vanilla essence, but you could substitute this for cocoa powder or grated lemon/orange zest to suit your particular taste.
Ingredients
To make 480g (1lb) of buttercream
Method
1 Place the butter into a mixing bowl and add the milk and any flavouring required.
2 Sift the icing (confectioners’) sugar into the bowl a little at a time. Beat after each addition until all the sugar has been incorporated. The buttercream should be light and creamy in texture.
3 Store in an airtight container for no more than one week.
Sweet and delicious, buttercream is simple to make and is the ideal covering for both large and mini sponge cakes. Smooth on a generous layer with a palette knife before they are covered in sugarpaste.
CMC (Tylose) powder, white vegetable fat (shortening), apricot glaze and confectioners’ glaze are essential products that you will need to purchase before you begin sugarcrafting (see Suppliers).
Essential Purchases
A visit to your local cake decorating or sugarcraft shop is a must – not only can you buy all the necessary products there, you will also come away very inspired! These products cannot be made at home with any great ease, and therefore need to be purchased.
Covering Cakes
Most beginners can successfully cover a cake with sugarpaste. However, a professional finish – a glossy surface free of cracks and air bubbles with smooth rounded corners – will only result from practice.
1 Prepare the cake with a layer of buttercream or apricot glaze and marzipan depending on whether it is a sponge or a fruit cake.
2 Take sufficient sugarpaste to cover the complete cake. The quantity required for each of the cakes in this book is given at the start of each project. Work the paste until it is quite soft and smooth, then place it onto a surface lightly dusted with icing (confectioners’) sugar.
3 Roll out the paste with a non-stick rolling pin – spacing rods can be used to maintain a uniform thickness (A). The depth of the paste should be approximately 5mm (⅛in). As you roll the paste, move it regularly to ensure it has not stuck to the surface.
4 Measure the cake by taking a measuring tape up one side, over the top and down the other side. The sugarpaste should be rolled out in the shape of the cake to be covered (round for a round cake, square for a square cake and so on), and rolled out a little larger than the measurement just made.
Tip
When covering a cake, try to do it in natural daylight, as artificial light makes it more difficult to see flaws. Sometimes imperfections can be covered, but sometimes they will occur where you are not going to put decorations so you need to strive for a perfect finish every time. However, if things don’t go to plan, don’t worry; the sugarpaste can be removed and re-applied.
5 Lift and drape the paste over the cake using a rolling pin (B). Carefully lift the sides of the paste, brushing the top surface of the cake in one direction to eliminate any air trapped in between. Continue to smooth the top with the palm of your hand and then use a smoother (C).
6 For the sides, lift, flatten and rearrange any folds at the bottom removing any creases. Do not smooth downwards as this may cause a tear at the top edge. With your hand, ease the sugarpaste inwards at the base and smooth the sides with an inward motion using your hand and a smoother.
7 Trim the bottom edge with a marzipan knife (D). Trim the paste in stages as the icing shrinks back.
8 Check the surface and sides for any flaws and re-smooth if necessary. For air bubbles, insert a pin or fine needle into the bubble at an angle and gently rub the air out, then re-smooth to remove the tiny hole.
9 Once you are happy with the surface, use either the smoother or the palm of your hand and polish the top of the cake to create a glossy finish.
10 Ideally the sugarpaste should be left to dry for one or two days at room temperature before the cake is decorated.
Tip
Keep
