Hi there CC'ers, i am looking for a critique on my latest cake (no i am not just looking for smiley faces and pretty rainbows!!). It's the first time i've tried cornelli piping and RI pearls, so i'd appreciate some feedback from those in the know! I used a number 2 tip for the cornelli lacework and a number 3 tip for the pearls - my pearls seemed to droop a bit, so i wondered if i should have thickened my icing a bit more for the pearls or used a number 2 tip instead. Also, how do you attached ribbon around a cake? This was just a dummy so i just stuck with sellotape at the back, but i have no idea how i would attach ribbon around an actual cake! Any advice gratefully received x
I think you did a great job it looks very nice from what I can see, I haven't done pearls yet either but they look like they are big enough and if they were wilting a little, can't really notice from the pic but next time you can thicken up the RI if they drooped. HTH
I saw this last night and thought it was beautiful! From the pic, I can't see anything wrong with the pearls. As for attaching ribbon, I just use a blob of BC icing. You can also use RI.
The cake is very nice, (here is my critique part) the cornelli lace IMO looks better with a tiny tip. (no bigger than a #1) I like for it to be "tighter" - yours is very nice, I just personally like for it to look really delicate. I know it kills the hands though! The flower looks great too!
Your cake is lovely. I think you did a great job! 
http://www.wilton.com/technique/Cornelli-Lace
Pipe a continuous CURVING string of icing (no points)
Don't leave any loose ends
(run them off the board/cake if you need to, just don't stop)
On the Las Vegas Fabulous Cakes tv show they showed a chick doing sotos which is a variation of cornelli and she was literally just squirting icng out at a tremendous speed filling in spaces with the flick of her wrist. This was shown just in passing like in the little montage of little clips they show between segments.
So all that to say--yes could be a finer tip--but even so you loosen the icing so it flows like a river so it doesn't hurt your hand.
I think your pearl placement could be better --it's pretty random--me I would tighten that up--either add more or place them differently for better coverage. I love the color contrast. But I mean if all I can find to say is line up your pearls clearly you did a great job. The artistry is there. The lace peeking out on either side of the robbon on the bottom tier--the flower on top. Just really perfect.
Did you put gum arabic in your dot icing??? It pearlizes them--you don't have to go back over them with pearl dust--you did dust them dincha??? So if you add gum arabic to your royal icing for the lace and/or the pearls in one fell swoop you get it all done.
Now do that in real cake and deliver it to the other side of a mountain in a car that's overheating so you have to keep the heater on full blast on icey roads with a car full of screaming kids. 
CWR41, i did have a problem with the pointy edges, i wondered if i was trying to pipe too fast? What speed is best for piping in order to still have control over the shapes you're laying down?
K8memphis, i agree about the pearl placement, they were supposed to be random, but when i looked at the finished cake i felt they weren't random enough (if you know what i mean) - would arrange them neater next time. I used lustre dust in vodka to 'pearlise' my pearls (which is quite faffy) so i'll try ur gum arabic trick!
"Now do that in real cake and deliver it to the other side of a mountain in a car that's overheating so you have to keep the heater on full blast on icey roads with a car full of screaming kids. " Lol doesn't sound fun!!
Thankyou to everyone for your comments, you're all a great source of help xx
Just my personal preferences:
My sotos come out in one plane--I don't let them build up like Wilton does. And the Wilton cornelli where there's no right angles or angle points annoys me. Maybe if you were entering a competition that might be a factor but in real life I think cornelli looks better with angles and sotos looks better not all piled up.
I'm glad you put the link but I think that Wilton example is not so appealing.
As a whole, your cake is lovely. I too would use a #1 tip and not a #2 and make the lace tighter and curvier/continuous. One thing that might help with the dots is to do them first on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper, letting them dry completely and then attaching with the tiniest dot of RI to the cake. That way too, you can brush them with pearl dust if you like, they stay perfectly round- I hate using too-stiff RI especially for dots since stiff icing usually leaves a little "spike" in the middle of the dot.
I used to do the Sota thing on a style of cakes that a bakery, I worked in, carried....do twelve cakes in a row like that and "hello, carpel tunnal!"
CWR41, i did have a problem with the pointy edges, i wondered if i was trying to pipe too fast? What speed is best for piping in order to still have control over the shapes you're laying down?
That's worded perfectly--however fast/slow to still have control over the shapes you're laying down. For me, I can't pipe any faster than my brain allows me to while thinking "no points, no points, only curves"!
Oh Raz, but if you get your icing the right consistency--you can make the dots perfect and get them glowing softly in one motion with the gum arabic all right onto the cake--it can easily be done. Just be prepared to test your icing when you start to get it right.
Toba says how to gauge this in her book--page 63 The Well Decorated Cake--thin your royal with a little water--touch the top of your royal icing with a spatula and if the ensuing peak forms a rounded top as it settles back into the bowl it's the right consistendy. If it holds the peak then add a bit more water.
CWR41, i did have a problem with the pointy edges, i wondered if i was trying to pipe too fast? What speed is best for piping in order to still have control over the shapes you're laying down?
That's worded perfectly--however fast/slow to still have control over the shapes you're laying down. For me, I can't pipe any faster than my brain allows me to while thinking "no points, no points, only curves"!
Just me--but this is why I hate cornelli like this --way way way too much thinking--I like 'flow'. Somewhere along the line I decided I was the master of my decorating bag. And that's just me. Make your Cornelli any way you want--'cause I do too!!! 
I like how Margaret Braun describes her artistic mindset/outlook in her book. She's a little nuts. In a good way.
I should describe it--her thoughts--she uses the word rhythm--she suggests singing or counting while decorating--I think you definitely have to get your decorating in line with your breathing--often I hold my breath for some techniques too like stringwork for example.
You might be interested in this thread - Critique Sub Members Group.
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-624760.html
I should describe it--her thoughts--she uses the word rhythm--she suggests singing or counting while decorating--I think you definitely have to get your decorating in line with your breathing--often I hold my breath for some techniques too like stringwork for example.
That's funny, I hold my breath, at intervals, when I decorate too- especially if I'm writing or doing small details....also, my kids and husband know they cannot even walk around me when I'm concentrating on some detail, because I can feel the vibrations in the floor and it messes with me somehow ....lol, I feel like I kind of admitted that I'm a little mentally ill just now
I agree with the 'no points' and 'no loose ends' comments re your cornelli piping...but the Wilton example of cornelli piping looks all wrong to me, I wouldn't be using that picture as a guide to how it should look at all!
Personally I like cornelli to be quite fine & tighter - but that's just my preference - on some cake styles thicker and looser would be fitting. Overall though I think you did a good job & the colours look great!
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