Because this week is the start of the NFL Playoffs and the Superbowl will be here before you know it, I have put together a collection of football themed, cake decorating supplies. Click the arrows to view.

New Year's Eve has to be one of the hardest holidays to decorate a cake for. Here are a few ideas to help get you started.


New Year's Baby - To make, use the Wilton Bear Pan. Of course you will need to make adjustments to the details to suit your theme.




New Year Streamer Cake




Champagne Bottle - To make, use the Wilton Baby Bottle Cake pan.





Clock Cake - This cake would look great with Roman Numerals...and minus the retirement references of course.

Can I decorate with ganache icing? Can you freeze buttercream icing? How many batches of icing and cake mix do I need? How long can you freeze a cake?

These are just some of the cake decorating questions people are asking in their Google searches. It may be difficult to find answers to these specific questions but not anymore. Piece of Cake Decorating is now offering a Q & A Forum. This is the place to ask any cake question you may have. We will even help you brainstorm ideas. So be sure to visit us at http://pieceofcakedecoratin.forumotion.net.

Today I came across a blog about decoupage art. It is called Handmade by Decoupage Art. Seeing this site gave me a new ideas for our edible photo images. Our images can easily be cut using a sharp knife and applied to cake as decoupage art. They are easily attached using a small amount of water and can be applied to either buttercream or fondant icings. Above I have given you ideas found on the Lucks Food Decorating Company Website.

Inspiration comes from everywhere. Today I read two blogs that motivated me to do something great. I'm Still Standing and Confessions of a Playground Princess are two wonderful blogs written by a truly inspiring women. Do not miss out on these great reads.

After reading these blogs I started doing a little research and came across a wonderful, cake oriented, charity. It is called Free Cakes for Kids and they believe, as do I, that every child deserves a birthday cake. That is why it is their mission to help make birthdays special for as many children as possible. This group is 100% non-profit and made up of volunteer bakers from all over the country. You do not need to own a bakery to help support this cause, just a big heart and a love for baking. Every day these volunteers are creating amazing cakes for children that would not otherwise have one. If you love baking and are looking for a way to help make the world a better place, check out www.freecakesforkids.com and find out how you can become a volunteer.

In this guide you will be given step-by-step instructions on how to decorate this cute vampire cake.

I know it seems early but Halloween will be here before you know it. If you are planning a party this year, don't forget the cake! Between HBO's True Blood and the Twilight series, Vampires are all the rage right now. Here is an easy vampire cake that just about anyone can do.

To make this cake you will need...

2 10 inch round cakes
Green, black, yellow/gold and white buttercream icing
4 Tips # 5

Recommended products: It is very difficult to make true black. When I only need a small amount like this, I always buy pre-made black icing.



***Decorator's tip*** If you do not have four #5 tips, do not worry. You will get the same effect using tips #4 or 6. If you do not want to use a tip at all, just cut the end of the piping bag to size. It will work just as well but your lines will not be as tight. This techniques works best for piping the eyes and nose because of their shape.


Directions:



Step 1

Level, tort and fill the cakes. They can be placed on a 12 or 14 inch cake board. In this picture, the cake is placed on a large cake board with Pillsbury Pumpkin Sugar Cookies scattered around for added decoration. Ice the cake with your green buttercream icing.



Step 2

Using a toothpick, outline the vampire's hair. Next, using tip #5 and black buttercream icing, pipe the outline of the hair and fill in with tight lines.


***Decorator's Tip*** To smooth out the striped effect you get from filling in an outline using a piping bag, simply put a little cornstarch on your finger and gently pat it flat. Most of the cornstarch will fade into the icing but the excess can be brushed away with a decorating brush.

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Step 3

Using tip # 5 and yellow icing, pipe the eyes on the cake. Add the pupils using the extra black icing.



Step 4

Using tip # 5 and green icing, pipe the nose. Next, add the mouth and eyebrows with the left over black icing and the teeth (tip #5) with white icing.

Royal icing or chocolate colored yellow, brown, black, and gold for hair and crown.



Directions:



Step 1

A few days in advance you need to make the fondant faces and chocolate work. To make the headboard, draw a template on a white piece of paper. Tape down template onto flat surface and cover with wax paper. Next, melt the white candy melts and pour in a piping bag. Pipe the white chocolate on your template.

*Decorator's Tip* Pipe the spindles for the headboard as thick as you can. Chocolate is very delicate.

Option #2 for the headboard: If you look behind the white headboard you can see a silver board in the same shape. Because the chocolate was do delicate, I placed the silver headboard behind the chocolate one. If my client wasn't insistent on the chocolate headboard I would have left the silver one by itself. To make the silver headboard I cut foam core board to shape and covered it with Wilton Fanci Foil.

Step 2: Make the faces

The faces are made of fondant circles died tan (fondant can also be purchased tan) I used royal icing to make the hair, bows and crown. Chocolate can also be used to make these features. I used black icing for the eyes and pink icing for the mouth.

Step 3

Level off and fill the cakes. Cover the cake with buttercream. On the sides of the cake, use a star tip and pipe vertical stripes to look like a bed skirt.

Step 4

The bodies under the blanket are made with fondant. Shape the fondant to look like a fat hot dog and space them on the cake as needed, leaving room at the top for the head. Roll out a long strip of fondant to make a very long pillow. The heads will eventually rest on this strip.

Step 5

Die the fondant pink and roll it out large enough to cover the top and part of the sides of the cake. Clean up the edges of the fondant by trimming it with a pizza cutter or knife.

Step 6

Lay fondant blanket over the top of the bed. Carefully press the fondant down between the fondant bodies to give the appearance of the girls laying in the bed.

Step 7

Place heads on the cake. In my cake the birthday girl is wearing a crown. It is held on the head with royal icing.

Step 8

Place headboard on cake. It is secured in the back with extra buttercream icing.

*Decorator's tip* If you are transporting the cake you may want to wait until you arrive at the party to place the headboard on the cake.

Step 9

Pipe large circle dots on the blanket.

This is all you need to make the flowers. For best results, mix the gum paste with some fondant so it does not dry as quickly. The flower kit is a great investment for any cake decorator. Trust me, you will use this more than once.

Directions:

1) Bake, tort, and level your cakes. To ensure proper support you will need to put 2 cakes on a cardboard cake divider. So, stack the first two cakes on the silver cake board, the next to cakes on a cardboard divider and the last cake on another divider. (See our post on How to Place Dowels in a Cake if you are unsure how to place dowels in a cake.)

***Decorator’s Tip*** Cut and tape wax paper on the bottom of your cardboard dividers so they don’t stick to the cake below it.

2) Place 4 wooden dowels equally around the cake on the silver cake board. Place the 2 cakes on the cardboard divider on top.

3) Sharpen 4 more dowels and put them equally around the cake. This time you will use a hammer to hit the dowel through the cardboard divider and to the silver cake board so be sure to place the dowels so that they will not hit the dowels below them.

4) Place the last cake and divider on top. Then sharpen one last dowel and drive it through the center of all of the cakes until you hit the silver cake board. This will keep the cake from tipping over.

5) Cover the entire cake with white butter cream icing.

6) Cut thin strips of black fondant and place them on the cake to match the picture.

7) Place flowers around the cake.

***Decorator’s Tip*** If you are delivering this cake, it is best to wait until you arrive at your destination to place the flowers on the cake.

3D Wilton Cruiser Pan
Large rectangular cake board
Tips # 2, 3 and 5
Red and black fondant
Red gumpaste
Thick Wire
Tan, white, orange, yellow, and black buttercream icing
Blue tinted piping gel
Crushed graham crackers
Rice Krispie Treats
Plastic cacti








Another item that will help decorate this cake is an airbrush. You will be able to cover the car in white fondant then airbrush it red. It will save you a great deal of time.

Directions for the "novice" cake:

****Please keep in mind that by using the cake mold listed above, your cake may not look exactly like Lightning McQueen because, while this mold gives you a car shape, it is not his exact shape.****


Step 1

A few days in advance, make the spoiler out of red gumpaste and place 4 thick wires
into the spoiler as it dries (the longer the better). These wires will hold the spoiler on the
cake.


Step 2

Bake the 3D Cruiser cake and freeze. To get the cake to look more like Lightning McQueen, you will need to trim cake off the top and possibly the hood to give it more of a curve.


Step 3

Once you are happy with the shape of the cake, ice the entire car with buttercream icing.


Step 4

Cover the cake with fondant. You can either cover the cake with red fondant or cover the cake with white fondant and airbrush the whole cake red.


Step 5

Use the white buttercream and tip #3 or 5 to pipe on the windows. 

****Decorator’s Tip**** Use a toothpick to outline all of the windows and the lightning bolt onto the car.


Step 6

Outline all of the windows with the black icing and tip # 2.


Step 7

Repeat the above two steps to pipe on the large lighting bolts, head lights, tail lights, and the large number on top, using yellow and orange or white buttercream (colors will depend on what you are piping).


Step 8

With tip #2 and black icing, pipe numbers on the sides of the car as well as the passenger side headlight and tail light.


Step 9

With tip #2 and yellow icing, pipe the child’s name to resemble the Rusteeze logo.


Step 10

With tip #2 and blue piping gel pipe on eyes. Be careful, as the piping gel will run if you use too much. Finally, add the pupil on the eyes with a small black dot.


Step 11

The only part that is left of the car is to make the wheels. To do this, cut circles out of Rice Krispie Treats and cover with black fondant. You can also cover with white fondant and airbrush them black. Add a red circle to the center of the wheel and pipe the word Lightyear onto the wheels. Once the car is sitting on the bottom cake you can place the wheels onto the cake. The exact size of the wheels will vary depending on the size of your wheel well. My wheels fit so snugly that I was able to place them into the well and they did not fall.


Step 12

Finally, bake, level and fill the 2 14x11 cakes. Place onto the large rectangular cake board and cover with tan icing. Next, sprinkle the crushed graham crackers on top to look like sand. Place 4 dowels into the cake to support the car. The placement of the dowels will depend on the placement of the car. Just be sure to use 2 dowels for the front of the car and two for the back.


Step 13

Place the wheels and spoiler onto the car and put the cacti onto the large cake.

****Decorator’s Tip**** If you are having trouble getting the spoiler to stay up you can take 4 lollipop sticks and place them behind the spoiler for support. Cover these sticks with black or gray buttercream. If you look at the original Lightning McQueen, you will see he has something similar on the back of his spoiler.

**Decorators Tip** Use couplers when piping on this cake. A coupler will allow you to change tips without changing piping bags.

Directions:

Step 1:

Level, tort, and fill cakes. Next, place the 10 inch cake along the back edge of the silver cake board and cover with light brown buttercream icing. Then, place the 8 inch cake on the cardboard cake board and cover with light brown buttercream icing but do not place on top of 10 inch cake yet.

Step 2:

Place 4 wooden dowels towards the back center of the 10 inch cake. You will need to stick the dowels in to measure, then take them out and cut to size. Once cut put them back into the cake. These will help support the top tier. **Place the dowels in a small circle, leaving a space in the center for the final dowel. **

Step 3:

Place the 8 inch cake on top of the 10 inch cake and dowels. As mentioned above, put the top tier towards the back of the cake so we are able to add the waterfall later.

Step 4:

With a toothpick, outline the shape of the waterfall and lake at the top. Once you are happy with the outline, pipe blue buttercream icing onto the cake with tip number 3 (make sure to use a coupler). To make the icing look like flowing water, take your spatula and make the icing uneven. Now change to the star tip and pipe the splashing water at the bottom of each tier.

Step 5:

Using your other tip 3 and a coupler, pipe green vines on the side of the cake. Then, change to your leaf tip and pipe leaves on the vines. Switch again to your grass tip and pipe grass around the edge of each cake and around the lake and waterfall.

Step 6:

With the gray buttercream icing and tip 5, pipe rocks around the lake and waterfall. Finally place the animals, Diego, and trees on the cake.

Directions:

*Decorator's Tip* To make a colorful cake board I simply use foam core board covered in wrapping paper and cellophane.
Make the olives by shaping the green fondant into an oval and place a small indent on each side. Then, using tip #2 pipe red icing into each indent to make the pimento. 




Reader photos using this guide...