The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating by Ruth Clemens Read Free Book Online Page A

side and squeeze together gently. Fold the long sausage in half and then in half again. Roll out this ball of striped sugarpaste to a 5mm ( 3 ⁄ 16 in) thickness and use to cover the cake. The marbled effect is created as you roll out the paste. Trim the excess neatly and polish with an icing smoother (see Covering a cake with sugarpaste ).
    3 Gather the trimmings together and knead until a smooth even colour is achieved. Form a thick sausage and roll out into a long, thin strip 4mm ( 1 ⁄ 8 in) thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the strip into four 4cm (1 1 ⁄ 2 in) wide strips, each 20cm (8in) long.
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    Don’t be tempted to apply the ribbon strips in two pieces instead of four. Long lengths of sugarpaste rip and crack very easily and you’ll be back to square one – short pieces are the way to go!
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    4 Using a serrated steak knife, gently imprint the stitching pattern on each edge of the strips, approximately 5mm ( 3 ⁄ 16 in) away from the edges.
    5 Apply a little water to the cake and secure each strip in place. Trim any excess off the strips in the centre.
    6 To create the bow, cut another strip of sugarpaste, this time 24cm (9 1 ⁄ 2 in) long and 8cm (3in) wide, and mark with stitching lines as before. Turn the strip over so the right side is facing the work surface. Fold in each end to the middle and pinch the bow in the centre gently.

    7 For the centre of the bow, take a 2.5cm (1in) strip, mark with stitching lines and wrap the ends underneath the back of the bow. Position the bow in place in the centre of the cake.
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    You can buy special modelling tool sets that include a stitch-marking wheel, but a serrated knife works just as well and can be found in every kitchen.
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    8 Trim the base of the cake and the edge of the board with purple ribbon, securing at the back with pearl-headed pins.
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    â€œMarbling sugarpaste works with all sorts of coordinating colours and is a great way of using up excess pieces left over from other projects. It means you can get a great cake with the minimum of fuss!”
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Polka-dot candles
Incorporating candleholders into a design
    Often when decorating cakes we forget to leave space in the design for candles. Not here – this cake is designed with the birthday candles in mind!

Get it together…
    20cm (8in) round cake, prepared for covering
    30cm (12in) round cake board
    Eight 10cm (4in) celebration candles
    Buttercream
    Sugarpaste: pink and white
    Round cutters: straight-edged 2.5cm (1in), fluted 3.5cm (1 1 ⁄ 2 in)
    12mm ( 1 ⁄ 2 in) wide pale pink ribbon
    Pearl-headed pins
    Basic equipment (see Equipment )
    1 Level and prepare the cake for covering (see Levelling and filling a sponge cake ). Once chilled, set the cake centrally onto the cake board, securing with a dab of buttercream.
    2 Roll out the pale pink sugarpaste to a 5mm ( 3 ⁄ 16 in) thickness and use to cover the cake. Trim the excess neatly and polish with an icing smoother (see Covering a cake with sugarpaste ).
    3 Roll out the white sugarpaste to a 3mm ( 1 ⁄ 8 in) thickness. Using the straight-edged cutter, cut out 20 circles. Using the fluted cutter, cut out eight fluted circles. Cut out the centres of the fluted circles using the straight-edged cutter and set these to one side.
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    Leaving the cut-out circles in position on your work surface for a couple of minutes will allow them to harden slightly so that when you lift them into position they shouldn’t pull out of shape.
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    4 Attach the straight-edged white circles to the cake with a little water in a polka dot pattern across the top and around the sides of the cake.
    5 Roll eight 4cm (1 1 ⁄ 2 in) balls of pale pink sugarpaste and flatten slightly. Take one candle at a time and press the base into the flattened ball to create the candleholder.
    6 Drop one of the fluted circles down over the candle so that it sits on the pink sugarpaste holder.
    7 Position each of