I have finally completed the Course 1 of Wilton's Cake Decorating Courses. It was fun and interesting. It covers the basics of cake decorating. One can get the hang of various tools and materials needed for decorating a cake after completing this course. What seems impossible at first looks quite easy after taking the class. I decorated 3 cakes during the 1st course.
They were not perfect but at least I'm getting better than simply slathering frosting unevenly on my cakes. Like any other art, cake decorating too requires a lot of passion, patience, and practice. So if you are patient enough and can devote some quality time to practice you can master it in no time.
Usually each course has 4 classes, with one class per week. So in a month, you will be completing 1 course. Having 1 class per week also gives ample time for you to practice and clear the doubts you have when you go for the next class. Depending on the instructor you can take a cake or a cake dummy to the class. I hear that some instructors are strict and ask you to get the cake.
Mine was flexible so quite a few in my class got the cake dummy. I didn't know that such a thing existed, so I baked a cake. It's a model cake made with styrofoam available in various shapes (I have seen square and circle) and sizes. So you can practice on it, after you are done wipe the icing with a damp sponge and reuse it.
Cake dummy is available in Michaels and other cake decorating supplies stores. If you live in Canada, locate a Bulk Barn near you and forget Michaels.
You can get almost all Wilton cake decorating, candy making supplies at cheaper prices than Michael's. They even rent character cake pan sets.
Another interesting tip which I found here, is using a cake pan upside down instead of buying the cake dummies. That's really awesome. It's very easy to use, already in the shape and size of the cake you will be baking, easy to clean and you can reuse it countless number of times.
Assuming that you can bake a decent cake the next step is preparing the icing. The course book has the recipe for the Buttercream Icing used in the class. The recipe calls for meringue powder, which is a combination of egg whites, cream of tartar and other unrecognizable chemicals. Now, this was the first hurdle for me. I was in such a dilemma whether to use that powder or not.
I have eaten store-bought cakes and will also be eating it in the future and I don't mind the eggs. Bringing eggs home and cooking with it, is my phobia. By getting this powder I was not bringing actual eggs but I did not want to post here even the pictures of the cakes decorated with that icing. When I asked my instructor about a substitute for the meringue powder, she felt sorry that she did not have an answer.
I was thinking maybe I should use an equal amount of EnerG Egg Replacer powder itself. Then I discovered Wilton's Buttercream Icing Mix.
The instructions read that I just had to add water and butter/margarine to it and beat it with a mixer. When I read the ingredients, I was happy that nothing related to eggs was mentioned. So I happily picked it. After coming home I was scanning the list again and found mono-glycerides.
I have read earlier that unless and otherwise it is clearly specified vegetable derived mono-glycerides, all other glycerides are derived from animals. So I couldn't use that and returned it. Many omnivores and even some vegetarians may be thinking what's the big deal.
In this day and age of packaged and processed food one can't be really sure about what one is eating and the source. But what to do I'm one among the million quirky vegetarians!
The day for the 2nd class was nearing and I was supposed to take 3 cups of icing and here I was still wondering what to do. I thought maybe I should simply follow the recipe, prepare it, learn the decorating techniques and once I'm sort of good, I can start experimenting with a substitute for the meringue powder.
But I need not have worried after all in this era of Google serving information at your fingertips. A couple of recipe sites had Wilton's Buttercream Icing without the egg powder and the reviews were good too, telling that it had the consistency perfect for decorating. It was the exact same recipe given in the course book but minus the meringue powder. So I too decided to do the same and kept my fingers crossed.
To my surprise my instructor while testing each of our icing with some designs told me that mine was perfect for decorating and she couldn't believe when I told her that I did not add the meringue powder.
So girls, one problem solved. (There is another one in the 2nd course too! Yes, I enrolled for it and the 1st class is already over. Hope I will be able to find a solution for the Royal Icing too). What a relief!
Now that we have found an egg-free buttercream icing recipe, what to do next? We would be requiring icing in 3 consistencies. Stiff, Medium and Thin. Stiff consistency icing is used to make those gorgeous roses and other flowers and objects you see on the cakes. Medium consistency is used to make borders and related designs. Thin consistency is for writing on the cake and frosting the cake.
So while preparing the icing, you usually start with stiff, then add some water to get medium consistency and some more water to get a thin consistency. One should be careful while adding water, it's usually 1 or 2 tablespoons to the maximum. Again any mistake done is not irreparable, you can always add some confectioner's sugar or water to get the desired consistency.
Cake decorating is a massive topic and I'm a beginner. So I will try my best to cover important things here so that those who are interested and don't know where to start can get some sort of an idea of how to go about it. If you feel that I have overlooked something or have any questions/clarifications please feel free to leave your comments here or email me and I'll keep updating the answers in the subsequent posts.
Recipe
Vegan Buttercream Icing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Vegetable Shortening
- 1 teaspoon Wilton's Clear Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Wilton's No Color Butter Flavor (Optional)
- 4 cups Confectioner's Icing Sugar
- a pinch Salt (optional)
- Approx 2 tablespoons Milk/Water (As Required)
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the shortening, vanilla and butter flavoring and 2 tablespoons of water. Cream until light and fluffy.
- Add sugar one cup at a time and beat after each addition until all the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together.
- Blend an additional minute or so, until creamy. This produces 3 cups of stiff consistency icing.
- For medium consistency, add 1 teaspoon of water to each cup of stiff consistency icing. For thin consistency, add 2 teaspoons of water for each cup of stiff consistency icing.
My Notes
- You could use Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening. In that case, you can omit the Wilton's Butter Flavoring. I couldn't find butter flavored shortening so I had to use the usual one and hence I added 1 teaspoon of butter flavoring. If using the extra teaspoon of butter flavoring, go slow while adding the water. Also look for trans fat-free shortening. I was not able to find it and used the regular one and each serving has 0.3gm trans fat.
- Icing consistency is key while decorating a cake. But don't worry if you don't get it right because fixing it is quite easy. If the icing is very thin add some icing sugar until yo get the required stiffness. If it's too stiff add water (drop by drop) to dilute it.
- Milk or water can be used while preparing the frosting but I read elsewhere that using water is better.
- Icing keeps good for 2 weeks when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- The Wilton cake decorating course book which was supplied to us during the class, has a lot of useful information, tips, and tricks organized in a neat manner. You can also find this on their site. The information on the website is spread all over, so I'll give some important links in the next section.
Taste & Texture
- Even though the name of the icing is Buttercream, we don't actually use butter. Instead, we use solid white shortening. That gives the pure white color (so when you decide to mix colors you can get better shades) and also the correct structure for the designs. To keep the icing at it's whitest we use the Wilton's clear Vanilla Extract and no color Butter Flavoring. The usual vanilla extra is in dark brown color and when it's added it will tint the shortening and the icing will not be in the purest white.
- I saw a couple of recipes, where only butter is used or half butter and half shortening is used, but I have tried it only with shortening. As I have mentioned earlier I didn't want to experiment too much at this initial stage of learning. I read quite a lot of reviews, that some people don't like the greasy aftertaste that shortening gives and so they used butter instead. I felt that when the icing is consumed together with the cake you don't feel the greasiness but you definitely feel it when you eat the icing alone. Also, the vessels get very greasy and it's messy to do the dishes in the sink. Better use the dishwasher. The taste is really good though, just like the bakery ones. I actually was experimenting with white cake recipes. So for the 3 cakes, I baked during the course I tried 3 different recipes and felt that the icing really covers up even if the cake is not that good. Can you believe that this frosting is actually vegan?
Other Information
Explore Wilton's website for a lot of information about cake decorating. It's very extensive. To help beginners I'm putting out a list of useful links here.
3 Wilton's Cake Decorating 101
5 Golda's Kitchen
(An excellent retail and on-line baking/cake decorating supplies store based in Canada. They ship overseas too.)
6 Bulk Barn (Another amazing store in Canada with tons of cake decorating supplies and some locations offer the Wilton Classes too. You can usually find this store in big malls.)
7 Baking 911(Has extensive details on decorating cakes, cookies and more, with lot of tips and tricks)
8 Michael's 40% off coupon (If you live in Canada, check this out. You can print this coupon and take it to the store and get 40% off on any one item. It's really a huge money saver when you are buying a big ticket item like a professional cake decorating tool set. I got a $200 dollar set for $100 because they had a 50% off special that week.
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Veena says
Hello again Madhuram,
I have started course two and now the requirement for meringue powder is coming up. What have you done? Did you use it or there is any substitute for meringue powder?
Thanks
Veena
Madhuram says
I was able to find a vegetarian royal icing mix in the store I was taking the class, so I didn't have to use the meringue powder. More information here: http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/11/26/vegan-barley-flour-chocolate-cake/
Linda says
It's far too late for your class, but it is possible to make egg-free royal icing. Here is a recipe for you:
http://geekycakes.com/2015/04/28/vegan-royal-icing/
I hope this will be able to help others!
Madhuram says
That's great Linda. Will check it out.
Veena says
Dear Madhuram,
I finally found a solution for eggless cakes. Thanks a lot. Inspired, I started Wilton classes recently. I need a bake a cake for the class, as you know, it is required.I want a 8" cake. Can you suggest me which will the best as I do follow your recipes without changing the quantity scaring I will ruin cake.
Veena
Madhuram says
Great to know that I have inspired you, Veena. You can follow the cake decoration series and bake the same cakes I have baked, or simply try the whacky vegan chocolate cake. Nobody can go wrong with it.
veera says
I'm new to cake baking, but so far I have baked and decorated around 5-6 cakes. I enjoy your blog to the best. Your explanation is simple and straight to the point. Thanks for the tips. So coming to the point, I live in Oman (Middle East) and Wilton courses are available here. Can you please tell me how much did it cost for the courses out there in U.S. Thanks a lot Mam.
Madhuram says
Thanks for your compliments Veera. It has been a while since I took the classes here in Canada. If I remember right, it was about $30-$40 dollars per course, not including the supplies. Some supplies came with the course but we had to buy some more.
MK says
Hi,
I was really looking forward to getting an eggless buttercream recipe but one thing that you seem to have overlooked is that confectioner's sugar MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF EGG. It says this on every box I have ever purchased and I have never found one that doesn't theerfore your recipe is still not eggless!
Madhuram says
Here in Canada, the icing sugar I get contains only sugar and cornstarch and bone char or any other animal products or by-prdoucts is not used in the refining process making it perfectly suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The brands I use are Red Path and Lantic. See if you are able to find that in your place or try organic brands.
Meenakshi says
Hi Madhuram,
I never knew before about these chemical names derived from animal .Hence just looking into the ingredients to make sure its completely pure vegetarian n eggless, looked for such direct descriptions n not finding one use to buy products but now after knowing this from your posts....I feel so foolish of myself.I mean in this daily shopping of different food items catering to we like pure vegetarians has become so difficult.
I am so grateful to you that you mentioned it in your posts n its so helpful.
Also I have tried your eggless blueberry pound cake n Vegan chocolate cake which was just awesome n brought a decent baker out of me....I am enjoying baking though not a regular but your recipes n the special notes at the end are so helpful.
I tried the Fresh cream icing on my cake from joyofbaking.com and it helped.
But now when I tried to look into ingredients on the packet of Market Pantry-heavy whipping cream, it states mono and diglycerides and carrageenan. Does that mean its not vegetarian.Oh My God! you know the same ingredient is on the packet of butter as well.So now what to use ?.Initially when I made the whipped cream icing I used from the organic brand of Organic Valley n Horizon but later discovered there is no difference as these organic brands still use carrageenan in it n hence this time I got the normal one from Target- Market Pantry.
Can you suggest me good veg heavy whipping cream please? I am in US.
Also would like to know the fondant recipe to make at home but completely veg n eggless. I dont mind dairy please. I am looking to make a cake tomorrow n hence awaiting your quick response.
Appreciate your kind understanding.
Madhuram says
Carrageenan is derived from red seaweed and is vegetarian/vegan option for gelatin. I doubt butter has other ingredients listed because butter should not have anything other than milk/cream. It's been a while since I moved from the US, so I'm not aware of the products and brands there. Also I have not tried making fondant at home, so I cannot suggest you a recipe. You will have too Google for it. I'm sorry that I'm not of much help with your questions.
Ranjani says
Madhu,
I am wondering if Earthbalance will work in place of the shortening. I feel that Earthbalance is a healthier option. Please do reply. I have my 2nd Wilton class this weekend and I am eagerly awaiting your reply to see if you or anyone has played around with it 🙂 Thank you.
Madhuram says
I guess so Ranjani. I haven't tried that.
Shubha says
Hi Madhuram,
I recently enrolled myself to the Wilton Cake Decorating classes and my first class starts next week. I am so confused about the list of supplies to buy for the classes. Since you have already done the course, I thought you would be in a better position to answer some basic questions for me. Hope you don't mind!
1. I'm planning on doing all 3 courses in cake decorating, so I was wondering if it is worth it to buy 3 individual student kits for all 3 courses and buy extra stuff or buy the Wilton Ultimate Decorating Set?
2. Which brand turntable/lazy susan works best for cake frosting? The reviews weren't good for the Wilton turntable.
Thanks a lot!
Shubha
Madhuram says
Sorry Shubha, I'm on vacation so I couldn't reply immediately. The professional set costs around 200$ but does not include a couple of things which is required for the course and I ended up spending buying the course material too. If I remember right some of the stuff in Course 2 and 3 does not come with the professional set. So I would suggest you to get just the course material as you complete it and buy the professional set if you are definitely serious about cake decorating. Because I thought I was going to do it regularly and I rarely use it now. Maybe 1 or 2 cakes a year and this does not require the set.
Aparna says
Thanks dear for the post. I too am a strict vegetarian and trying hands at making cakes. Wish to master the art of icing too. Ur info is helpful but unfortunately the ingredients are not available here in uk 🙁
Madhuram says
Thanks Aparna. I googled and found out that there are a lot of cake decorating supply stores online in UK. Did you try it?
Aparna says
Yes did try. Read that it may be available in Sainsbury but no luck. Also surprised to see that icing bag n nozzles too are not easily available in stores (maybe because i am not in Mainland England) , in online too only one or two brands are available.
Wanted to make the cake for the first birthday of my friends' daughter, but alas!
Neeharika says
Hi Madhuram
I had come across your blog through google.I am new to cake decorating.I wanted to learn from the basics.
i have to enroll for the class at michaels. Your blog is awesome.You have many many recipes.I don't know how
many years it would take for me to try all the recipes in your site.
I have a very basic doubt.What is the difference between frosting and icing?I see icing written on
container and the other one icing.So please let me know.
Thanks
neeharika
Madhuram says
Thanks for the compliments Neeharika. Frosting and icing is one and the same, but sometimes it is assumed that icing is a bit watery and is used on cookies like royal icing while frosting is for cakes/cupcakes.
Neeharika says
Hi Madhuram
Thanks for your reply.i bookmarked your site.From now, i will be a very frequent visitor.
Madhuram says
You're welcome.
Sharon says
There's an egg free royal icing at http://artofdessert.blogspot.com/
Sonali Gawde says
Hi Madhuram,
I am also interested in doing Wilton cake making course.
But i am aware how to get it. So please could you help me how to do
it.
Regards,
Sonali
Madhuram says
If you live in US, use the following link to find out classes near you,
http://www.wilton.com/classes/classlocator.cfm
Sonali Gawde says
Hi Madhuram,
I live in India at Mumbai. And not sure where will will i find good cake making classes.
Madhuram says
Google it and you should be able to find some classes.
priya says
hi madhu,
i live in India...here wilton's icing mixture iz not available... can u suggeat me some other vegan substitute....
Priya, in that case you have to prepare the icing right from scratch just like I have mentioned in this post. http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/11/04/vegan-buttercream-icing/ Shortening is nothing but Vanaspathi (both are solidified from vegetable oils), but I'm not sure how different the texture is and how vanaspathi works out in frosting. So your better bet is to use butter instead.
Indu says
Hy Madhu!
I am beginner, and I am humbly asking for help with fondant.
Since I am vegetarian I do not have vegetarian gelatina powder, only in little "crumbs", I really need fine powder.Do You have a vegetarian substitute and how are You making fondant? By reading Your article I found out that glycerol is also from animals, I live in Croatia and I do not know are they glycerol from plants in our pharmacy!
I am making butter cream with sugar and vegetable grease, or butter, and it is ok!.
Please some advice about fondant.
Sincerely,
Indulekha
Hi Indu, I did not make the fondant but got it in the store and later realized that it did have some animal derived ingredients in it. I did hear that purely vegetarian fondant is available too, the brand is Satin or something. See if its available in your country. While searching for homemade rolled fondant recipes, I do see that we require glycerine to make it but glycerine is mostly animal derived, so I really don't know what other option we have.
Check the recipe I found here. I have not tried it myself.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080821215418AANnv7t
spice says
Thanks dear.
spice says
Hi Madhuram,wanted to know if your buttercream icing has little crystalized taste to it or it's smooth & creamy....I used wilton recipe minus Meringue powder....it's not totally smooth & creamy I mean u can feel little crystal feeling on your tongue, nothing like melt in the mouth....I'm not sure if it's suppose to be like this or I need to work on it more....will appreciate your answer..thanks.
Hi Spice, I'm trying hard to recollect the taste and texture. I think it was smooth enough. I'm sorry that I don't remember it exactly. All I know is it tasted good, the consistency was perfect. Also I used lesser sugar than mentioned in the original recipe. I used 3 cups of sugar instead of 4 cups.
spice says
Hi Madhuram,
I wanted to ask u the professional cake decorating set u bought...does that have all the tools u need for all the 4 wilton courses...do u really find the whole set useful.Thanks in advance.
Hi Spice, I would suggest you to get the course kit as you go because the tool set I got does not have everything needed for the courses. I ended up buying the course kit too.
vani says
hi,
i did make this version of icing, without that powder and my instructor was amazed to see this icing and the consistency of this, medium, and stiff.. it was really superb and perfect. thanks a lot ... and it was really helpful for me.
i have recommended ur website to so many ppl and my friends also...great work and u are really amazing and superb:)
thanks
vani.
Thank you very much Vani for taking the time to leave your feedback here.
vani says
thanks for your reply. i meant joann store, it is like micheals in usa. visit http://www.joann.com... it is nice store and i am taking my classes there for cake decorating...:)
vani says
hi madhu,
also wanted to ask you do u know any store in USA,,, has a cakesupply store........other than michael and joann.. pls let me know....thanks in advance.
Vani I think you could do a google search "cake decorating supplies" and the name of the city in which you live. It should give you some results. I found an excellent store in my place like that only.
vani says
hi madhu,
i am taking the classes of wilton 1.thank god and thank you for letting me know that meringue powder contains egg whites... i am so happy i found out before i prepare icing on my cakes as we in my family are pure vegans and no eggs at all....so i will definitely follow ur recipe for preparing icing and take it to my class next week.....thank you very much..
You're welcome Vani.
renu says
Thx for your reply...i will stick to the method posted by you .. One more question, we are supposed to take a baked cake covered with icing to the class. Do you have a suggestion for the icing? my classmates were suggesting to buy one ...have never decorated the cake before, have no idea how it works.
Thank you so much, must say your posts on wilton cake decoration are very very helpful.
Renu, you're welcome. They actually tell you in the class to frost it with the medium consistency buttercream icing itself. That's what I did for 3 of my cakes. For the fondant cake I didn't have time to make the buttercream icicng and used the store bought icing before covering it with fondant.
renu says
Hi,
I have enrolled to Wilton cake decorating course 1. I need to make icing for the next class...i just read u didn't add meringue powder, my instructor said it is important to get the right texture, how did you manage to get the texture?
Renu it does work. The cakes I have decorated and posted here, the icing was made without meringue powder. Just omit it and follow the rest of the instructions and you will be fine. Actually the buttercream icing recipe in the Wilton's site itself does not mention meringue powder.
vidhya says
hi
i reading ur recipes and posts. i shld appreciate u for ur posts.
i have been baking for many yrs and now come to the level of taking bday orders and party orders.
reg the buttercream icing i agree with bharti- pure butter tastes divine but it looses it shape soon even with ur hand heat. so use 1/2 butter and 1/2 butter flavour crisco. it works fine in all consistencies.
also i usually use fruit pulp as an egg replacement but with ur idea i used yogurt with a package mix and it turned out great.
i make a mermaid wilton cake with pineapple cake mix,milk,yogurt,oil .it came out so well.
thanks once again for ur work
vidhya
Thanks for the info Vidhya. I too am going to try that ratio the next time. I don't get butter flavored Crisco here. So I should be adding the butter flavoring instead.
payal jain says
hi madhu,
can u plz tell me what actually is vegetable shortening and crisco...i have found these words everywhere in many cake decorating methods ,but dunno what are they coz i cant find them in india...and what is the substitute for that...once i tried making buttercream icing with white butter and it tasted yuck n greasey...so from then onwards i use only whipped cream icing...u have seen my cake decorations...but sometime icing doesnt get that stiff to make firm flowers...plz help me....
Payal, vegetable shortening is nothing but the Vanaspathi (Dalda brand which is quite famous) we get in India. It is better to avoid using that, because it is unhealthy than butter, because it has trans fat. Here it is possible to get trans fat free shortening but I'm not sure about it's availability in India. Actually I too am going to try with butter alone once I'm done with the classes. Since India is very hot, I think you would have to keep it in the fridge every now and then while you are working with buttercream.
soumya says
Hi Madhu,
Wonderful information....I also finished my first course yesterday.Its really very nice to see how easy it is to decorate the cake if u know some simple tricks and tips.It will be gr8 help to have something online where u can refer n clear all the doubts.I am looking forward to see some of ur decorated cakes.I shall post mine soon.
That's great Soumya. I'll definitely check out your creations.
Namratha says
Madhu, glad to hear you've completed course 1, reminded me of when I did mine beginning of last year. 🙂 Good thinking with eliminating the meringue powder..I've done it more times than I can count, simply bcoz I forgot to put it in there 😆 and the buttercream turned out just fine. And I second Bharti on the butter-crisco combo...double the Wilton recipe and use 1 cup butter and 1 cup Crisco, tastes great and you can never tell crisco is in there! I've found this works best when the recipe is doubled as opposed to using only 1/2c butter and 1/2c crisco.
Thank you very much for the butter/shortening tip, Namratha. I'm definitely trying it.
Sumathi says
Hi Madhu
Congrats on your course completion.. I too did two courses and the icing i used was vegan only.. I omited the meringue powder, added 3/4 butter and 1/4 crisco and the icing would hold well and taste great.
For coursse two I did make a vegan royal icing using conrflour and lime juice.. the flowers did hold up well but were soft when compared to the royal icing flowers..
Check this link you would get a good idea : http://hoppobumpo.blogspot.com/2008/12/great-eggless-royal-icing-experiment.html
Thanks Sumathi. I too came across that link when I was searching in Google. My friend also mentioned about using cream of tartar.
Bharti says
hey Madhu
I'd taken a decorating course at a college and the teacher told us that we were NOT to ever dispose of the shortening in the sink. Apparently it completely messes them up! Imagine what it would do to our insides. I love cake decorating but truly despise the taste of shortening frosting. I too used it for practice and still will use it in really small amounts for decorating with but can't ingest that stuff in large quantities. My take on it is that you learn and practice with it but move on to better options for your own consumption.
But yeah...all those expensive wedding cakes done by professionals..they use this stuff to decorate with.
FYI, half butter half shortening does hold up and is much better tasting than the only shortening frosting. I've used this in the past for my kids birthday cakes that involved heavy decorating.
Thank you very much Bharti for the clarification about half butter and half shortening frosting. I'll try this definitely. I know that shortening is completely unhealthy, so I really didn't think twice before throwing the leftovers. That's why I too was planning to use cake dummy only for the 2nd course if I had to take a cake every week. Fortunately it's only 1 cake for this course.
DK says
Oh i dint realise that I wrote an epic out there!
DK says
This was so long back - We all know what a LOUSY cake decorator I am. My husband was like - never say never - and to get me over my fear, got me a complete cake decorating set! I was like in utter panic - I was like why did u waste money - he was like "at least now with the thought of all that money spent you will learn cake decorating!"!!!!! Cheeky fellow!
That set came along with a cake decorating book and with the help of that I made 3 cakes - I seem to have posted only two - http://chefinyou.com/2008/07/celebration-in-order-for-os-2-winners-and-my-first-albeit-feeble-attempt/
and http://chefinyou.com/2009/02/phew-i-did-it-finally-what-do-you-think/
After feeling justified that I did so something worthwhile with that set - ippo its paran mela irukku :0 🙂 I use the tips for icing and other stuff - but havent really decorated anything as such. It will be interesting watching your series 🙂 Now I know you have SOME patience! One of those cakes took me like a WHOLE day! ( but then that's me ). Also self learning is another slow story altogether.
Hi DK, I do remember those cakes. The first one is what we learned in Course 1. The 2nd one is using fondant and it will be covered in course 3. You have really done a great job considering that you did not take any classes. Especially the roses have come out very good and can't believe that it's self taught, because I know that it's difficult to get the hang of it. I think my set is also going to stay safely in the closet once I'm done with the courses. If I have somebody around to share, I'm ready to bake cakes everyday and decorate them, because it's difficult to resist it once it is in the fridge staring at you, even though you know that it's not healthy. I'm not a lucky person like you (not having a sweet tooth).
Supriya says
Hi Madhuram. What a lovely, detailed post about ur Wilton experience. Very useful. I have also always wanted to sign up for it. Ur use of alternate ingredients and also the cake pans/styrofoam cake instead of regular cake is excellent. Gives me more impetous to take this class.
Thanks Supriya.
Mattie says
I'm getting ready to dive into frostings and cake decorating too. Loved this post and the accompanying recipe for the frosting!
You should do it Mattie. It's really interesting.
jayasree says
Wonderful writeup,Madhu. Thanks a ton for the effort of putting it up here. It will be very useful for people like me who doesn't have the option of decorating classes near by. Looking forward to more in this series.
You're welcome Jayasree.
Yamini says
Hi Madhuram,
This is really a wonderful post - i am planning to attend the Wilton's basic decorating course (hopefully in december). Your write-up on the course is very useful and makes me even more determined to sign up for it as soon as i can:) and i am even more thankful for your buttercream icing recipe - it is perfect and for the first time, i have learnt how to make buttercream icing that can be varied according to consistency 🙂 thank you so much!! 🙂
You're welcome Yamini. Before taking the course it sure looks like it's a big deal but it's not so. If I can do it anyone can. So do join the course and have fun.
Nandhini says
Hi Madhuram, If I use butter instead of Vegetable Shortening will the icing come out well? Everywhere i read that trans-fat is not good for health. If a minimum amount of shortening is mandatory for icing, can u suggest a substitute for the same.
Nandhini, as I have mentioned in the post you can do it with butter alone but I'm not sure how well the structure of the designs will be, because I have not tried it. If you are going to simply frost the cake you should be fine with butter alone. My friend (in the class) tried it with margarine but the designs did not come out well because it was too soft. Trans-fat free shortening is available in US, I'm not sure about India though.
Sonu says
Oh, Thank you Madhuram. You are so thoughtful! I did go through that same site. 🙂
You're welcome Sonu.
vani says
hi,
i was thrilled to see ur post today.. and excited to completely read ur post. As i am a strict vegetarian too.. i wanted to take this class in joann .. but i was hesitating to take it as i didnot have a clear picture of the course. now after reading ur post i completely understand what they teach in teh course.. so i am planning to take it as u have mentioned that it is really useful.. thanks for all the information. pls update more on the class as u take the next course. thanks so much.
Sure Vani, I'll keep updating here.
spice says
Hi Madhuram,
I love this post.....I have to make b'day cake next week & I wanted somesort of white icing & was in the middle of no where(U know when u google a lot to find perfect recipe)....& here u come to the rescue....but I have one question this is no cook icing/frosting, so can u feel the taste of cornstartch from confectioner sugar.....b'coz i tried once & didn't liked it much....and is icing sugar same as confectioner sugar.....please let me know....
Spice, icing and confectioner's sugar is one and the same. I didn't feel any after taste from the sugar. As I have mentioned it was a bit greasy. So you can try 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening.
Sonu says
Hi Madhu, what a coincidence! Even I have been searching info about Wilton classes here since last weeks. I am so tempted to learn this new skill. Here in Australia, we have very few classes (and those are so far away from my place) but not available and easily convenient like US & Canada. 😥
But I am determined to do it anyway. 🙂 Your this post is very informative and useful like us. Thank you. 🙂
You're welcome Sonu. I found this site, hope it's helpful. http://www.wiltonaustralia.com.au/
Priya says
Very lovely and really helpful for peoples like me...i wanted to learn about frosting and decorating..Hope to see more and more from u Madhu..
Sure Priya, will keep updating here.
Ramya Bala says
Wonderful post Madhuram...Even I took those classes...and I use half butter and half shortening...there is really a diff in taste..learnt it from my first cake instructor and still following the same...
I too am going to try it after I'm done with all the classes Ramya.
abc says
Hi Madhuram
Let omnivores feel that we are being too fussy about the sources of food products but this is the way we should be. It is very tough to find trans fat free shortening. I live in a small city and did not find it in nearby walmart 🙁
I was able to get that in US, but have not still found one here. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.
Champa says
No. Even though I did find a recipe which uses lime juice and makes royal icing without using meringue powder, I found that after I was done with the courses. But, I don't think if you make them without eggs, it'll stay strong and not break like the ones with meringue powder.
Thanks Champa. A fellow student told me that her friend used cream of tartar instead of meringue powder. I have to try that and I also found a royal icing mix made with icing sugar and soy. I have to just add water. I'll try both and see which one works out the best.
Vaishali says
Madhuram, this is some weird coincidence because I also posted today my mango cupcakes with vegan mango buttercream frosting-- it's a different recipe but also with vegan butter and shortening as a base.
Your cake-decorating course sounds interesting. It does take a lot of work to develop an eye and the skills for decorating a cake-- I'd love to do it someday. A relative of mine recently did the course at Michaels and has been turning out very impressive cakes.
Wow, mango cupcake and buttercream frosting, that's sounds so delicious and exotic.
Cilantro says
Thank You Madhuram for the info, I have been looking for cake decorating courses in my area for a long time now. Let me check if Wilton`s is in Seattle otherwise I guess I can learn from you.
Use the class locator link to find out the one nearest to your place Cilantro.
Savithri says
Hi Madhuram!
I took all 4 Wilton courses and loved them. You really learn so many techniques. I even made my friend's wedding cake and another friend's engagement cake. You can see it here. http://makingmakers.posterous.com/life-is-in-the-details
Hope you enjoy the rest of your classes!
Savithri
It's true that we get to learn a lot of techniques. Your cake looks very elegant.
Champa says
Hi Madhuram,
I have taken all 4 courses by wilton. My instructor asked us to bake cake and so I did for all the courses. There is a disadvantage of using dummies though. It is very easy to smooth the icing on a dummy and you don't have to worry about crumbs getting all over. If you bake cakes and ice them, you will at least get the practice of how to handle it. Good luck with the rest I sure had lots of fun. Any questions about cake decorating, feel free to email me.
Thanks Champa. Did you do it egg free, the royal icing? I'll mail you.
Keerthana says
Lovely post Madhuram. I always wanted to learn how to decorate cakes. Looking forward to your further posts now:)