Decorate Your Cake

A cake just wouldn’t be a cake without icing, but did you know there are many different types of icing? If you want to make your cake really attractive then keep in mind that only some types of icing will work with certain cake designs.Flavor is also a consideration and the type of icing flavor should complement the type of cake you've baked.

 These are the Seven most common type of icing:-

Flat icing is one of the most simple icings. The basic ingredients of flat icing are powdered sugar and water. Simple flat icings form the glaze on rolls, danishes and other pastries and can be flavored with fruit or spices to add a new taste to the pastry.

Foam icing comes in a variety of flavors and has a soft, fluffy appearance. A meringue is made of whipped egg whites with a flavored syrup added. Marshmallow foam is a common foam icing, but other flavors such as chocolate or vanilla can also be added to the meringue.
   

Fondant icing gives a cake or pastry an elegant appearance and is popular for wedding cakes and other show pieces. Fondant icing is simply sugar and water, with either glucose or cream of tartar used to produce the proper crystallization to give it a smooth, almost porcelain look.

Fudge icing is thick and rich with a strong chocolate flavor. Other flavors, such as almond, peanut butter or mint, are often added. Using both butter and shortening, , corn syrup sugar and a variety of other ingredients, fudge icing can be somewhat time consuming to prepare, but the finished product is stable and can be refrigerated and used at a later time.

Royal icing is similar to flat icing, but adds egg whites to produce a thicker icing which hardens to a brittle texture. Royal icing can be used to make beautiful, artistic decorations because it hardens when dried, but the same property makes it less enjoyable to eat.   Royal icing is used primarily for decorative additions to cakes and for show work such as sugar sculptures.

Glazes are thin, watery icings which form a hard, crisp shell when poured or brushed over cakes and pastries. Glazes are usually made with a fruit flavor, although other flavors, such as chocolate or coffee, are sometimes popular as well. Like flat icing, glazes can be used on sweet breakfast pastries like coffee cakes. They add flavor, and also help keep the pastry moist and improve its shelf life