FAQ - How to store a cake

When i store a cake with fondant in a fridge i never wrap it, nor do i box it. I crumble up ½ a roll of kitchen towel and stuff it around the cake -making sure it doesn´t touch it- to attract the moist from the fridge so that the cake won´t. I find that the more vegetables and fruits are stored in the fridge at the same time, the more humidity the cake attracts and the more it sweats when it´s taken out. Therefore i make sure everything else apart from the cake is properly wrapped.

How not to store a cake; 
I suspect my cake below was stored in a large fridge with open cans of chopped fruit in syrup (one of the components in the dessert we had). I know for a fact that it was in a fridge, and that it was taken out at least 2 hours before this picture was taken. Under normal circumstances the cake would have dried up again after aprox. 1 hour. In addition, someone had by accident rubbed the tiger with...their belly, perhaps?
I was not allowed in the kitchen when i brought the cake and accepted this because i´m a polite person, but i think next time i´ll have to insist on handling it myself. ;) Then i would´ve been able to avoid this:

See the cake before it was stored improperly here

FAQ - How to make beautiful cakes

There are many great tutorials on the internet, and i´ve collected a few regarding the most frequently asked questions i get about cake-decoration. These are as close to my way of doing things as i could find without having to create my own videos :)


How to slice and frost a cake with buttercream

• Mostly for fun, but he do use a great technique for slicing/torting the cake - i would hold back on the syrup though! :)

How to fill a cake

• How i do it, except after danish standards, i would slice/torte those two cakes each into two or three layers.

How to crumb coat a cake

• I would stop the buttercream fun here - and go for covering the cake with sugarpaste/fondant.

How to ice a cake

• -But if you like to avoid sugarpaste/fondant, this is how. I prefer using a piping bag to distribute my icing with though. This way i can half the recipe and i don´t have to bounce the cake around.

How to cover a square cake with fondant

• Most important here; Fit the corners first and the rest will go like a breeze.

 How to cover a round cake with fondant

• I just love this guys pink rollingpin!

How to stack cakes

• I use straws. The large, regular ones. I´ve never needed the stronger ones. Maybe my cakes are´nt as heavy as the english/american cakes?

How to make roses, using a 5-petal cutter:

Part 1: Rose bud
Part 2: Medium size rose
Part 3: Full size rose

• I always use water or clear alcohol to glue the parts with.

Other great tutorials on the net:

http://www.planetcake.com.au/courses/video.php

http://www.rolledfondant.com/how.htm

FAQ - How to get started?

If i should start cake-decorating from scratch today, i would definately prioritize the shopping-list as follows:

2 smoothers - for smoothing the cake sides and top
3 different paste food colours, maybe red, blue, yellow
A dresden tool - indispensable for modelling
A small palette knife - excellent for lifting, cutting and shaping sugarcraft.
A balling tool - for rolling and cupping really thin flower petals
A foampad - useful for thinning petal and leaf edges on with the balling tool
A make-up brush - Useful to dust off the cake without leaving marks
Icing tips, -coupler and disposable bags - for Royal icing work
Small painting brushes

I would make my self a "duster" (foamwipes with maizena), and settle with my old wooden rolling pin and my very useful leaf-veiners right in the palm of my hand.
I would find a ruler, scissors, toothpicks, tweezers, straws and anything else useful around the house. Then i would wish for a toolbox for my birthday to save the little treasures in. A large one, cause they multiply quickly!

With just these few supplies and a good deal of imagination it´s possible to make beautiful cakes!

When you´re hooked on this hobby, and makes cakes for ANY occasion, timesavers could be:

A sugargun
A ribbon-cutter and/or a border tool
5-petal cutters and rose-leaf cutters in different sizes
Small rolling pins with or without pattern

...And then comes the rest! Molds, large rolling pin, impression-mats, edible glitters, sprays, other flower cutters, wires and tapes, kitchen aids, an even larger toolbox etc.

You'll never have to be in doubt when people ask what you want for Christmas anymore :)