DESSERTS
the hero plate, when you move it, everything moves.
Filling, frosting, and cake repairs may be necessary. So I
like to build the hero slice of cake on the hero plate. After
the slice layers and cardboard spacers are skewered
together, place the assembly on the hero plate. With wire
cutters, snip off any skewer extending outside the cake.
Th en tuck parchment paper strips, cut to about 3 inches
wide, around all sides of the hero slice to keep the hero
plate clean.When fi lling is inserted between the layers, it will help
stabilize the slice. Place fi lling between layers only in areas
that the camera will view. Using a pastry bag and tip with
a 1/4-inch round opening, deposit the fi lling mixture into
the space created by the cardboard. Th e fi lling will conceal
the cardboard edges. You want to deposit enough fi lling so
it extends slightly above the cut edge of the cake layer.To convey realism, the edge of the fi lling must appear to
be cut. To achieve this appearance, dip a clean knife into
warm water, and, holding the knife even with the cake,
cut the fi lling at the same height as the cake layers.
Remove any smeared areas of fi lling that might have
deposited on the cake surface with tweezers. Note that if
the fi lling in your cake is a fl uff y or pudding consistency,
you will use an additional technique. In this case, you will
use the rounded end of an artist’s palate knife to gently
swirl some areas of the fi lling.Frosting the Cake and Slice
Your choice of frosting type and frosting color should
be determined during the planning stage of your shot.
For the sake of simplicity, especially since cake styling
can be tedious, I chose to keep the frosting choice as
simple as possible and selected a ready-made frosting.
Th e techniques for frosting apply to both the cut cake
and slice.