The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating by Ruth Clemens Page B

you can peel off the sugarpaste and start again. The used sugarpaste will have to be discarded, as it will be sticky with buttercream, but you can re-smooth your frosting layer, chill the cake again and roll out some new sugarpaste to cover the cake.
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    “If something is going wrong and getting you in a tizz, take a deep breath, put the kettle on and have a cup of tea before carrying on! Taking a breather gives you the time to think about how to put things right.”
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Glossary
    •  Buttercream/frosting – used to secure sugarpaste (rolled fondant) icing to cupcakes and to prepare a cake for covering with sugarpaste.
    •  Cake board – also referred to as cake drums, 12mm ( 1 ⁄ 2 in) thick. A solid non-edible base for cakes. Can be used covered with sugarpaste to complement your theme, or uncovered.
    •  Cake card – thin foil-covered card used to mount cakes on for support when moving or when creating tiered cakes.
    •  Cutters – cutters come in all sorts of shapes and sizes from the regular round and fluted cutters to decorative shapes such as blossoms and butterflies. Used for creating cookie shapes and for sugarpaste decorations, cutters can also have plunger ejectors often used with very small shapes, which release cut out shapes easily for you.
    •  Double-sided tape – used to secure ribbon around the edges of cake boards.
    •  Dowels – plastic or wooden rods, used to provide support within tiered cakes.
    •  Dragees – sugar shapes, (e.g. balls and hearts) used for decoration adding a touch of sparkle, can be found in many many colours and sizes.
    •  Edible glue – ready-made edible glue can be used in place of water. It is much stronger and a good investment if you’ll be decorating regularly.
    •  Edible lustre dusts and glitters – as the name suggests these are edible non-toxic powders and glitters that you can get in every colour under the sun. A great way to add a touch of glitz to a cake.
    •  Embossing – imprinting sugarpaste gently with cutters or other items such as buttons to create a subtle pattern.
    •  Florists’ wire – available in white, silver, gold and a range of colours. Thicknesses vary from #20 (thickest) to #28 (thinnest). A medium-gauge wire (#24) is ideal for most tasks. Used to create wired cake toppers or stems for sugarcraft flowers. Available to buy from florists and cake-decorating suppliers.
    •  Gel paste colours – used to colour sugarpaste and royal icing. They are extremely intense colouring and you will only need to use a small amount. These colours do not greatly alter the consistency of icing in the same way liquid colours will.
    •  Greaseproof (wax) paper – a non-stick baking parchment paper used to line tins (pans). Also used for transferring templates onto cakes.
    •  Icing smoother – a flat smooth plastic tool, similar to a paddle and used to polish covered cakes and boards providing a super smooth, glossy finish.
    •  Icing (confectioners’) sugar – used to prevent sugarpaste from sticking to work surfaces and as an ingredient in royal icing and buttercream.
    •  Marzipan – an almond paste used with fruit cakes. A marzipan layer is applied to a fruit cake first before covering with sugarpaste. This seals in moisture and stops the fruit from staining through onto the sugarpaste layer.
    •  Non-stick mat – using one of these to roll out your sugarpaste on will greatly cut down the need for dusting with icing (confectioners’) sugar (and will help when it comes to clearing up too!).
    •  Nozzles – also known as tips. They come in a variety of sizes and are used in conjunction with a piping (pastry) bag to pipe royal icing or buttercream. You may like to buy a basic set (I frequently use small round nozzles 1, 2 and 3) and then add more to your collection as needed. Look for seam-free ones for faultless piping.
    •  Paintbrushes – Soft brushes, flat or round, are extremely useful