Part IV: Sweetening Life s Special Occasions in .NET framework

Generate Code 128A in .NET framework Part IV: Sweetening Life s Special Occasions

Figure 14-4: Rock on!

Sometimes, the best ideas for a grown-up cake come from the party invitation itself Several times, I ve relied on the invitation to influence a cake s colors or design elements After all, a party invitation is a great window into the theme, tenor, and scope of the celebration You can either mimic the actual design on the invitation or, if that seems daunting, just use it for inspiration If you want to use the invitation itself for the design, enlarge it on a copy machine so that you can faithfully adapt it to the size of your cake For a different look, consider re-creating only a portion of the invitation; for instance, if the invitation has a palm tree on it among other things, make a stencil out of the palm tree and focus your decorations on that

It may sound like a strange idea, but you can use a man s or woman s face as part of your cake design It s not that difficult to pipe a pretty generic face on a cake, and then you just embellish it to suit your celebrant s visage or personality

I tend to favor frostings, icings, and embellishments when decorating a cake, but I have to admit that one newfangled invention is pretty handy Kopykake sheets are basically edible color copies of your choice of artwork that you apply to cake surfaces for a quick and easy decoration solution You can find them at most cake supply stores or online You can either print an image yourself with a printer outfitted with edible color inks or have a cake supply shop do it (The edible inks don t work with all printers, so you ll need to make sure yours is compatible or invest in one that is) If you go with a sheet like this, I recommend that you enhance your cake with handcrafted adornments or it may come off as manufactured rather than decorated! Visit wwwkopykakecom to see firsthand if this decoration technique is a fit for your occasion and cake

People usually have one or two very defining characteristics that you can exaggerate for a cake decoration: Long curly black hair can be strands of shoestring licorice, or bright blue eyes can be made with frosting, a rolledout gumdrop, or crushed sour candies You can also use a face on a cake to show off an honoree s personality For a birthday cake I was hired to make for a comedic actress, her husband requested that I let his wife s sense of humor somehow shine through in the decoration I outlined her profile, and then at the top of her head where her hair would be I used Swiss candies shaped like fruits to give her a Carmen Miranda style headdress

Some adults love animals just as much as most kids do, so why not make a grown-up cake special by carving it into an animal shape For example, think astrological signs: A lion-shaped cake like the one in 13 would work for a Leo birthday, and a fish-shaped cake would be ideal for a Pisces It seems like butterflies are always in vogue for some ladies And some people just have an affinity for certain animals: Let s face it, cakes in the shape of giraffes, penguins, or favorite dog breeds are fun for the guests of honor and conversation pieces for everyone else Like the other shapes of cakes covered in this chapter, you can embellish animal-shaped cakes with candies, coconut, gumdrops, and licorice strings

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Taking stock of the event Playing around with popular decoration techniques Mastering cakes for bridal and baby showers Recipes in This