Tag: Beautiful

A Few Cake Decorating Ideas

Did you know that the first cakes baked in America where small loaves of sweet bread? Look how far we have come. Home bakers should not be intimidated by the elaborate cakes being made today. You do not need to be a pastry chef to make beautiful cakes, you just need the know-how and practice. Of course the right tools will go a long way in your cake decorating endeavors. Here are a few ideas you might like to try.

Every cake worth merit starts with a smooth icing. The cake needs to cool completely before they are iced and decorated. To keep crumbs from ending up in your icing and ruining the look of your cake, start with a thin base coat of frosting that is not quite as stiff as the regular layer will be. Once this coat is on, set the cake in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. This will set the icing and any crumbs will be caught in this first layer. Now you can spread a regular layer of icing without worrying about crumbs.

Use an icing spatula to apply and smooth the second coat of icing. Once the icing is on the cake, start smoothing on the sides by running the spatula around the perimeter of the cake. One trick for smoothing the frosting is to dip the metal icing spatula in cold water, this will aid in smoothing the frosting. To smooth the top, dip the spatula in cold water and holding it horizontally over the top of the cake. Start at the point farthest from you, holding the spatula in both hands, skim the top of the icing by bringing the spatula straight toward you.

Simple Designs

Some cake decorators say learning to smooth the icing is the hardest part of cake decorating. Practice will make you a pro in not time. Once you have it down, show it off, even a cake without many decorations that is clean and smooth will make an perfectly elegant offering.

Instead of icing, cake tops can be dusted with powdered sugar. You can choose to use a stencil for a more decorated appearance, or just the powdered sugar for a clean look.

Edible decorations are a beautiful yet simple cake decorating technique. The use of sprinkles, candy, nuts, and coconut pressed into the icing before it sets, will make your cake stand out.

To apply a textured look for your cake decorating, use a small cardboard comb, available in baking supply stores.

Piping is achieved by using a pastry bag fitted with a metal tip that is held on by a coupler. This is your most important tool for cake decorating. You can make lines, words, shells, flowers, and many other designs on the top or sides of the cake. Fill the bag with no more than 1 cup of icing at a time, twist the top of the bag and keep steady pressure when piping the design. Use your other hand to guide the tip. It is wise to find out everything you can about piping before you begin.

Fondant a smooth white paste, is used in complicated cake decorating. Fondant is kneaded and rolled to cover cakes with a sleek smooth layer of icing. It is also used to make designs that are 3-D. It is less tasty than buttercream, but the cake will look sleek and elegant.

What’s Special about Rachel Ray Receipes

Rachel Ray receipes are special because they’re recipes that almost everyone can make. You don’t have to be an expert cook to make many of her 30 minute meals recipes. And even her more complicated recipes are much simpler than you’ll find with some other TV chefs.

With Rachel Ray’s meals, you get a very basic recipe at the core. While some recipes do have a few exotic ingredients that everyone won’t have in the pantry, most do not. This shows that Rachel understands what the average home cook is looking for.

How many times have you been watching a cooking show and been disappointed, This is a common problem with many recipes you’ll find on television. The finished product is beautiful and looks delicious, but only a chef can actually make it!

Often, the recipes are exotic things that few ordinary people would even try. When there are more than a couple of ingredients that you don’t already have, it’s easy to get discouraged. And when there are expensive ingredients that you would buy and never use except for that recipe, it’s unlikely you even want to try it.

Rachel Ray recipes, however, are full of ingredients that are common. Basic ingredients like pasta, vegetables, fruits, cheese, milk, extra virgin olive oil and things you probably have on hand are the staples in her meals.

This makes her recipes easy for almost anyone to try. And usually, when there is an ingredient that you might not have on hand, it’s one that you can use in many other things. Capers, for instance, aren’t something everyone buys. But if you buy them for one recipe, she’ll have several others that use them, too.

This gives even the most inexperienced cook a chance to try something new. Done this way, you won’t be stuck paying a lot of money for an ingredient with one use. This is all too often what happens when you follow other top chef’s recipes.

With Rachel Ray’s recipes, you also don’t have to buy any of her pre-packaged products. While she does have some food products available, like chicken and beef broth, her recipes don’t require that you use them. Rachel Ray’s meals are truly recipes that you can use without special knowledge or brand-name purchases.

It’s also fun to cook along with someone who’s really enthusiastic about the recipes. She actually makes the meals in 30 minutes on the television show. Unlike other cooking shows, nothing is pre-chopped or prepared in advance. So you could actually do the same thing she does and follow along.

If you’re looking for a simple and fast meal, Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals can’t be beat. You can make a main dish, a side dish, and usually a salad and a dessert all in a half an hour. And since the ingredients are mostly common ones, you can find the exact things she uses.

With Rachel Ray receipes that are so simple and easy to follow, everyone should be able to enjoy her fun and healthy 30 minute meals.

Ideas for party favors that will cut your cost

Most people do not think that party favors are important when organizing parties. Before maybe when the country is not in recession but now with the rising costs and uncertain times, it is no longer practical to burn money over something that is basically useless.

But this should not be the case. Party favors need not be something that guests will just store in their attic and forget after just days. They can be functional items that guests can make use of around the house. In these practical times, it is also good to be also practical. Your guests will not only remember your party when they use it, they will even thank you for it because they are using the party favors that you have given them. Although some people are still stuck with the little statuettes and figurines, a lot of people are already getting caught up in the trend of giving party favors that are actually functional around the house or the office.

But how can you do that, buy a beautiful and functional party favor while still staying close to your budget? Well, there are ways and here are some of them:

1. Use what you already have

There are many ways that you can save from your costs while still making sure that you give the best party favor possible. One of the ways is to take items that you already have and turn them into gift items. This will of course take considerable amount of time as well and craft knowhow. You can also make your own gifts by knitting or woodwork. You can use extra rolls of yarn that you have in the house or pieces of plywood that are rotting in the garage. The possibilities are endless.

2. Go for sales and promos

With these tough times more and more shops are offering discounts. So it is not wise to actually buy items in their full price. Wait for sales and promos because shops will surely offer them. This is of course granted that you have time to wait. Thus, it is important that you plan ahead of time so that you will have the luxury of time to still wait for promos. This will not only help you in cutting your costs for your party favors but also for everything that you need for your party including the food and the drinks.

3. Buy in bulk and try thrifts hops

As much as you can, buy items in bulk. You can also go to thrift shops that sell surplus. These will be vastly cheaper and being surpluses they are not exactly pre-owned. They will even be made of good quality materials. Do not be worried that items are not the same for everyone else. They need not be matching just in the same price range and of the same kind. As much as you can try to also stick to the same color palette so that it will not be so evident that they are different.

What you should and should not do when giving party

What you should and should not do when giving party favors

Party favors may not be a priority during these times of economic recession when planning parties but no one will doubt that it makes a party extra special and extra memorable. This is why even while there is no more budget, people still do what they can to at least give a small token that will make guests remember the event. This is after all the purpose of giving party favors, so that guests will have something that will remind them of how happy they have been on that day.

It is thus important that you make sure that you do it right when you give party favors. Although there are really hard and fast rules in giving these gifts, there are things that you should remember and take into consideration. Below are some of the dos and donts of giving party favors.

1. Do include your name, the date and the occasion.

It is important that you put a piece of paper that will have your name, the date and the occasion you are celebrating. This will remind the guests where the gift came from even years after receiving them. Although some people even write the information on the item itself, this is discouraged as this renders the item virtually useless. Who in their right minds will use items that have names on them?

2. Do put them in a decent bag

Although you can hand the party favors in itself, it will also be good to invest in a small bag. This is especially true if the item is fragile and your guests just came from a dinner party, which means that they have only brought a small clutch bag. It will be a considerate thing to do to at least not expect your guests to lug around the gift all over the place.

3. Dont buy something expensive, just something beautiful and meaningful

You dont have to buy something costly. What is important in a party favor gift is that it is beautiful enough to inspire happiness in your guests when they look at them and it is meaningful enough to symbolize the occasion that you are celebrating. This is why it is important that you plan your purchase well and that you choose the item that will best symbolize you as a person and the occasion that you are celebrating.

4. Do buy something they can use

Think about your guests also. When choosing party favors, make sure that it is something that they will not only admire from a display case (unless it is a Swarovski or something) but something that they can use in their daily lives. Your guests will not only remember the occasion where they got it and the person that gave them, they will thank you for it.

Party favors may not be a vital part of a party like the foods and the drinks but it is nevertheless something that can add a little vibe and life in your party.