<\/p>\n
So you\u2019re either just starting out on your cake journey or have been making cakes for sometime and are thinking how can I make my cakes stand out from the crowd?\u00a0 I have run my cake business for almost 13 years now and one of the main things I pride myself in is the finishing.\u00a0 I will give you some hints and tips on how to make your cakes stand out from the crowd, grabbing the attention of your ideal clients.<\/p>\n
The covering of your cake<\/p>\n
You might not think this but imagine having two almost identical cakes besides each other. One you can see fingerprints on or has some dents and the other is perfectly smooth with no lumps and bumps.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of similar to when you go shopping and there are two loaves of bread on the shelf.\u00a0 One is a bit squashed and doesn\u2019t look that appealing, the other one looks perfect.\u00a0 Which one would you buy?<\/p>\n
So I guess what I am trying to say is, when you ice your cake make sure you smooth out any fingerprints or lumps and bumps.\u00a0 This will certainly make a difference when people are looking at your cakes<\/p>\n
The Sharp Edge Smoother will help getting the cakes sides nice and smooth.\u00a0 For more information please click\u00a0HERE<\/p>\n
Ice your cake board\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is something that I have done from the very beginning (well apart from the one on the left below)\u00a0 It took me ages to find a cake where I hadn\u2019t iced the board. \u00a0 Icing the cake board also finishes the cake.\u00a0 You can include the board in the design for example it could be iced to look like grass, water or a floorboard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
You can see below with the two cakes what I mean by finishing the cake.<\/p>\n
]Your imagination can really go wild with ideas.\u00a0 Sometimes you may not have enough room on your cake for models\/characters so this is where having an iced board will come in handy as you can place them on there.<\/p>\n
Wood or floorboard is a great effect, really easy to create and can be done in a few colours too.<\/p>\n
Water or a grass board is excellent if you don\u2019t have enough room on your cake for the sugar models.\u00a0 Your cake can look too busy if it was covered with the characters.<\/p>\n
Painting the board can really make an impact on your cake especially if there is anything on the cake the same colour.\u00a0 As you can see on the Roller skate cake, the name is in the rainbow colours.<\/p>\n
Who doesn\u2019t love the Minions, here we have created the floor that you can see in the very first Minion film.\u00a0 There are many texture and embossing sheets that will help you create these effects.<\/p>\n
Be different<\/p>\n
Now I\u2019m not saying that\u00a0YOU\u00a0have to be different but what I am saying is that make your STYLE\u00a0different from the rest.\u00a0 Be unique, make your cakes look different from everyone else\u2019s.\u00a0 There are so many\u00a0cake makers\u00a0now and most will be offering the same designs, so this is where you can be different.<\/p>\n
But if you want to make a name for yourself and get people to sit up and take notice, then you gotta push yourself to think outside the box and INVENT or REINVENT something to create a style that is distinctly YOU.<\/p>\n
Try not to copy<\/p>\n
When it comes to designing your cakes, try not to copy other cake makers designs but use your own creativity, your customer will be very grateful for this.\u00a0 I am often sent pictures of cakes from clients and I always say that \u2018I can do something similar to that design\u2019\u00a0 My reason for saying SIMILAR\u00a0is that the picture they sent me wasn\u2019t my design and how I decorate a cake will be different from the original designer.<\/p>\n
For example:\u00a0 I was asked to recreate the cake on the left which is one of\u00a0Peggy Porschen \u00a0stunning Wedding cakes.\u00a0 The one on the right is the one I recreated.\u00a0 As you can see they are different (mine did also have fresh flowers on too)<\/p>\n
Invest in your business<\/p>\n
We all know that setting up a cake business can be expensive.\u00a0 Not only do you have cake tins to purchase you will also need the cake decorating tools. When I first started, some of my cake tins were second hand which I still have to this day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You can often find tools that can be used for cake decorating in DIY stores or craft shops that aren\u2019t sold as cake tools<\/p>\n
For example \u2013 Paint palettes these are perfect for making flowers and shaping flower petals.<\/p>\n
Plastic scrubbing brush \u2013 great for grass, sand and snow texture.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no need to buy every cake tool you see as the chances are you\u2019ll not use them.\u00a0 You need to look at the tool and say to yourself \u2018do I really need it and would I use it.\u2019 If the answer is no,\u00a0 PUT IT BACK ON THE SHELF\u00a0<\/p>\n
You need to\u00a0 buy tools that will help you to be creative and make your cakes stand out from the crowd.<\/p>\n
If you feel that you need help with your cake skills, there are many local and online cake decorating and Sugarcraft schools that you can sign up to.<\/p>\n
If you would like to see what cake classes we offer please see\u00a0HERE<\/p>\n
Presentation<\/p>\n
To me this again is something that I take pride in.\u00a0 Now don\u2019t get me wrong I\u2019m not saying that others don\u2019t but to me the end result is what your potential client will see.<\/p>\n
Ribbon your board \u2013 this may not seem that important but can make a huge difference.\u00a0 You can tie the colour of the ribbon with the design on the cake- something that will enhance or bring out the colours on the cake.\u00a0 You can see in the image below I used a lilac colour which was also part of the cake design.<\/p>\n
Photographs \u2013 you want to get these right as in, if you post a pic on your website or social media and it\u2019s blurry , this won\u2019t get much attention.\u00a0 Whereas if you have a good quality and well presented picture of your cake it will stand out from the crowd!<\/p>\n
Gone are the days where we just plonk the cake on the table and hope for the best, taking pictures of your cakes is something of an art within itself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Backdrops<\/p>\n
Get a backdrop \u2013 try not to get anything too fussy as this will distract the eye from the cake<\/p>\n
There are many that you can buy and to start with you\u2019ll only need the one as you can use the reverse side too!<\/p>\n
You can also use wallpaper especially on the smaller cakes.\u00a0 Again try to keep it quite plain as you want to show off your cake not the wallpaper, a brick wall is a great backing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some examples:<\/p>\n
TOP TIP : Go and get wallpaper samples from your local DIY store they\u2019re\u00a0 free!<\/p>\n
Try different backings with your cake as what you think will look great doesn\u2019t always show off your cake.<\/p>\n
You can see in the below picture what I mean.\u00a0 I really thought that the black one would be best but as you can see the White one showed it off more, so that\u2019s the one I used.<\/p>\n
You can get backdrops from The Cake Decorating Company, Cake Stuff or Vanilla Valley<\/p>\n
I hope you have found this useful in helping you make your cakes stand out from the crowd<\/p>\n
Till next time<\/p>\n
Carol<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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