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.Splitting and Decorating a Cake




Source of Recipe


From "The Gourmet Cookbook"


Recipe Introduction


Before a smidgen of frosting makes contact with your cake, be sure you have all the necessary tools clean and close at hand. A long, narrow offset spatula is extremely helpful for spreading wide swaths of frosting. If you plan to make a piped design, you'll need at least one good-sized pastry bag (or one for each color of frosting), the proper tips and the couplers to attach them to the bags, which provide an extra measure of security. A cake-decorating table, similar to a Lazy Susan, isn't essential for most cakes, but it does make smoothing the frosting on large cakes a breeze, and it certainly enables you to feel like a pro. If you do use a turntable, you'll also want a cardboard cake round to rest the cake on, and two wide, rigid pancake turner-style spatulas to make it from turntable to cake plate.
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• SPLITTING CAKE LAYERS

We try to avoid splitting cake layers -- it is difficult to make them even, and once split, they are very fragile -- but if you are going for a big four-layer cake, it makes sense. To do this, insert long wooden skewers horizontally into the cake halfway up the side in about eight places. Then rest an 11- to 12-inch knife (preferably serrated) on the sticks and use a long sawing motion to cut the cake layer in two. If your split cake layer is on the sturdy side, lift off the top half with two wide metal spatulas, so it doesn't crack or break. If it is more fragile, gently lift up one edge of the top half with a spatula, and then carefully slip the removable bottom of a tart pan or a rimless baking sheet between the layers and lift off the layers. Bear in mind that frosting can cover a multitude of mishaps; if that top half cracks or breaks, gently piece it back together on top of the filling and frost.

• PREPPING FOR FROSTING

Prepping a cake for frosting is a lot like getting a wall ready for painting: cake crumbs, like dust and grime, are the enemy. Once you have stacked your layers and lightly brushed them free of loose crumbs, apply what's called a crumb coating, a thin layer of frosting all over the top and sides, to seal any reamining crumbs in place. Chill the cake to firm up the frosting, then watch as your second coat goes on effortlessly. Put a generous amount of frosting on top and spread it until it begins to slump over the side, then go vertical. After spreading a small patch of frosting down the sides with a 6- to 8-inch narrow offset metal spatula, keep that hand still and slowly spin the turntable or turn the plate with the other, spreading the frosting smoothly and evenly.

• PROTECTING YOUR CAKE

Once your masterpiece is finished, the best way to protect it is to keep it in a cake keeper. There's no better way to preserve both the decoration on the outside and the moisture on the inside. We love the elegance of a glass dome if your cake is staying put, but if it's going to travel, you'll do well to invest in a plastic version, preferably with handles.