Hi cake artists,

I've had this love for making cakes for about 6 months now, I do have made some cakes trying different recipes etc. they are not the best cakes ever made but to be my first time they weren't bad.

Now the time has come to start practice my decorating with fondant, meringues, etc to start making them look pretty and palatable, do you recommend me to practice my decoration on the actual cakes or should I practice on flat surfaces until I get better at it so I don't waste too much ingredients?

thanks in advance.

My family has always enjoyed my "practice cakes" whether I am trying new flavors or new decorating techniques, so I have never felt like I wasted anything! 

But you can practice piping, etc. on wax paper or something similar because you can scrape it off and use it again and again!  

You can also practice piping on cake tins, acrylic cutting boards, really anything where you can scrape the icing off and wash it and use it again.

You can practice smoothing buttercream or covering with fondant by using cake dummies. They are cheap from www.dallas[there is no space here]foam.com. You will need to sand down the edges a bit as they are quite sharp and can tear the fondant.

I guess the problem on wasting ingredients is that i dont have kids to eat them. kids would eat them even if they look ugly. they just like sugar taste  lol Thank you :)

AI've learned that coworkers will eat anything too :)

I just wanted to share my first decorated cake with Italian meringue. I would like to know what you think. Do I have the talent? :)

A

AI would focus on your recipes and start with the basics, smoothly frosting a cake (very important), basic piping (letters, sayings, etc.), torting, etc. All the decorating skills in the world won't get you anywhere without a good (tasting) product!

It's hard for me to judge you at this point, your skill level that is. Not everyone can do this, but you seem to have the drive. Some pick up faster then others, what's important to focus on is "Are you getting better with each cake?" I think that's a better question to ask yourself or us. So read about techniques, check out tutorials, there are some very inexpensive online cake schools, forums, etc. practice baking, filling, crumb and final icing a cake-once you've accomplished that move onto the next step (maybe covering with fondant-it really depends on the kind of decorating that appeals to you).

Ask questions, and keep us posted, take pictures of each cake and in a month or so look back at this cake and ask yourself (or us) again. If its something you enjoy, keep doing it. You don't have to go into business. I still practice new techniques (and older ones) on cake dummies. Best of luck!

AThanks for your comment. Yes, getting better with each cake, that makes me feel more confindent. :D