All that you Need to Know to Create Dainty Charming Lace Effects on your Cakes.
Is there anything that spells elegance, timelessness and oodles of charm at a wedding than dainty, feminine lace?
Now, you can enjoy pretty lace on your wedding cake. Yes, you read that right! Presenting you with Edible Lace, the highly sought-after wedding cake trend for 2018!
Edible Lace and Wedding Cakes – A Bond that’s Timeless
Nothing spells “weddingy” on a cake than pretty lace embellishments. The allure and trend of laces are everlasting. From vintage decor to modern contemporary styles, lace reigns high on wedding cakes. Irrespective of whether you’re a professional baker or a home baker, learning the art of edible laces is a must in your baking repertoire.
There are several ways in which you can create the “Lace Effect” on your cakes. Here in this post, we give you an introduction to the three famous styles and provide you with handy tips on how to nail it.
1. Brush Embroidery
As the name implies, you paint your lace on your cakes or cookies using hand brushes. All that you need are a piping bag filled with royal icing and a regular paint brush, which you can pick at any art store near you. Yes, with just these you can replicate any of the popular lace patterns or even create your one.
Brush embroidery is mostly used on upright cake surfaces and gives an elegant and delicate finish that is sure to wow and impress your guests.
Handy Tips for the Perfect Brush Embroidery
- Start by choosing an angled flat brush. Then, pipe the royal icing on your cake in your desired pattern. Then, drag the brush across the frosting and pull it to create a stunning lace-like texture.
- For design and inspiration ideas, browse through the fabric section of your neighbourhood craft store. If it’s on a lace fabric, you can replicate it easily on your cakes.
- On the other hand, let your creativity run wild and come up with new designs and patterns.
- As with all things, Practice makes perfect. You can hone your edible lace brushing techniques with repeated practice. Don’t get frustrated if you aren’t able to nail it bang for the first time. Try and try again, till you get the hang of it.
2. Appliqué
This technique has been in practice for years and is one of the most common methods of applying lace designs on a cake. One of the main reasons why this technique is so popular is that the fine detailing got from this approach is truly unmatched. Add a bit of luster dust or fine threads to highlight the lace patterns further.
Handy Tips for Appliqué Lace
- The key to making your lace look realistic is to get the correct thickness of your sugar paste before you use it in a mould.
- Keep a pasta roller separately for sugar work in your kitchen. Set the roller to the third thinnest setting and roll out your sugar paste.
- Additionally, you can make use of some standard modelling tools that you use for regular fondant work, to refine the edges of the lace. This helps you to get rid of scraggly edges and to enhance the detailing effects of the mould.
- Add finesse to your lace patterns by using lustre dust or other edible glitter dust.
3. Edible Lace
This is the most popular method and one that’s very often used by professional cake makers. In this technique, you create edible lace by pouring the liquid into a silicon lace mould. Once the liquid dries, you remove the lace from the mould carefully forming a long delicate strip of edible lace that looks very close to the real thing.
The benefits of this method are many. Some of them are:
- You can easily create long strips that can be wrapped around the entire circumference of the cake.
- The lace is pliable meaning it’s quite easy to work with, even for beginners.
- It’s long-lasting. You can make edible lace well ahead of time and store in air-tight containers. It holds good for several months.
Handy Tips for Working with Edible Lace
- Be patient and let the lace set completely before you try to remove it from the mould.
- Add a dash of gel colour when making the gum paste to enhance the accents of the cake further.
- When working with gel colour, always add one drop at a time. Remember that you can add extra, but once you add a particular dosage, there’s no way to reverse the process.
Here’s a super easy recipe to create your Own Edible Lace.
Things Needed:
A lace mat (or a lace mould) – You can find it at any of the popular cake materials supply store online or in your nearest mall.
Other Ingredients:
- Boiled Water – ½ cup
- Tylose powder – 1 Tbsp
- Powdered sugar – 1 Tbsp
- Corn Starch – 2 Tbsp
- Egg white powder / Meringue powder – ½ Tsp
- Liquid Glucose – ½ Tsp
- Glycerin – 1 Tsp
- Gel colour (any colour of your choice) – a few drops
Points to Note
The water you use in the recipe determines your final output. So, avoid using tap water that has high fluoride content or mineral water. The best way to get perfect lace of the finest texture is to use distilled water, free of any mineral content.
The colour of your lace depends on the gel colour you use. So, add gel colours accordingly based on your desired output.
Preparation:
- 1. Mix Tylose powder to boiling water. Stir till the mixture becomes clear. It’s best to use a hand mixer during this stage as it takes some effort to get a clear mixture.
- 2. Now, add the powdered sugar.
- 3. Next, add the cornstarch and mix well.
- 4. Add the egg white powder. You can also use meringue powder instead of egg white powder as both are technically the same products.
- 5. Add in glycerine and liquid glucose.
- 6. Now add the gel colour of your choice.
That’s it your lace mixture is ready. You can store this mixture in the refrigerator up until a week. Let it come to room temperature and give it a mix when you want to use it.
The next step is to spread this mixture in your silicon lace mould. Let it dry completely. You can let it dry at room temperature or use a dehydrator if you have one.
Now, apply a second coat of the mixture on top of the first one. Let it dry again. The drying time depends on your room temperature and the humidity in your place.
To peel the edible lace, start by removing from the edges. Then, use a spatula to lift out. Bend the silicon mould for easy removal.
Once you have removed the lace, you can apply it to your cake or store it until usage. To store it, wrap it in parchment paper and place in a Ziploc bag.
If your lace is too hard, you can make it elastic by using a slightly damp paper towel on it.
Enjoy decorating your Cakes with Beautiful Handmade Edible Lace
Once you get the hang of making edible lace, you can unleash your creativity and impress your family, friends, and guests with your spectacular creations.
At Gurgaon Bakers, you can find a wide array of trending wedding cakes using edible laces, metallic lustre, chevron, stripes, polka dots and several other patterns and designs. Click here to explore our scrumptious world of cakes for all occasions. To place your orders, just Whatsapp us at +91-989-9988-185 and get your cakes delivered right to your doorstep, anywhere in Gurgaon.
