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Mackenzie Jones
Ms. Bennett
British Literature
16 September 2011
Decorating Cakes
Ever wondered how big the biggest cake ever made was? The biggest cake ever made
was 128, 238 pounds (“Interesting Facts about Cakes before You Buy Them”). On top of that
already hefty cake, the icing on top of it came in weighing 16, 209 pounds (“Interesting Facts
About Cakes Before You Buy Them”). Weighing 16,209 pounds is an unbelievable amount of
decorations for one cake. But in fact, there is an abundant amount of different ways to decorate a
cake. The different ways to decorate a cake can range from the easily molded gum paste to the
complicated art of blown glass. Many factors go into decorating a cake, more than most people
would imagine.
Gum paste has a history of its own. It is said that it was used during the medieval time
period. Gum paste is the more preferred decorating material by cake designers. Gum paste has a
deceiving name. Gumpaste is simply sugar dough that has different gums mixed in it. Being that
it is mixed in with gums, gum paste is easily molded or formed in to any shapes. The most
common decoration made out of gum paste is flowers. Making flowers out of gum paste is
common because it is easy to mold and the outcome of the flower looks sharp. Unfortunately,
there is a downfall to gum paste. Because of the sugar content in gum paste, it tends to dry very
brittle and delicate. Therefore, when the product of the decoration dries, it is important to be very
careful when placing it on the cake. Gum paste can be tinted, which means it can be dyed and it

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will have no effect on the texture and will not destroy it. It can be painted on when it is dry or
still in the process of drying. Also, gum paste can be dusted, with decorating dusts which are just
sparkles or colors in the form of a powder that can be brushed on the product. Although it has a
very dull taste, gum paste is edible. Not many people tend to eat gumpaste, but it can be eaten.
Gum paste can come either pre-made, only needing water added, or it can be homemade. Gum
paste is very sturdy when it is rolled out thin, it will not crack or rip as easily as other products
such as fondant. (Baking911)
On cake decorating shows such as Cakes Boss or Ace of Cakes, just about every cake is
covered with fondant. The most common use for fondant is to cover cakes. It is laid over cakes to
give them a very smooth finish. It can also be used as a glaze or used to sculpt pieces. Another
use for it, which is not normally recognized, is being used for the base of candy. Fondant is very
dense and has a base color of white. Fondant is an easy product to work with; basically anything
can be done to it. It can be colored without a problem. All that is required to color fondant is to
simply knead food coloring into the mass that is being worked with. Fondant does not really
have a pleasant taste if not flavored. It can be ordered already flavored and it can have flavoring
added into it. There are a couple of different types of fondant. There is one type which is rolled
fondant. Rolled fondant is what is the usual fondant used for covering cakes. It has a play-dough
like feel to it. Rolled fondant tends to dry semi-dry. The finished look is as smooth as satin and it
holds up well. The next type of fondant is called poured fondant. This type of fondant is used
more often in candies and to glaze. One example of poured fondant in a candy is the red filling
that oozes out when a chocolate covered cherry is bitten in to. This is not as thick as rolled
fondant and should be easily spreadable. (Baking911)

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Modeling chocolate is a self-explanatory name. All it is, basically, is chocolate that is the
consistency of fondant or almost clay that is chocolate flavored. Modeling chocolate and fondant
are almost the same thing, except it is said that modeling chocolate has a more pleasing taste.
There is a downfall when it comes to modeling chocolate, this can even include fondant. If the
temperature of the area in which modeling chocolate is being used is too hot, the modeling
chocolate will be difficult to work with. It will start to melt and will not form correctly
(“Chocolate Making Tips”).
Blown sugar is a very complicated decorating material to use. It requires years of experience
to learn how to master it. Only skilled artists who have experience making blown sugar can
correctly make blown sugar. It is made by being molded into shapes or objects using a tube. It is
similar, if not the same, as the way that blown glass is made. Before actually blowing the sugar,
the process has to start with making pulled sugar. Pulled sugar is just sugar that has been heated,
kneaded, and stretched; the process of being heated, kneaded and stretched makes the pulled
sugar look shiny and makes it flexible. Pulled sugar, by itself, can be shaped into figures or
objects to decorate a cake. But in making the objects look round and bubbly, requires the sugar
to be blown. Next, a tool called a confectioner takes a wad of the pulled sugar and attaches it to a
tube. The tube that is attached to the ball of pulled sugar has air blown through it to inflate the
sugar. While the sugar is being blown, it has to be kept underneath a heat lamp to keep it pliable
and easy to work with. When the entire piece is finally finished being blown and formed, it is set
up by fans that will cool down and remain in the same shape. There is a load of factors that lead
into making blown sugar. For example, the person who is making the blown sugar has to have
very sturdy hands and acute eyes. Another example of a problem with blown sugar is if the lamp
for heating it gets too hot, the sugar that is being blown will not hold together and will melt.

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Also, if the final figure is cooled at too low of a temperature it will crack in the process. Blown
sugar is very delicate and can break with a slip of a hand. Even though it is a tough process, the
ending look of blown sugar is astonishing. (“What is Blown Sugar?”)
Buttercream frosting is a favorite in the crowd. It is most often picked because of its rich
flavor and creamy texture. A plus to buttercream icing is that it is not very complicated to make.
A lot of people prefer to make their own icing. Butter cream is simply butter, confectioners’
sugar, cream; and sometimes almond flavoring or vanilla flavoring will be added to the
buttercream to frosting to give it a little more taste. Buttercream icing is mainly used to ice cakes
or cookies. With a cake that is covered in fondant, a thin layer of buttercream frosting is usually
applied to make sure that the fondant will stick on the cake and stay in place. Buttercream
frosting can be made either really soft or really stiff. Stiff buttercream icing is still the same
thing; it is just made to make flowers on cakes or other decorations on a cake. The decorations
that are put on the cake have a thin crust on them. The thin layer of crust is from the decorations
being left out. This layer of crust is not a bad factor; it is actually a good factor. The thin layer of
crust is what actually keeps the decorations in position. On the other hand, soft buttercream icing
is used only for the actual icing of the cake. This is thinner than the stiff icing, which is very
thick. The reason this is thinner is because soft buttercream icing has more cream in it than
sugar. Unlike stiff buttercream icing, soft butter cream does not leave a layer of crust. This
happens because the cream takes away from the sugar; therefore, the soft butter cream does not
have as high of a sugar content. It is very critical to use the right product for coloring
buttercream icing. Regular food coloring is not the correct coloring to use for buttercream icing.
In order to color the icing and still keep it smooth and creamy, color paste has to be used in place

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of food coloring. It is critical to consider the temperature at which butter cream icing is kept at.
The best temperature to keep it at is room temperature. A mistake for keeping buttercream is to
put it in the refrigerator. If the icing if put in the refrigerator, it will harden and not be spreadable
on cakes. It is in fact better to make homemade buttercream icing. Using store bought
buttercream icing is soft, but it will not hold fondant on a cake as well. (“About Buttercream
Icing”)
In conclusion, there are several different ways to decorate a cake. Many of them are fairly
simple to work with and easy to make. But on the other hand, for example, material like blown
sugar is very complicated and takes skill to create. All of these decorations come together to
make a plain cake a beautiful piece of work and art.

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Works Cited
“About Buttercream Icing.” ehow.com. N.p., 1999-2011. Web. 7 Sept. 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/
about_4699526_buttercream-icing.html>.
“baking911.” baking911.com. N.p., Oct. 2000. Web. 7 Sept. 2011. <http://www.baking911.com/
decorating/cakes_gumpaste.htm>..
Baking 911. “Decorating 101: Fondant Home Page.” baking911.com. N.p., 2000-2007. Web. 7 Sept.
2011. <http://www.baking911.com/decorating/cakes_fondant.htm>..
“Chocolate Making Tips.” hungreyhappenings.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 7 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.hungryhappenings.com/p/melting-chocolate-and-modeling.html>.
“Interesting Facts About Cakes Before You Buy Them.” articlebase.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/interesting-facts-on-cakes-before-you-buy-
them-1248045.html>.
“What is blown sugar?” wisegeek.com. N.p., 2003-2011. Web. 7 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-blown-sugar.htm>..