Easy Ways to Decorate a Cake If You Don’t Know How to Decorate
I love decorating cakes, but this is without a doubt a skill that may require the meditative patience of a school teacher. Depending on what you’re trying to make, it can take hours or days for the cake to look as perfect as the image in your head. Not all of us have that kind of time. As a seasoned cake decorator, I know plenty of ways to hide terrible mistakes and improvise decorations when I’m in a hurry. In addition to getting great results, the following hacks are quick and don’t require tools or fine motor skills. Once you try them, you may find yourself ditching the piping bag and royal icing more often.
Candies and broken chocolate
Despite my best efforts to keep sweets out of the house, I am always surprised by the low and high quality chocolate bars that keep popping up in my closet. To be honest, most types of chocolate and lots of candies work well as a great decoration. Guests also enjoy it – suddenly people start to think that you are Willy Wonka. Press in a few pieces of candy , pieces of candy bars , or a neat stack of marshmallows . I love to break open the big pointy pieces of Ghirardelli chocolate bars and make them into a jagged cityscape around the edges of the cake – the vertical spiers are eye-catching and each piece gets a bonus chocolate.
nuts
The nuts are crunchy, irregularly shaped and give a delicious flavor. This decoration is more like a topping in that it doesn’t have the height that candy bars can bring, but nuts can add a low-key zest to your cake. They also work better than candy in humid environments, as sugar can become sticky and chocolate can melt if exposed to the sun. If you want the nuts to be well coated, let’s say you’re still learning your icing skills, chop or chop the nuts and press them down the sides . For a sophisticated garnish, leave the walnut halves whole for a simple ring around the top .
Edible flowers and herbs
We’re trying to save time here, so I don’t expect you to go to the florist as a last resort. But in fact, there are many varieties of edible flowers , and it is quite possible that some of them are nearby . I have a small balcony in Brooklyn with a variety of potted plants, and until a few days ago I didn’t know that begonias were edible. I went straight there and ate two (I had to try each color). They are colorful and lemony, perfect for decorating a summer cake. You don’t need a whole bouquet to decorate a cake; a few thoughtfully placed flowers will do the trick.
Herbs are also a fantastic decoration – they add color and flavor to the cake. For a nature-inspired cake worthy of an outdoor wedding, combine edible flowers with a few sprigs of greenery. Try to stick to hearty herbs like thyme or rosemary because the more fragile herbs will wither in a couple of hours. If you don’t want the herbs to impart any flavor, place sprigs along the cake instead of sticking them in.