How to fake it!
No baking or cake decorating skills? No problem!
All you need is a plain iced cake and a little imagination.
The Naked Cake
Plain Iced Cakes have been widely available in most of the major supermarkets for a number of years.
M&S have plain iced cakes in a range of sizes and a choice of either, Rich Fruit, Chocolate or Vanilla Sponge, (check website for up to date prices).
Waitrose have a range of plain iced cakes which are available to order (7 DAYS NOTICE REQUIRED). A 20cm plain iced Fruit Cake £25.00 and a 25cm plain iced Vanilla or Chocolate Sponge Cake £15.00
Sainsburys have just introduced a new range of plain iced fruit cakes by celebrity cake makers The little Venice Cake Company, available in two sizes, 5" £9.99 and 8" £14.99.
Why not ask your local independent bakery if they'll make you a plain iced cake, chances are they might be happy for the extra business. You could have a better choice of sizes and if you're not looking for any fancy piping work the price should be fairly reasonable too.
We've all heard of Cake Jewellery- but can you wear it all afterwards?
Adding the Drama
A plain iced cake is like a blank canvas crying out for embellishment, but if you're new to cake decorating keep it simple to begin with, remember the three colour rule. As your confidence and understanding of what works well grows, so can your colour range.
Let's examine the cake shown above- Gorgeous isn't it? Well it's not really a cake at all, at least half of it isn't-it's a fake!
We put it together to show you just how easy it is to create something really eye-catching out of products that are readily available on the high street.
Why not get together with friends to create your own glamorous cake and give as a gift for a special birthday surprise!
Fake Cake (Top Tier)- Stripey Ribbon (Gift wrapping Dept, John Lewis, London W.1)
Turquoise Rose Accessory (£2.99 H&M). These are all over the shops at the moment in a wide range of styles and colours.
Blue crystal earrings (from Lucy's own vast collection).
Cake Dummies. These are generally made from Polystyrene, although they are available in other materials. Cake Dummies are a great way to add layers to a cake particularly Wedding Cakes and can help to keep costs down. The are available from most Cake Decorating Suppliers, visit our Suppliers page for more information. Please Note: Do not insert metal or any wired decorations directly into a real cake. Special plastic 'Flower Spikes' are available for this purpose. check Suppliers.
Real Cake (Bottom Tier)- Turquoise Hairband (£1.99 2pk H&M). Will fit round 6" cake.
Black Satin Ribbon (all good Haberdashery Shops)
Black Jet knecklace (Lucy's own collection again!)
Remove all decoration from bottom tier before cutting the cake.
Warning!! If using candles, keep well away from fabric decorations.
Salon Glacé 2006-2009
