Sugar plaques can be made a number of ways but the easiest is to use an edible image.  Below you will find the steps taken to make Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz cake pictured above.

You will need...





white gumpaste
edible image(s)
Exacto Knife
piping gel
decorator's brush
2 wooden dowels (optional)
white candy metls (optional)






Directions:

Step 1





Using a Exacto Knife, cut out your image and remove it from the backing paper.








Step 2

Roll out you gumpaste to at least 1/4 thick.  You can make it thicker but it will take longer to dry.

***Decorator's Tip*** It is important to use white gumpaste because it will not take away from the color of your image. Gumpaste will also harden faster than fondant.


Step 3

Place your rolled out gumpaste on a cake board or cookie sheet.  This will ensure your image does not tare or become distorted.  Then, with a brush, cover the back of your image with piping gel.

***Decorator's Tip*** Make sure you apply the piping gel as close to the edge as you can.


Once your image is covered, place it on the gumpaste and cut it out using your Exacto Knife.

***Decorator's Tip*** Notice how I have left a strip of gumpaste hanging below the image.  This is an optional step.  It was done because Emerald City will be standing up on the cake and I wanted the sugar plaque to sit in the cake a bit so it would survive delivery.





Step 4 (optional)




After a day or two, the gumpaste will be dry enough to add dowels to the back.  To do this you melt white candy melts and coat the top of your dowels.  Place the dowels on the back of your image at the appropriate height.  For extra security, add a little more chocolate over the dowels and let dry.







You are now ready to place your plaque(s) on your cake!

This cute snowman is one of my favorite holiday/winter cakes. In this guide you will learn how to make a snowman completely out of cake. I will also cover how to make his gumpaste Christmas hat and scarf. If you have the right cake pans, it is very easy to make.

To make this cake you will need...

Betty Crocker Bake 'n Fill Cake Pan (or a large and small Wilton Ball Pan)
2 large half ball cakes and 2 small ball inserts (when you read the directions, this will make sense)
7-8 cupcakes
large rectangular cake board or foam board
plastic shopping bags
small dowel or lollipop stick
1 large sharpened dowel
plastic wrap
tip #5
fondant icing
gumpaste (brown and orange)
white buttercream icing
1 tube of pre-made black icing
coconut shavings


Directions


Step 1

A few days in advance make the brown stick arms and orange nose out of gumpaste. Before the nose dries be sure to stick a small dowel or lollipop stick in the back.

***Decorator's Tip*** You can use colored gumpaste to make these pieces or use white gumpaste and airbrush the color on.


Step 2

To make the hills on the cake board, crumble up the plastic bags and tape them down on the cake board. Then cover the entire board with plastic wrap and ice with white buttercream icing. Finally, sprinkle the coconut shavings around the board to give the effect of fallen snow.

***Decorator's Tip*** Be sure to leave the area where the snowman will sit completely flat. If he is tilting just a little he could fall over.


Step 3

Bake 2 half ball cakes and 2 small half ball inserts. With the Betty Crocker Pan you have a small ball baking inside a large ball. The small ball is supposed to act as a filler for the large ball and it is baked this way so that all of the cake cooks evenly.

You will need to use the small inserts for the body so that the cake has proper support. The 2 extra inserts you bake will become the head of the snowman.


Step 4

Place all of the ball halves together to make 1 large and 1 small ball and ice with white buttercream icing.

The easiest way to ice a ball cake is to ice the bottom first, place it on the board, then ice the top. Follow these steps for both the large and small cakes. Once the cakes are iced and stacked, immediately hammer a sharpened dowel through the center of the snowman.

***Decorator's Tip*** For added support, trim off a small amount of cake from the top of the large ball and the bottom of the small ball. Also try to slightly hammer the dowel into the cake board.


Step 5

Decorate the snowman.

To make the scarf, roll out red fondant and cut a long rectangle and two small rectangles. These smaller rectangles will be the small hanging pieces of the scarf and should be placed on first. Pleat one end of the small rectangles and place them off to one side of the snowman. Next, take the long rectangle piece and wrap it around the neck of the snowman. Make sure to leave the seam in the back.

***Decorator's tip*** The imprints on the cake were made using the fondant decorative punch set like the one below but do not press all the way through the fondant.




To make the hat, roll out red fondant and cut a large semi-circle. Fold the semi-circle to make a cone shape and place it on the snowman's head. To make the fluffy white rim, ice with buttercream icing then, lightly press your spatula into the icing and pull away. You can also add a ball to the tip of your hat with buttercream icing.

To make the face, pipe on the eyes and mouth using the black tube of icing and tip #5. Finally, add the nose and arms to the cake.


Step 5

Make the presents.

Ice the cupcakes and cover them in fondant. To decorate you can cover them in colored fondant or airbrush white fondant to the desired color.

To get the stripes on my presents I brushed stripes of water onto the fondant and rolled them in green decorating sugar.

Finally, stack the presents to your liking.

This guide focuses on how to make the penguin (step 4). You can place your penguin on an iceberg wearing a scarf or have him stand alone to create a winter theme. Make him a birthday penguin by adding a party hat to his head (contact us for information on how to purchase a gumpaste party hat through Piece of Cake Decorating). Here I have added a test tube, beaker, goggles, tie, and partial periodic table create a science penguin (contact us for information on how to purchase these gumpaste items through Piece of Cake Decorating). In other words, you are not limited to what you see here.

To make this cake you will need....

Wilton Bear Pan
Yellow, blue and black gumpaste (you can use white and airbrush later)
Large rectangle cake board
8 inch round cardboard cake divider
2 1/2 Sheet Cakes
White, Black, and Yellow buttercream icing
Tips #2, 3, 5, 12 (x2) and 32
Wooden dowels
Lollipop sticks
Gumpaste beaker, test tube, and goggles






Directions:


Step 1

A few days in advance make your wings, beak, test tube, beaker, and goggles out of gumpaste. See pictures below for tips on the wings and beak. Contact us for information on how to purchase the goggles, test tube and beaker from Piece of Cake Decorating.

*Please note that I have made my gumpaste decorations white and painted them later with an airbrush.*


Level, tort, fill and stack your 1/2 sheet cakes. Next, ice your 1/2 sheet cake with white buttercream icing and pipe on as much of the periodic table as you can fit using tip #3 for the lines/letters, tip # 2 for the numbers, and black buttercream icing. The boarder was piped using tip #32.


***Decorator's Tip*** Make this step even easier and order an edible image from Piece of Cake Decorating.


Step 3


Measure, cut and place wooden dowels where your penguin will be sitting.


Step 4

To make the penguin, bake pound cake in your Wilton Bear Pan. I use pound cake because it is denser. Therefore, it will hold up the wings and beak better. Once your bear cake is baked, cut off the arms and face. Refer to the picture below as a guide.


***Decorator's Tip*** Freeze the cake over night to minimize crumbs and ensure cleaner cuts when carving.


Step 5

Using my original picture as a guide, ice the body with black icing. Be sure to leave the face, belly and feet uncovered.


Step 6

Using tip #5 and white buttercream icing, pipe the outline of the face/belly. You can either fill in the remaining space using a spatula or a piping bag and smooth it when you are done.


Step 7

Next, ice the feet with yellow buttercream icing.


Step 8

Using blue fondant or gumpaste, make the penguin's tie.


Step 9

Using tip #12 and black icing, pipe the eyes on the penguin. Then, re-use tip #2 to write on the tie.


Step 10

Carefully place the penguin on the cake and hammer a sharpened dowel through the center of the penguin. You can then add the wings and beak to the penguin. Next, add the gumpaste decorations and use tip #12 and white buttercream icing to make bubbles coming out of the beaker.

This guide will give you step-by-step instructions on how to place the edible image on the side of the cake and how to decorate the top to look like a baseball field.

If you are having a Playoff or World Series party, here is a great and easy idea for a baseball cake. I made this cake for a Mets fan and used an edible image on the sides.

Please note that if you are interested in using an edible image as I have here, I am unable to sell pictures of any copyrighted material. This means that I cannot sell images of team logos. If you are still interested, I can create a pinstripe with or without the team name.

To make this cake you will need...

2 Square cakes the size of your choice
1 Square cake board approximately 2-4 inches larger than the cake
White and Green buttercream icing (you will also need a small amount of icing in the team's color)
Tip #233 a.k.a. the grass tip
Tip # 2, 3 and 5
2 edible transfer images
Crushed animal crackers
Baseball player toppers




Directions


Step 1

Level, tort and fill your cakes. Place them in the center of your cake board and ice the sides with white buttercream icing. Once covered, place your edible image on the side of the cake.


***Decorator's tip*** By using white on the sides, you will not change the color of your image once the paper melts into your icing. If you have ordered this image from us, you will need to trim the picture to fit the size of your cake. Also spray the side of the cake lightly so the paper will melt into the icing, leaving a seamless transition. All other instructions will be included in your shipment.


Step 2

With green icing, ice a small area on top of the cake so the animal cracker crumbs have something to stick to. Then, using tip # 3, pipe a barrier for the crushed animal crackers around the base lines as well as a hill in the middle for a pitcher's mound. Then crush the animal crackers and place them on the pitchers mound and in your marked off area.


***Decorator's Tip*** It is important to decorate in this order so that any loose crumbs won't ruin your cake.



Step 3

Using tip # 233, pipe the grass on top of the cake. Then using tip #5, pipe a boarder in your team's colors ; I have used orange. Then use that same color and tip #2 or 3 to pipe your message on top. Finally, place the baseball players on top.

Here is a super easy Halloween Pumpkin cake. In this guide you will learn how to stack the cakes and decorate in order to recreate this Jack-o-lantern. If you are looking to challenge yourself, cover the cake in orange fondant.

To make this cake you will need...

2 cakes baked in a bunt pan
Orange, green and black buttercream icing
Small paper or plastic cup
Round cake board



Directions

Step 1

Make sure the tops and the bottoms of the cakes are flat so the cake doesn't tip when it is decorated. Place the cakes on the cake board then fill and cover with orange buttercream icing.

***Decorator's Tip*** Place the bottom cake on the cake board so the smaller part is down and the larger part is up. The top cake has the large part on the bottom and the small part facing up. There is really only 1 way to do this so the cake looks like a pumpkin.

Step 2

Cover the small cup with green buttercream icing and place on top of the cake.


Step 3

Using black buttercream icing (or a tube of black) and tip # 3 or 4, pipe the face.

***Decorator's Tip*** If you don't trust yourself piping free hand, first draw the face with a toothpick.

That's it, 3 simple steps and you have a Jack-o-Lantern Cake. Now that you have extra time on your hands, you should check out a great blog for the crafter at heart. Destination Handmade has a little bit for everyone.

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.