an edible scrabble board?! saw it in your link!! great idea!

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hbquikcomjamesl Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 3:31pm
post #16 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy-Gray  James did you make an edible scrabble board?! saw it in your link!! great idea!

No; no edible Scrabble board here (and I'm sure that Hasbro would have a thing to say to anybody who did make one.

 

I think you must be looking at the three double-batches of shortbread cookies baked in the shape of ink-stained (via egg-based cookie paint) wood display type. And that was NOT an easy project.

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Crazy-Gray Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 3:39pm
post #17 of 24

A

Quote:
Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl 

No; no edible Scrabble board here (and I'm sure that Hasbro would have a thing to say to anybody who did make one.

 

I think you must be looking at the three double-batches of shortbread cookies baked in the shape of ink-stained (via egg-based cookie paint) wood display type. And that was NOT an easy project.

 

Ah- good point about the copyright sorry! I'm sure it was a tough project! I would have endedup with three double batches of 26 identical unintelligible blobs from the letters spreading.... yours are great! ....go on, how many rude words were spelled during the eating process :) hee hee

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hbquikcomjamesl Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 4:11pm
post #18 of 24

Dunno. Once I delivered them (and a detailed listing of the expenses involved in making them), they were out of my sight, as I was too busy with the combination of my ordinary docent duties and various Los Angeles Printers' Fair activities. At the end of the day, all that was left was a vegan single-batch that I'd made because the colleague who'd come up with the idea had a severe dairy allergy; she ended up buying the entire single-batch.

And note that the letters are wrong-reading, so that the cookies actually look like pieces of wood display type; that, of course, required me to flip all non-symmetrical letters over before setting them on their bases. (And I even tested that with the experiment I did with my usual integral-sign cookie cutter: not that those are backwards as well!)

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Apti Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 5:35pm
post #19 of 24

Hey?  Where's the OP? 

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cakeyouverymuch Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 5:58pm
post #20 of 24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apti 
 

Hey?  Where's the OP? 

 

I don't know, but I LOVE your second rosette cake. 

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rebecca67e Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 7:26pm
post #21 of 24

The petal effect is an alternative to the rosette cake.......as in it also looks harder than it actually is.

 

Here's a rainbow one I did recently. I've never done anything like it before but it's so simple, all you need is a round tip and a spoon or small spatula. (and hopefully a less bubbly buttercream than mine was....lol)

 

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Mom2Rebecca Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 11:08pm
post #22 of 24

OP is back. THANKS for all the awesome ideas! I called a local baker who is willing to print an edible image for me, I was thinking the school logo would be awesome.

I also really like the rose cake and petal effect. Ideas on how to get the petal effect without it being bubbly?

All these ideas are awesome, Im getting tempted to make more than 2 cakes...

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Apti Posted 13 Mar 2014 , 11:47pm
post #23 of 24

Quote:

Originally Posted by cakeyouverymuch 
 

 

I don't know, but I LOVE your second rosette cake. 


Thank you very much cakeyouverymuch!

 

Mom2Rebecca~~Ah Ha!  The old decorating bug is biting now that you have some good ideas, eh???

 

rebecca67e~~Your cake is darling!  No one but you noticed the bubbly frosting.

 

Here is the crusting buttercream recipe I use all the time, thanks to a wonderful woman on the Wilton forum.  It holds it shape beautifully, pipes and behaves very well, and was the winner in my 30 person "taste-off".

 

BUNNY's "MOCK SHACK'S BUTTERCREAM ICING"

http://www.wilton.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=135663&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=

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maisie73 Posted 14 Mar 2014 , 8:54am
post #24 of 24

AO P, school logo is a great idea! Rebecca67e, what tip did you use for your petal cake? It's lovely.

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