The Halo Effect
You’re familiar with the halo effect, right? The theory that (and I’m paraphrasing) if something is packaged beautifully, its contents will be looked upon more favorably. A term paper, for instance, neatly assembled in a beautiful folder with fancy writing, might be thought to be better than the paper that’s been written in crayon and stuffed into a back pocket before being turned in. Or, that a present wrapped within an inch of its life in gorgeous paper and tied up with an abundance of silk ribbon will contain a similarly spectacular gift, rather than a gift given in a wrinkled brown grocery bag.
This theory can be applied to cake, in my opinion.
Picture if you will, a very special celebration cake, tiers stacked expertly, or carved into a sculpture that would wow Jeff Koons. The fondant or buttercream is as smooth as satin, the gumpaste decorations, the buttercream flowers, have been modeled to a level of perfection that even Kerry Vincent would die for.
Magnificence.
Except for one thing.
This beauty is sitting on naked foil cake drum.
Why, oh, why would a cake decorator spend all that time sketching, baking carving, piping, schmearing only to cast a blind eye on how to display this masterpiece?
It’s like wearing a ripped hose with a cocktail dress (that’s IF one wore hose these days.). Scuffed shoes with a tuxedo. Grandma bloomers with a bias cut charmeuse dress (I’m not making this one up. I have seen a MAJOR TV star in the flesh flaunting this glamour don’t).
Cake people, if you do this, in my opinion, you’re devaluing your own work. The presentation is flawed. You want the cake to be a centerpiece that is oohed and aahed over, right? You want ‘the halo effect’!!!
Now, if you’re planning on using a cake pedestal like any one of these, in the words of the great Rosanne Roseannadanna, “never mind”.
If you are not using these and are using a gold or silver topped cake drum for your base, here’s a look at what I do to set up my cakes so they look like this:
I attach my ribbon around the circumference using Magna-Tac. It’s a wonderful adhesive that doesn’t seep through to leave wet dots on the ribbon.
After the ribbon has dried for at least an hour, I shpritz about 1/4 – 1/3 of a cup of royal icing with water so it’s pretty runny and pour it on top of the cake drum, evening it out with a offset spatula. I’m not worrying about spreading it all over the board, just the perimeter that will show. Working like greased lightning is key here; I don’t want the royal to begin to form a crust at all.
Now I heavily sprinkle AA Confectioner’s Sugar onto the wet royal while holding the board over a bowl. AA Confectioner’s Sugar is a very, very coarse sugar that I think is best used for decorating. Then I deftly (I use the term loosely) turn the board over and knock the excess off into the bowl, just so I can scoop it up and resprinkle it again.
This is far from a beauty shot, since I’m holding the camera AND trying to sprinkle the sugar at the same time.
But, you can see the bowl catching the sugar, which is being sprinkled from the container in the upper right corner of the photos.
Now, let the board set up over night and by the next day, you can start building your cake.
Oh, you don’t have to use the sugar, I just like how it looks. I like non-pareils, too. Piped royal decorations, like leaves or grass are also sweet. Use your imagination and explore other options.
If you cover your cakes with fondant, schmear a little piping gel on your board to act as glue, and cover the board with the fondant. Affix the ribbon after it’s dried.
When your cake is the center of the dessert table, believe me, no one will say “Now THAT’S a nice cakedrum!” But that cakeboard will enter their brains in the most subliminal of ways and those guests will think your cake is the most gorgeous creation ever, beg the hostess for your info so they can book you immediately for their next fete. And, you can raise your price now, too, since you’re so in demand.
And you know what that is? That’s the halo effect.
Read More »
How DOES She Do It?
Getting those cookies on the cake, that is? How is it done?
Well, if you think that I just make the cookies and slap ‘em on any old way, you, my friends, are sadly mistaken. It is a delicate balancing act between sizing the cookies in relation to the size of the cake, and the number of cookies that fit around the circumference of the cake. Oooh….my brain hurts a bit right now seeing those concepts in print. Do I really do that? Yup, and if I can, you can, too. But, lucky you, I’ll save the math for another post. Let’s just concentrate on dressing up that naked cake.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Buttercreamed cake
- Decorated cookies
- Small amount of leftover buttercream in the same color as the cake
- Offset spatula
- Little paintbrush
- Paper towel
- And, if you’re a first timer, watch the caffeine. Shaky hands are the devils’ workshop, or something like that.
So, here is the ‘blank canvas’, so to speak. It’s very important to have the cake well chilled, hence the ‘fridge photo. You want the buttercream to be very firm when applying the cookies so that it retains its smooth, even surface.
Now, as with any cake decorating, it helps to think of cake in quadrants: north, south, east and west. The first cookie I apply is on the top tier, defines . It’s the kingpin cookie, the big kahuna, the queen bee; the most important cookie as it defines the north center of the cake. It will determine the placement of all other cookies. Big job for a little cookie, eh?
Next up, bottom north center:
Now, spin the cake around so that the south side of the cake is facing you. Determine the center of the back top tier by eyeballing the placement of the ‘kingpin’ cookie. Affix top tier and bottom tier center cookies. North and South determined: check!
Still with me? There are a lot of cookies left to put on!
Okay, now I’m ready to begin fleshing out the repeat pattern I designed on the North side of the cookie (North is usually the side I try to ultimately present.). Once I see how that fits, I can determine the placement of the rest of the quadrants’ cookies. Make sense? Again, repeat the same pattern on the South(back) side of the cake.
Press the cookies firmly onto the cake…you don’t want to hear the dreaded “pop pop pop” of cookies auto-ejecting from their positions on the cake. Clients don’t like putting cookies back on the cake. And, if there are any unsightly blobs of buttercream squishing out from the cookie, now’s the time to clean them up gently with a paintbrush. Neatness definitely counts here!
And, while I’m on the subject of cookie adherence, here’s how it’s done:
With an offset spatula, carefully shmear (technical word) some of the softened buttercream onto the back of the cookie. Try to keep the buttercream away from the edges so as to reduce the amount of buttercream squish outs.
Next up, East & West. Attach the cookies, taking care that they’re evenly spaced from each other. Determine the center (I think you probably knew that, but I’d be remiss in my instructions if I didn’t mention it.).
Important note: If, at any time, the buttercream on the cake begins to soften too much, chill the cake for a few minutes. The cake will thank you.
Once all the cookies on the bottom tier are attached, it’s time to do the same to the top tier. All sides, too. Are you getting the hang of this?
