wedding cake problem:(?

Question

well i have just started my business as a wedding
cake baker and designer, and i need some serious help.
wedding cake: hello! its a big deal. a wedding without a cake is the BIGGEST mistake, so i am going to take this
very seriously. i know how to bake the cake and my flavors are absolutely delicious, but idont kno how to decorate it! this lady asked me to make her one, and im done, but its absolutely plain rite now. like: NOTHING on it except a layer of frosting. what am i supposed to add to it? and how do i add fresh flowers to tthe top? what frosting/icing techniques am i to use? PLEASE HELP!

please also add advice for me since i am just starting my cake business;thankies!

Answer 1

Those are all things you should have learned how to do BEFORE starting a cake business. Thats why most cake places, like the one where I ordered my cake, are run by professional pastry chefs. They go to school to learn all those techniques.

As for what exactly to put on it, the person who orders the cake is supposed to tell you what they want. And you should have full cakes (usually pictures will suffice) for potential customers to look at so they can get an idea of what kind of service you provide and you should be able to replicate them should anyone want what they see. If you really are a cake designer you should have no problem creating your own designs. But if you do need ideas, check out pictures of wedding cakes online and change them around a bit to form your own creations.

Answer 2

hi, if you have just started your business you should really get practicing on icing decorations straight away. I would suggest buying a 'fake cake' base and try out different designs. There are lots of websites around that can help but suggest you have a few more practice sessions, maybe take a course on cake decorating and build up your confidence before taking on anymore clients.
There are many different types of icing to use, in the UK Royal Icing is used for the more traditional style wedding cake, you could use sugar paste etc for the flowers. Look for Sugar Craft on the web for ideas.
For decorating with fresh flowers you need to use a small plastic cone (often called a 'flower pick') which you put your decoration into and then push into the top of the cake. This cone protects the cake from any wires or flower stems.

Hope this gives you some ideas! Good luck with your new business.

Answer 3

I'm sorry but I am not sure if you should have accepted a wedding cake job with out havign done a few pratice cakes.

As for flowers that is pretty simple and the easiest way to decorate a cake, ask the bride what she will be using in the wedding and if she can breing some flowers by (that is usually provided by the florsit or bride to the baker) pipe a small simple dot border along the base of each layer.

Small icing dots that are piped on at symetrical spots around each layer are also very simple and clean looking.

Answer 4

Okay, rather than telling you that you needed to practice first here is some real advise since you are already half way through the cake making.

1, to use fresh flowers on a cake go to a florist and ask them to arrange a small posy of flowers to suit the size cake you are making. They will know what to use that will last well out of water (roses are ideal if you put them in on the day of the wedding)

2, cut the stems of the posy very short (not so short that the posy falls apart) and wrap them in aluminum foil.

3, cut a small hole in the top tier of the cake (better to make it too small than too big) and insert the posy, you may need to add a little frosting to hold the flowers straight

4, go to barnes and noble and check out their cake decorating books, there are some excellent books, I would suggest you buy a couple for inspiration and techniques for the next cake.

5, don't give up, each cake will improve and before you know it you will be pro

6, watch 'Ace of Cakes' on the food network, he rocks!

Answer 5

Hello

Flowers do look gorgeous on a wedding cake see the link below for some wedding cake flower designs.

Also why not buy some books from Amazon they can be really reasonably priced and give you advice and ideas.

There are probably some books on starting up your own business too.

Best advice - don't give up! and keep your business records in good order !

Answer 6

There are tons of options for designs in icing. Maybe before you started your business you should have studied and prepared for the decorating of the cake first. I suggest you look into a cake decorating class as soon as you can. In the meantime check out the web sites for Food network. good luck!!

Answer 7

Since this is one of your first clients I'd keep it the simpler the better. Do you know her colors?? You could add some flowers courtesy of her florist.....or make plans with the florist to have her arrange the flowers on the cake.

Another thought is use the colors from her wedding, run down to JoAnns or some other fabric/craft store and get ribbons. I've seen that wrapped around the bottom of each layer and it looks SO elegant!

I think if you look on the Do-it-Yourself network.....www.diy.com they offer tips on frosting

Hope that helps and good luck!

Answer 8

The lady who did my wedding cake last summer used an airbrush gun to decorate. She had these little ceramic (or plaster something like that) flowers and she decorated the flowers with food coloring and an airbrush paint gun. The cake looked beautiful. You could probably get the same kind of flowers at an arst and crafts store.

Answer 9

It could be a number of things... but It is either that the room temp. is way too hot for frosting (cake could be too hot too) or there is too much water in the mix. Also, water is used to try to make the frosting smooth. If this is the problem, tell her to use A LOT more frosting with a minor amount of water on the spatular. Usually the thicker the frosting, the easier to make it smooth. If she is making her own frosting mix, tell her to try a new recipe or to buy it from the store.

Answer 10

You could put bows of buttercream icing with small flowers on each bow. Bows and flowers should be in her wedding colors.

On top use a cardboard round to set on top of the wedding cake. Tthe flowers could be used in a mound shape or you could a flower ring with the bride and groom on top.

Good luck in your business.