To decorate cakes with cake decorating icing requires practice, skill and artistic abilities. A person with knowledge of drawing can generally do the decorating very attractively; otherwise there are cake designs available for inspiration. The ornamental icing is not put on until the covering of the cake is nearly dry. Small fancy cakes made from a plain cake recipe and cut from a sheet are "glazed," or brushed over with white of egg mixed with a small quantity of sugar, then allowed to dry twelve hours or more before icing. Shown below is a cake decoration of a rose-work design for the top of a large round cake. This cake design can be reproduced with icing pressed out of a pastry bag.
Ingredients Cake Decorating Icing:
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cold water
whites of 2 eggs
½ tablespoon vanilla
Place all the ingredients except the vanilla in the uppers section of a double boiler.
Mix them well together and place over hot water. Beat steadily until the icing is stiff enough to hold its shape and does not spread when lifted up with the beater. Remove from the stove, add the vanilla, and pile the cake decorating icing lightly on cakes in any fashion desired. Icing may be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator for several days. For coffee flavored icing, use coffee that has been made fresh and strained through a cheese-cloth. For caramel-flavored icing add 2 teaspoons of caramel to the original recipe.
To decorate cakes with cake decorating icing requires practice, skill and artistic abilities. a cake decoration of a rose-work design for the top of a large round cake.
