1: Acquiring the Skills and Creativity in .NET

Creation Code 128C in .NET 1: Acquiring the Skills and Creativity

Cake decorating utilizes a space that doesn t have to be massive but does have to be efficiently appropriated and used Trust me: You absolutely don t need a five-star kitchen to work on your masterpieces Keen organization skills help you make the most out of your existing counter space for sufficient elbowroom

The art of cake decorating breaks down into several skill sets, which you eventually combine (effortlessly, of course) to create your cakes From the first hint of a desire to decorate cakes, it s important to remember that cake decorating is a process; you get to mix things up and get your hands dirty with decorations, but you also need to spend time thinking about your cake and planning your design and execution

The foundation for your work that is, moist and delicious cakes means that you have to tackle baking with verve And baking believe it or not has rules you should follow for ultimate success For instance, to get the most out of your baking efforts, use key ingredients, line your pans, and take care to mix the perfect batters When your cakes come out of the oven, you must prepare them much like an artist readies a canvas From leveling to torting to crumb-coating, you depend on a host of strategies to create the optimal surface for decorating In Part II of this book, I provide some master cake recipes, such as Delicious Yellow Cake, A Most Excellent White Cake, and Cocoa Chocolate Cake When you get these cakes under your belt, you can experiment with them in a variety of ways to create new and different flavors

Before segueing to decorate the outside of the cake with designs and embellishments, you may want to consider adding a filling other than frosting between the cake s layers Fruit curd, whipped cream, and nut spreads can all complement the cake and frosting flavors while adding another flavor dimension After baking and filling your cake, you head into the favorite cake-covering domain of many: frosting gobs and gobs of frosting Buttercream, chocolate

ganache, and cream cheese (all of which I give you recipes for in Part III), are delicious standards Of course, even though frostings are fun to mix and master, other cake coverings, including icing, fondant, and glaze, have their own distinct advantages, too

Oftentimes, when people dream of a tasty and perfectly decorated cake, they can t help but imagine frosting lined up in rosettes or stars, in ridges around a cake s circumference, spelling out names and greetings, or even forming complete pictures These decorations are all made possible thanks to icing tips, of which there are many different kinds to use for cake decorating You can almost certainly replicate in frosting any frill, design, or picture you have in mind thanks to the tips that you guide to outline and fill in designs Because there are so many different tips available to you, and because the designs you create using them can range from simple to highly complex, Part III covers tips from all angles: the staggering array of available tips, the amazing effects they can produce, and how you can pick up tip skills with some guidance, instruction, and a little practice Icing tips unleash a veritable juggernaut of choices and effects, while embellishments also enhance cake designs Embellishments are edible and inedible, common and uncommon, accoutrements, trimmings, frills, and figures They range from fresh flowers you pick up or order from a nursery to candies you find on a grocery store aisle An inedible embellishment may be a wedding cake topper made out of fine bone china or a car made out of pressed tin Or you may choose to apply a few more techniques to craft embellishments out of frosting, as in roses or hyacinths; out of marzipan, as in miniature, realistic versions of fruits and vegetables; or out of gum paste, as in flowers