Have Your Cake and Vegan Too Read Free Page B

by just fine with a couple of choice tips. Make a throw-away batch of buttercream frosting to play with and pipe away on a sheet of cardboard. It takes only a couple of rounds of practice to perfect some select shapes and designs that will make your cakes all the more lovely.
    CAKE LEVELER This device, which looks like a bow for the kitchen, has a metal base with a thin, metal string with an adjustable height. This is a choice tool if you need to trim a little cake off the top to flatten it for stacking layers or to split a thick cake into layers. While a knife works just
fine (and if you want to feel like a major badass, look up splitting cakes with dental floss online), a cake leveler ensures that you will get your cakes nice and level and split them evenly.
    TEMPERATURE This is the biggest tip for expert cake decorating. It’s hard to resist when you know a slice of deliciousness awaits, but icing a warm cake leads to disaster (icing puddle), and trying to cream margarine or shortening that is too hard makes for serious lumps. Slow and steady wins the cake race.

HOW TO FROST A CAKE IN THREE SIMPLE STEPS
    1. Let the cake cool completely. This is imperative, or your frosting will melt!
    2. Do a crumb coat. This means to apply a superthin layer of frosting to trap in all of the crumbs so they don’t lift off and litter your frosting on the surface of the cake. This can be done with your offset spatula, by applying an ultrathin coating (you can usually still see the cake through it). After applying it, place the cake in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes to let it firm up. Skipping this step defeats the purpose of the crumb coat.
    3. Slather on the bulk of your frosting. Use an offset spatula to get it smooth. If your frosting is having problems spreading, it may need a splash of whatever milk you are using. If you have leftover frosting, scoop it into an icing bag and fancy up your cake with some piping!

HOW TO FROST MULTILAYER CAKES
    Don’t let layers intimidate you! It’s really easy, I promise.
    Begin by placing the bottom layer on a serving platter or cake plate. Then tear small pieces of waxed paper and arrange them around the bottom of the cake, effectively make a cake bib to catch any excess frosting or filling so the plate doesn’t get messy.
    From there, assess whether the bottom layer is flat on top. If it has a bump, you need to level it, which can be easily done with a knife or a cake leveler (inexpensive ones cost around $5). You can also level it Mafia-style with a piece of dental floss, looping it around the cake bump and pulling it toward you to slice the bump off. The best part of this process is that it makes cake scraps, so you don’t have to wait until after dinner to get a taste. If it doesn’t look pretty, that’s okay because it will be covered up.
    Add a large smear of filling or icing on top of the bottom layer up to 1/4 inch from the edge. You’ll want the filling to be a little thicker in the center so when the weight of the top layer presses down on it you’ll have a nice, solid layer of filling. Now, carefully center the top layer on the cake.
    To frost the exterior, begin with the sides and use your offset spatula to smooth the frosting on. From there, coat the top of the cake and decorate as desired. Carefully remove the waxed paper from around the edges, and you’re ready to rock!

FROSTING, ICING, AND GLAZE:THE DEBATE THAT COULD END IN A CAKE DOOMSDAY
    Most people tend to call the creamy, sugary stuff on top of a cake either frosting or icing. And, like the soda vs. pop debate, this can lead to bar brawls and fighting. But we’re making cake here; there shall be no feuds! While you may not distinguish between them, for the
sake of this book, I do. To give you a better idea of what to expect, here are my definitions:
    FROSTING This is the fluffy, creamy stuff that you spread in copious amounts and induces sugary, fatty comas of delight.
    ICING