Just the other day I was baking a few cakes and ran out of vegetable oil.  I had tons of canola oil so I found myself searching for the answer to the question, can you substitute vegetable oil with canola oil?  Thankfully the answer is YES!

Of course you want to use the exact ingredients of a recipe when you can but if you need a quick substitution for vegetable oil then canola oil is a safe bet.  My cakes baked and tasted exactly the same.  The reason this works is that canola oil is a type of vegetable oil.  The difference is that vegetable oil is made up of many different oils while canola oil just uses the one.

So, if you find yourself running short on vegetable oil don't worry.  Canola oil will work!

The answer is a big Yes!  This was actually a question I received from a reader a few months ago.  Whenever I have limited time or a few orders in a week, I will bake my cakes earlier in the week and freeze them.   Frozen cakes are also much easier to carve.  If you do it correctly, the cake will remain moist.

When freezing a cake, make sure you follow these steps...

• If necessary, level the cakes first.  It will save you time in the long run.  Frozen cakes are also extremely difficult to level off.
• You can stack leveled cakes like I have here.  Notice the wax paper in between each layer.  I also could have filled the cakes before freezing them to save even more time.  
• Wrap your cakes in plastic wrap as tight as you can without changing the shape of your cake. If you are afraid your cakes will absorb the odors of your freezer, place the plastic covered cakes in a brown bag.
• Keep your cakes on a cake board or flat surface.  If you freeze them on something bumpy, your cake will be bumpy when you defrost it.
• NEVER place anything on top of your cakes before they are frozen.  They will never quite go back to their original shape.
• Defrost your cake before covering it with icing...especially fondant.

Recently, Wilton has given me the opportunity to review three items from their line of better baking tools. Over the course of the next few weeks you will see reviews of their Rolling Pin, Cyclone Whisk, and Cake Lifter. Once these products are reviewed I will be holding a giveaway and the winner will receive the product of their choosing. So, keep an eye out for these reviews, take notes, and be sure to enter our giveaway.

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.

There are many products out there that claim to help you bake your cakes level. I like using a combination of 3 methods. I always bake my cakes on a baking stone. The stone helps the cake bake evenly so that it comes out more level and very moist. I also rotate the cake 180 degrees halfway through the baking process. This also helps the cake bake evenly because I do not have a convection oven. Finally I put at least 1 flower nail in each cake. The nail heats up and helps bake the middle of the cake the same as the edges. By putting these three methods together, much less cake is wasted.

Here you will find my three main categories of tricks.  In them you will find some of the things I have learned from experience and have helped me over the years.  Some of them may seem wacky but remember, I do not have any professional training.  Aside from a few Wilton Decorating Classes and Food Network's Cake Challenges, I am completely self taught.

If you can't find what you need here, just e-mail your question to kseals@pieceofcakedecorating.com and I will answer you withing 24 hours and post about it a few days later.

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Icing Tricks



Decorating Tricks





Baking Tricks