Many decorators have a complete arsenal of flowers and other ‘frilly’ design elements, but often draw a blank when creating cakes for men. These designs offer a variety of ‘non-frilly’ ideas, suitable for both men and women.
Many decorators feel that men ought to have cakes specially designed for them, masculine designs without flowers. The following cakes provide sporty, colorful alternatives for both men and women.
For the package design, base ice a cake with white icing. Then, airbrush green and blue diagonal lines across opposite corners of the cake. Hold a piece of cardboard perpendicular to the cake top, and spray against it for straight lines. Try to alternate colors, and vary the widths of the lines. Using basket weave tip No. 48 with the serrated edge towards the cake, pipe a green bottom band border. Use the same tip to pipe a ribbon and bow on the cake. Add a message pic in the center of the bow. A variety of colorful message pics are available from suppliers.
Another easy and colorful cake is the “Celebrate” design. Base ice the cake with white icing, and pipe top and bottom shell borders using star tip No. 22. Pipe the word “celebrate” or an appropriate inscription using a writing tip and red icing. Next, use various sized writing tips, from tip No. 4 to No. 12, and bright icing colors, to pipe dots on the top and sides of the cake. To pipe the dots, hold the tip at a 90º angle and squeeze. When the desired height and roundness is achieved, keep the tip in the icing while easing off the pressure, and twist the tip while removing it from the icing. Sprinkle some colorful sugar dots along the borders to add more color. Add plastic star shaped balloon clusters to finish the design.
A nice cake idea for the wildlife enthusiast is a duck pond. Base ice a quarter sheet cake with white icing,
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and airbrush a round yellow moon in the center of the cake. Outline the moon with orange, and airbrush the remainder of the sky blue. Use the airbrush to add green grass, leaving the space directly under the moon free from color. Use a small palette knife to spread blue icing under the moon for a pond. Pipe cattails with writing tip No. 4 and pale ivory and dark brown or chocolate fudge icing. Add blades of grass using two shades of green with grass tip No. 233 and leaf tip No. 352. Place plastic trees, ducks and edible rocks on the cake. With the same color blue icing as used for the pond, use star tip No. 16 to pipe the top and bottom borders. The bottom border is a repeating “el” pattern and the top border is a reverse shell. Add an inscription across the moon in dark brown icing.
For fishermen, a simple fishing scene is easy to create. With an airbrush, spray a background scene on a
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base iced cake. Begin by spraying brown mountains, and add a touch of green on top of the mountains for a tree line. Then, spray the sky blue, and add a lake at the bottom of the cake. To give a hint of dawn or dusk, lightly airbrush pink in the sky. In the foreground around the lake, spray green trees, shrubs and grass. With open tip No. 4 and chocolate fudge icing, fill in the trees, and pipe a fisherman in a boat and water waves. Add an inscription with tip No. 4 and chocolate icing. Pipe the borders with star tip No. 22 and chocolate icing. The top border is a triple “e,” reverse triple “e” pattern and the bottom border is a shell pattern.
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A tennis theme also is a good design idea for men. Base ice a half sheet cake, and comb the sides. Airbrush the top of the cake light brown. With white icing and writing tip No. 4, pipe the lines of the court. Use grass tip No. 233 to pipe clumps of green grass, and add plastic players, net and trees. To create a tennis ball, use a two layer 5-in. cake, and bevel the top edges of the cake with a sharp knife. Place the scraps on top of the cake to create a mound. Ice the cake, and smooth the icing with plastic. Airbrush the cake lime yellow, and use a small, angled palette knife to scrape the lines into the tennis ball. Gently lift the tennis ball using a spatula, and place it in the corner of the half sheet cake. Add more grass along the bottom edge of the ball. Pipe a message using writing tip No. 4, and add white shell borders with a star tip No. 22. Add some sprinkles on the borders and sides of the cake.
With a little thought, many “non-frilly” cake designs are suitable for men. Hobbies, interests, sports, work, family and current events are all subjects that may be explored when designing “male” cakes.
