The Busy Girl's Guide to Cake Decorating

Book excerpt: A quick and easy guide to cake decoration by the bestselling author of Creative Éclairs and finalist from The Great British Bake Off. Discover how even the busiest chef can whip up impressive homemade treats in next to no time! Ruth Clemens, finalist on the first series of The Great British Bake Off, shares her secrets in creating quick-but-gorgeous cakes, bakes, and biscuits. Choose from twenty-five beautiful, fuss-free projects to make in under an hour, in an afternoon, or over a weekend and be amazed at what you can achieve! The simple projects are split into three sections. The Evening Whip-Ups (one-hour projects) are perfect when you have very little time, and are easy to throw together one evening after work. The Half-Day Delights (two-hour projects) are for when you have an afternoon to spare. Finally, the Weekend Wonders (three- to four-hour projects) are for when you’ve got a bit more time available in your schedule! In addition, Ruth outlines all the equipment and ingredients you need, shows how to line a cake tin, and gives her tried-and-tested recipes for fruit cake, sponge cake, and chocolate cake, as well as cupcake recipes, cookie recipes, and frosting recipes. You will learn how to decorate easily with royal icing, buttercream, marzipan, sugar paste, and ribbon, as well as how to color fondant to your desired shade, how to stack cakes using dowels, and some wonderful creative embellishment techniques. The Busy Girl’s Guide to Cake Decorating—the perfect place to start your foray into the world of cakes!