Making a practice cake for experimentation with different techniques is a valuable excercise, especially if you’re planning to make a wedding cake and haven’t had heaps of experience to boost your confidence. There is the added bonus of cake to eat with a good excuse too! This is the cake I used to demonstrate some techniques in last week’s ‘How to make your own wedding cake’ class at the Bertinet Kitchen. Click the ‘Read More’ button for more!
This decorative border is produced with a crimper (scallop, serrated in this case) which you use to pinch the Sugar Paste coating. It can be left as it is but for this design I’ve finished the edges with cake decorators’ gold dusting powder let down with vodka, using a small paintbrush. The little flowers are really simple to make with a plunger cutter 
and are attached to the cake with royal icing which is also piped into the centres. The gold ribbon finishes the look, again attached with royal icing. I particularly like the way that everyone has a little flower on their slice with this type of decoration.
To make these double-flowers, the smallest size flower is simply stuck inside the biggest size flower, using the set of plunger cutters.
There are plenty of decorative features you can add by using haberdashery trimmings like this daisy lace. The little apple blossoms are made with the plunger cutter, but after it’s cut the petals are thinned out by pressing a ball tool (PME bone modelling tool type) into each petal with the blossom sitting in the palm of your hand. Cake decorators’ dusting colours and a soft paint brush are the best way of achieving a delicate natural look.
Practice helps make perfect!