Cake decorating is an art form all to itself. There are many different styles and patterns to choose from. Cake decorators attend special culinary arts schools to perfect the art that they have chosen. For those who are just starting out with cake decorating, you probably do not realize that it is not as easy as it looks. It takes long tedious, painstaking hours to create a masterpiece that you can be proud of.

While there are several different styles of cake decorating, the two most popular cake decorating techniques are American and European.

The American form of cake decorating is the standard form of decorating. It is what you see in bakeries and grocery stores. Where there is no dispute that these cakes are incredible. The European form of cake decorating takes years and years of training to master. The legendary le cordon bleu academy in France teaches the intricate art of cake decorating in three different courses.

The first course is an introduction, the second course is intermediate or a full course of cake decorating and the third course is an expert or superior course. These courses are not easy; there are a lot of practice sessions and long hours in study kitchens. It is not like other schools, you progress through the courses according to your skills. Making figurines out of pulled sugar and making wedding cakes are a few of the skills that you will master.

The most difficult but satisfying cake to make today is the wedding cake. The attention to detail that is required is astounding. A wedding cake can be made of anything from plain vanilla to fruit filled. Most often the cake is decorated with floral designs made out of fondant. It is recommended that if you are going to take on the task of making a wedding cake that you have this art mastered.

If you do not have the time or the money to go to the le cordon bleu to master cake decorating, there are some essentials that you can learn to achieve the look of a masterful wedding cake.

It is really pretty easy. It's all in the icing. When you are making the icing for a wedding cake, or any other cake for that matter, the consistency of the icing is extremely important. Depending on the decoration that you are making, the right thickness of the icing is essential.

If you are making leaves for rose petals, the icing needs to be a little bit thin. If you are using icing and not fondant to make the rose petals, the icing needs to be thick enough to shape with your hands. The piping that goes around the cake has to be somewhere in the middle. It needs to be firm enough to hold its shape on the cake. If you are making stems for the roses or writing on the cake, the icing needs to be very thin.

The next step is just as essential as the all the rest and that is of holding the icing bag in the correct position. Each decoration that you want to make requires the bag be held at a different angle. When you are writing a message on the cake, hold the bag at a forty-five degree angle. This will allow you to write your message and not destroy any borders or piping that you have created. When you are creating decorations, the bag should be held at a ninety-degree angle.

When you are creating the decorations for the cake, steady pressure on the icing bag is needed to keep the decorations consistent. A good rule of thumb is to count to three and stop. This creates long elegant strokes of icing.

Cake decorating is an art form that takes years of practice to perfect. There are culinary institutes that teach this art. There are colleges that offer basic courses, but if you want the full benefit of learning cake decorating, check into the culinary institutes.

If you want to learn step-by-step basics, a simple Google search will yield thousands of links to cake decorating. Some of these websites will have instructions as well as pictures to teach you. You will need to exercise patience when you are decorating your cake. It is not a fast or ease process. It will require time a lot of concentration to make your designs perfect.

Summary:

There is a plethora of cake decorating ideas to create the perfect cake. There are thousands of books that line the shelves of bookstores to assist you in ideas. If you have your own idea, that is even better. You can also visit your local cake supply store to get some ideas.