Learn How To Make Edible Cake Flowers

If you have ever seen a wedding cake or a really nicely decorated cake at another event you may have noticed the edible flowers on top. These are very appealing decorations that really add a lot to the cakes. For as cool as these flowers are they really are not that difficult to make. Most of these flowers only consist of two or three ingredients and they are pretty basic. Learning how to make edible cake flowers is a step in the right decoration for anyone who wants to make decorative desserts. Making a chocolate flower is one of the easiest types to make and can be achieved with just two ingredients. Chocolate flowers are made from melted semisweet chocolate and corn syrup. These two ingredients combine together to form what is known as chocolate clay. To make this clay you have to boil a pan of water. When it has reached a boiling point put a bowl filled with the chocolate in it and stir the chocolate until it has melted. Remove the bowl and stir the chocolate until it cools down. Then combine the corn syrup with the semisweet chocolate.

Work the chocolate clay until it softens a bit. Mold a piece of the clay in to a small tootsie roll sized cylinder. The cylinder will be the base of the flower and all of the leaves will be attached to it. After the base has been made it is time to create the leaves. Roll the clay out to around 1/8 of an inch. Cut 1 inch circles out of the clay using a bottle cap or cookie cutter. You will need 9 or 10 petals for each flower so cut the right amount. After you have all of the petals attach them to the base until you have a flower shape. Cut off the rest of the cylinder that is sticking up. Now it is time to apply your new creations to the cake. Simply place the flowers where you want them and apply gentle pressure. This will stick the flowers to the frosting and you will have a nicely decorated cake. Although flowers are not difficult to make they can be time consuming. Many cakes require large numbers of the flowers and you can plan on working for several hours for some of them. These can be fun decorations to make and they will do a great job at making any cake look great.

If you're a cook who can't resist tossing in a handful of this and a sprinkle of that, you may find baking can be a bit hit and miss. Baking is an area of cookery that doesn't take kindly to artistic licence. For guaranteed results it's important to follow baking recipes to the letter so your cake will only ever be as good as the recipe you use. Start with a recipe from a source you trust. If you want to use a different one then you'll need to adjust the cooking time. Baking parchment works really well for lining as it's non-stick. Softened butter dusted with flour, or oil dusted with flour, are alternatives. Don't use too much fat though or you'll fry the sides of the cake. If you're cooking a cake for a long time (rich fruit cake, for example), it's worth wrapping the outside of the tin too using brown paper and string to stop the edges from burning.

If you put a cake into an oven that's not hot enough, it will affect the way it rises. Fan ovens can dry a cake slightly so for a longer shelf-life use the conventional setting. Make sure you use the exact measurements and ingredients as stated in the recipe. You can't just add more baking powder if you want your cake to rise more or substitute self-raising flour for plain. Use measuring spoons rather than tablewear to ensure accuracy. Also, avoid mixing imperial and metric measurements, pick one or the other. Most recipes require the fat and eggs to be at room temperature. If you take the butter straight from the fridge it doesn't cream well and cold eggs are liable to curdle the cake mixture. Cream butter and sugar until the mixture lightens in texture and colour. This increases the air and volume of the cake, giving you a lighter result. Sift flour and other stated ingredients together to mix, add air and make them easier to fold in. A large balloon whisk (used gently) is best for folding as it helps to avoid lumps of flour but doesn't overwork the mixture.

Don't be tempted to whisk vigorously as this will knock out the air and result in a heavy cake. The raising agent will start working as soon as it comes into contact with any of the 'wet' ingredients so to ensure a good rise your cake mixture should go into the oven straightaway. Cakes are generally best placed on the middle shelf to ensure even cooking. Once the cake is in, avoid opening the door until it's almost cooked. If you allow cold air into the oven the cake is likely to collapse, you need to wait until it's properly set before taking a peek. Similarly, when you're putting the cake into the oven, don't hang about and let all the heat out. If you've used the right tin and you've got a good oven, the timings stated in the recipe should be accurate. As ovens do vary, check the cake just before the end of the cooking time. A cake that is cooked through should feel the same if pressed around the edges or in the middle. Also, a skewer inserted in the centre should come out dry. If your cake is not properly cooked but looking brown, you can cover it with a bit of dampened greaseproof paper. Recipes will usually give instructions for cooling but as a general rule, most sponge cakes are best left for a few minutes and then turned onto a cooling rack to avoid soggy edges. Rich fruit cakes are better cooled in the tin. These are just a few suggestions. Do you have any tips for making great cakes,