In cake decorating circles, sugarcraft is probably the most misunderstood term. What exactly is sugarcraft? To clear things up a bit, sugarcraft is a type of cake decorating that is three- dimensional. Sugarcraft is decorating that stands out from all other forms of cake decorating.

Sugarcraft is to cake decorating what clay is to sculpting. It is the art of modeling 3-D figures on a cake. The type of icing used in sugarcraft, rolled fondant, is a dough, that can be used to cover the cake and making cake decorations. Sugarcraft is rolled into sheets and draped over cakes, or cut to make ribbons, bows, and flowers. Fondant is made in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container until needed.

When a rolled fondant is prepared for cake decorating, liquid food coloring should not be used, it can make the fondant runny and unusable. It is better to use coloring paste.

It takes a bit of time to learn sugarcraft decorating, and the process can be frustrating. There is no set formula for sugarcraft, you will need to use your artistic eye, and practice until you feel you have it right.

If you are serious about mastering sugarcraft, it is to your advantage to purchase a DVD or video that will show you the art step-by-step. An even better option would be to take a class in sugarcraft, as the teacher can give you tips and feedback as you learn.

When you look for sugarcraft supplies, Surbiton Sugarcraft is an online store with everything you will need. Based in the UK, this company has so many items this article does not afford the space to list them all.

A sampling of their sugarcraft art and tools:

- Stainless Steel Cutters to Make: Blossoms, flowers, Leaves, Calyx, Micro and Midi cutters.

- A large array of tools that are food grade plastic and stainless steel such as: Ribbon cut from flower paste, ribbon insertion, garrett frill cutters, and plaque cutters.

- Icecraft Sugarpaste: A superior professional sugarpaste that is ready to use. This sugarpaste allows for a smooth finish every time it is used and covers cakes without cracking and forming craze lines. This paste is less gritty and oily than other sugarpastes and easy to handle. It is bright white and unflavored.

- Edible Lustre Air Brush Colours: A Lustre air brush spray for food in a can. Works wonderfully for coloring sugarpaste, modeling paste, marzipan, buttercream etc. Available in 6 colors.

- Sugarcraft rosebuds and roses: The rosebuds come in lemon, peach, violet, pink, red, ivory, white, cerise, claret. They are sold in various quantities and are incredibly beautiful.

- Piped roses – These wonderful roses are a bit smaller and a bit different. They are great for cupcake decoration. Available in dark pink, pink, or white.

- There are many more sugarcraft decorations including orchids, cake pans, cake dummies, cake boxes, leaves, and flower sprays all made with sugarcraft.

For pricing and more information visit the website and see the wonderful sugarcraft designs and tools to assure your cake decorating will be spectacular.

Photo credits: I would like to thank twokingsconfections for the use of the two photos on this page.

Anything that you eat will become more yummy or a delicious treat depending on its presentation. This is also true in making chocolate. That is why as of today, you will enjoy your chocolate in many forms and sizes. It all depends on the moldings that were used to create such impact.

Groovy Treats
Chocolates are known to be given as gifts to loved ones, to friends, even to your bosses or peers. The shape in which you buy such treat will depend on who are you going to give this or present such as a gift.

Did you know that since in the late 1800s, molds were already used by those who make chocolates? The more popular form at the time is the moldings that were made from metal. But through time, such type was replaced by those that were made out of plastic. If you’ll ask why, well, it is mainly because of the price. Those that were made from metal become too expensive especially for people who only want to make chocolates at home for personal consumption.

When you are out shopping for chocolate molds, be careful with what you buy. Choose a brand that is known for its quality and durability. You must also take time to hold the molds that you will be purchasing and visualize how easy will it be to take chocolates from them.

Make sure that the one that you purchase will bend easily so as you can get your chocolate products without any hassle. Also, when shopping for the perfect mold, choose a good quality that will last long time.

You never know, your hobby can turn into one profitable venture. And your chocolate molds should see you through it. So invest on good quality products rather than choosing the cheaper materials for their price.

You must also have an eye for the right design. Choose those that will give your chocolates the perfect shape and mold them to look better and so enhance its taste. Of course, the molds cannot do anything with the flavor factor. This will be up to you. But you will be inspired to come up with better products when you see the shapes that you can produce through the molds with which you have just made the wise investment.

Plastic molds must be cleaned properly after each use. Do not wash them with soaps or detergent. This can contribute to the taste of your product. As a better option, you can use hot water to clean the molds. Just make sure to wipe it dry after using a clean cloth.

They will be easy to maintain. You will only need to put a little bit of grease every once in a while. This will mainly be applicable when you add other ingredients into your mix such as marshmallows, cookies and candy sprinkles.

Putting fillings into your chocolates will take more effort. You will have to study those tasks in order to perfect the craft. This will be beneficial on your part if you’d like to take your hobby into another level or if you want to make a business out of this venture.

The good thing about taking in a hobby of making chocolate is that you don’t waste your materials. You can re-use things over and over again as long as you maintain them in good condition.

Cake decorating Equipment: When you are decorating for birthdays and the holidays, you don’t need every cake decorating tool out there, but you do need a few basics. The following are a must for cake decorating.

- Rubber Spatulas: These spatulas are made of flexible material and they are the best for scraping cake and frosting bowls.

- Metal Spatulas: Every cake decorator needs one large and one small angled spatula to spread and smooth frosting on your cake. To keep your cake from crumbling, use the small metal spatula to carefully spread a thin layer of frosting on the cake. This is followed by a normal layer of frosting.

- Piping Bags: You can purchase reusable 8 inch, 12 inch, and 18 inch bags, or disposable plastic bags, for cake decorating. Zip-lock bags will work in a pinch.

- Couplers: Coupling nozzles are needed to hold the icing tips in the bag. They allow you to change tips when you need to.

- Food coloring paste, gel, or powder: These food colorings are more concentrated than liquid, and they will not thin the icing.

Important tips for cake decorating

1. All ingredients should be at room temperature, as they will mix much better than when they are cold.

2. Always use and electric beater when mixing the cake. You will have less lumps than if you beat it by hand.

3. You really need a wire rack to invert and cool your cakes.

4. Trim your cake so it will sit flat. Never use this part of the cake as the top, always use the smoother side of the cake to decorate with icing.

5. To reduce crumbling, bake your cake the day before you will be decorating it and place it in the freezer until you are ready to frost it. When you take it out frost it right away.

6. You can purchase cake boards from any hobby or cake decorating shop. You can also cover a large piece of stiff cardboard with colored foil and use that instead.

7. A great icing for cake decorating is Butter Cream, especially for a child’s birthday cake.

8. Cut strips of waxed paper and place them under the unfrosted cake. When you are done with your cake decorating they will pull out easily and the cake board will not be smeared.

These are the basic tools that everyone needs for cake decorating. The tips given are meant to make it a bit easier to ice your child’s birthday cake. It doesn’t matter whether you have decorated a cake before, there are many sites on the internet that will give you ideas for cake decorating. And others that will take you step-by-step through the decorating project.

My advice is to gather as many useful tips that you can and keep them in a little booklet. When you run into a problem, you can consult the book. I know that anyone who has a desire to learn cake decoration, can do so just by visiting the various sites that are available to show you how to go about cake decorating.

Photo credits: I would like to thank ohmeaghan for the use of the photo on this page.

Baby showers are an exciting way to welcome a baby into the world and are great occasions for the parents-to-be to receive the blessings of all their well wishers. Generally given by friends and co-workers, baby showers are much more than just parties. They provide a chance for the guests to get together and maybe even meet the new baby if the baby is already born.

Baby shower cakes are also known as diaper cakes or just baby cakes. Unlike regular cakes, these are made of several baby items like diapers, bibs, pacifiers, bottles, shoes, socks, and toys that new parents will need for the baby. Baby shower cakes look just like conventional cakes but they are far from edible!

Baby shower cakes are decorated to suit the theme of the party.

The size of the cake can also differ according to the kinds of gifts it contains. They can be one, two, three, or even four-tiered. They can be placed as a center piece at the party and later taken home by the mom-to-be as a gift.

Baby shower cakes can be based on several themes like, teddy bears, duckies, baby booties, baby bottles, storks, nursery rhymes, or fairy tales to make them look cute and adorable. The rest of the gifts can be based on the theme of the baby shower cake.

There are special stores that make and sell baby shower cakes. There are also several websites on the internet that offer advice for decorating baby shower cakes. These sites also make and sell baby cakes as per the personalized requirements of the customers. Another way to get ideas for baby shower cakes is to attend a few baby showers or to ask a few people who have had a baby shower or arranged one. Ideas are sure to shower.