Food Styling for Photographers

CHAPTER TEN

Before the cake is frosted, the area on the exterior of the
cake between the layers needs to be fi lled to give the cake
a smooth vertical profi le. With a pastry bag fi lled with
frosting, run a band of frosting around the exterior of the
cake, inserting frosting into the spaces created by the
templates between the cake layers fi lling the indenta-
tions. With a 13-inch spatula, smooth the exterior profi le
of the cake by holding the blade of the spatula fl at against
the side of the cake, touching all layers at the same time.

With the tip of the spatula touching the table surface,

hold the blade vertically straight against the cake. In a

smooth motion, slide the blade around the cake to even

out the frosting between the layers. Check to see that all

indentations are fi lled and that the vertical alignment of

the cake appears straight from the camera view. Clean

the blade of the spatula, dip the blade in warm water, and

make a fi nal pass around the cake to smooth the

frosting.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE Cover the exterior of the cake with a

very thin layer of frosting as a base coat. Any crumbs generated by

this process should be removed with tweezers. After this base coat

is fi nished, allow it to rest for a few minutes so the frosting can fi rm

up. At this point, more frosting can be applied without the threat of

crumbs contaminating the fi nal hero frosting appearance.

After the thin base coat of frosting is applied to the cake,

you can apply additional frosting to achieve the depth of

frosting that you want. Begin by frosting the sides of the

cake. Once the sides are frosted, frost the top. Depending

on your preference for the frosting appearance, make it

smooth with the fl at side of the spatula, or create swirls

with the spatula tip. Because prepared frosting forms a

crust within a short time, you will want to make any

changes in the frosting designs now rather than later.