Cake Decorating

You have until July 31, 2008 to enter the Wilton Castle Cake Decorating Contest!

You must decorate your cake using pieces from the Wilton Romantic Castle Cake Set. Once its ready, you can upload a photo of your cake for judging online at the Wilton website or send it in via mail.

Each month Wilton judges will pick a winning entry. Prizes are Wilton products like the Cupcakes Galore Decorating Assortment, a Castle Pan and Decorating Set, and the Professional Decorating Turntable.  A grand prize winner will be chosen from the 12 monthly winners.  The grand prize winner will receive a Wilton 2-week Master Course at the Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionary Arts in Darien, Illinois, including transportation and lodging.

For complete contest rules and details, visit the Wilton website at http://www.wilton.com/contests/castlecontest/index.cfm

Two of the easiest and most useful techniques a beginner can learn are shells and stars.  These are the most common techniques used on kids birthday cakes.  The shells are typically used for borders.  Stars are great for stenciling letters or even characters on a cake.  For the doll cake to the right, the doll bodice and part of the cake are decorated using the star technique.  For the base, I used a ruffle technique but a shell would have been just as nice.  To create the shell, use Tip 21 or 32 and for the star, use Tip 16 or 18.   The Wilton website has detailed instructions and video for the Shell and Star technique.