Cake decorating does not have to be limited to holidays and special events, such as a change of command or a retirement. Some commands honor the birthdays of crew members weekly with a decorated cake. This gives the MSs frequent opportunities to practice and develop their skills at cake decorating.

The first important step in cake decorating is to have a frosting of the type and consistency required to make the desired shapes. Decorators' frosting and cream frostings are suitable. Frostings used for decorating should be stiffer than those used for spreading.

Decorating Equipment

The second important step in cake decorating is to have the equipment needed: cones, tips, tubes, and coloring.

CONES.- The cones used for cake decorating may be either pastry bags purchased to fit commercial tubes, or they maybe made from paper. Paper cones are easily made, are disposable, and are sanitary. The best paper used to make a cone is parchment paper. Heavy waxed paper also can be used, although it is less rigid and, therefore, more difficult to handle. Several cones can be filled with different frosting colors to be used alternatively in decoration.

TUBES.- There are many kinds and sizes of metal tubes (tips) available. They can be selected from those in standard stock or purchased to fit individual requirements. By varying the colors of the frosting and the sizes of the metal tips, a wide variety of decorations can be made. Borders can be plain or elaborate, depending on the tube used. Writing should be carefully planned before starting so it will be well centered.

An open star metal tip is used to make shell, rope, and heavier ridged borders or small flowers. Examples of various tips and the designs they make are shown in the NAVSUP P-421.

FOOD COLORINGS.- Food colorings are available in paste and liquid forms. A little coloring goes a long way. Food coloring paste will give dark shades when desired, but will not thin the frosting. Liquid colorings will thin icings and will provide only pastel shades.

To color frosting, first blend the coloring into a small amount of frosting. Then add this blend gradually to the rest of the frosting until the desired shade is obtained. Use paste shades. Dark colors, such as bright red, blue, and green, should be used only for accents and for holiday cakes.

Secondary colors may be obtained by blending primary colors:

Blue and yellow make green.

Yellow and red make orange.

Red and blue make violet.

By shading violet with blue, purple is obtained; violet with red yields a reddish violet. By using red or orange, you can make red or yellow-orange by shading orange with either red or yellow. Blue-green will result when green is shaded with yellow or blue.

Try to keep icing colors as close to nature as possible by leaning toward pastels. If you must use bright colors, use them sparingly, as accents mostly, and for children's and holiday cakes. Concentrated paste colors are best to use. They give you dark shades when you want them and will not thin icings as liquids sometimes do.

Decorating Techniques

The NAVSUP P-421 extensively describes decorating techniques, examples of various decorator designs, and includes exercises devised to give you practice.

Frostings

Frostings add to the appearance and flavor of cakes and help to keep them moist. Some cakes, such as pound cake and fruitcake, are generally served without frosting, but most cakes require some kind of frosting or glaze. Jelly rolls are filled with jelly or cream filling, and powdered sugar is sprinkled on top.

FROSTING INGREDIENTS.-Ingredients used to prepare frostings include liquids, sugar, fat, flavoring, and salt.

Liquids.-Liquids make the frostings soft enough to spread. Milk water, coffee, and various fruit juices are the liquids specified in frosting recipes.

Sugar.- The kinds of sugar used to make frostings are granulated, brown, powdered (confectioner's), and blended syrup (corn and refiner's). Powdered sugar is preferable in uncooked frosting because it is fine grained and dissolves rapidly. Blended syrup prevents the formation of large crystals that cause graininess in cooked frostings. If too much syrup is used, it will keep cooked frostings from hardening.

Fat.- Butter is the fat ingredient usually specified in the AFRS frostings.

Flavoring.- The AFRS frosting recipes specify vanilla flavoring, but other kinds of flavoring may be substituted where they would be appropriate for the flavor of the cake. Some of the flavorings available are imitation almond, banana, brandy, black walnut, cherry, lemon, maple, orange, peppermint, pineapple, and rum.

Salt.- Salt is an important ingredient in frostings because it brings out the other flavors.

UNCOOKED  FROSTINGS.- Uncooked frostings are easy and quick to prepare. All ingredients should be blended at room temperature. Powdered sugar is the major ingredient in cream frostings; other basic ingredients are softened butter and liquid. The secret of a good uncooked frosting is thorough creaming until the product is light and fluffy. If frosting is too thick, add a little liquid. If too tin, add additional powdered sugar until the desired consistency is obtained. More flavoring may be required to prevent a flat sugar taste.

Decorator's frosting, a very hard uncooked frosting, is used to make decorative or special occasion cakes. It is suitable for making designs, flowers, latticework, or other forms. The decorations can be set on waxed paper to dry and then removed and placed on the cake. Because this type of frosting dries rapidly, unused portions should be covered. Royal frosting is better to use for decorating than other frostings that are softer and might run or weep.

COOKED FROSTINGS.- Temperature is very important in cooked frostings. Follow the directions given for cooked frostings in the AFRS. For best results, cakes with cooked frostings should be used on the same day they are prepared.

CAKE FROSTING PROCEDURES.- Cakes should be completely cooled, but not chilled before frosting. This prevents the cake from breaking when frosting is spread over it. Remove loose crumbs. The consistence y of the frosting should be such that it spreads easily, but is not so thin that it runs off. The cake should be frosted far enough ahead of time (an hour or more) to allow the frosting to set before it is served.

To frost a cake, space six equal portions of frosting evenly over the center of the cake. Using a spatula, spread the frosting to the same thickness across the top and to the edges of the cake. The AFRS has guidelines for preparing frosting and for frosting all types of cakes.

TOPPINGS, GLAZES, AND FILLINGS.Toppings, glazes, and fillings, or a combination of these, can enhance the flavor, texture, and appearance of cakes. Some cakes are identified by the toppings or glazes. Pineapple, or other fruit, combined with brown sugar and melted butter and covered with yellow cake batter makes upside-down cakes. Shortcake are made by serving fruit and whipped topping with plain cake. Gingerbread is usually served with whipped topping or lemon sauce. Boston cream pie is a cake with a cream filling and covered with chocolate glaze. To make jelly rolls, sponge cake is spread with jelly, rolled, and cut in slices. Vanilla glaze topping may be spread over angel food cakes or drizzled over bundt-type cakes such as chocolate macaroon cake. Ice-cream toppings and powdered sugar may be served with pound cakes for variation.