by Jan Cartwright, Decorating Ideas editor
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| Score a quarter sheet cake into 24 pieces and pipe hearts in each square. Form the hearts by piping two teardrops. |
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| Warm pink fondant roll icing to 110°F. Cut a parchment bag to No. 6 tip size, and pipe the fondant along the top border of the cake, allowing some to drip down the sides. |
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| Pipe a green vine with tip No. 3 along the top border of a heart-shaped cake. Add red, white and pink rose buds with flower tip No. 104. |
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| With tip No. 12, pipe a red heart in the center of a quarter sheet cake. Pipe a yellow snake coiled around the heart using tip No. 12. |
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| Use a drinking glass or another object to imprint a circle on the top of the cake. Create a sun by filling the circle with yellow icing using open tip No. 12. |
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| Use tip No. 12 to pipe this exuberant bear's head and long arms, and smooth the icing with a palette knife. Add the white muzzle and eyes with tip No. 12. |
Preparations for Valentine's Day should begin in the decorating department immediately following Super Bowl Sunday. Change display cakes, and merchandise novelty and dessert items using pink and red heart themes. Advertise special Valentine cakes, cookies, cupcakes and additional treats for school, office and other events. Merchandise cakes and cupcake party platters for impulse shoppers. Since "cherry" is the flavor of the month, fill your displays with cherry flavored pastries and cakes. The following decorated cake ideas can help "sweeten" your sales for Valentine's Day.
The multiple heart cake is a quarter sheet cake base iced with white icing. Comb the sides with a cake comb, and score or cut the iced cake into 24 pieces (four rows and six columns). Use open tip No. 10 to pipe two teardrops together to form a heart on each individual piece. Alternate between pink and red hearts. Smooth the hearts with a palette knife. With tip No. 3 and white icing, write "Love" on each heart. Complete the cake with top and bottom shell borders piped with star tip No. 18. Garnish with a sprinkling of pink, red and white Valentine decorative sugars.
The flower cake also is a quarter sheet cake, base iced in white with the sides combed. Tint some fondant-type roll or donut icing pink, and heat it to about 110°F, or a thick pouring consistency. Fill a parchment bag with the icing, either before or after heating. Cut the bag to about a No. 6 open tip, and drizzle the warm icing along the top edge of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Using a No. 20 star tip, pipe a shell border along the bottom edge of the cake and inside the dripped icing edge. With open tip No. 3 and green icing, pipe a vine along two adjacent sides of the cake top. To create flowers, use open tip No. 8 and bright pink icing to pipe four hearts around an open center. Form the hearts by piping two teardrops together. Use the lighter pink icing that was dripped along the edges and open tip No. 6 to pipe the flowers' round centers. Add green leaves using tip No. 352. Write "Valentine Wishes From the Heart" using open tip No. 3 and the lighter pink roll icing. Finish the sides by adding coordinating sugar sprinkles.
The sun cake is a quarter sheet cake base iced in white. Airbrush yellow along the top and bottom edges of the cake. Using leaf tip No. 68, pipe a white swag border along the bottom edge of the cake. Add a top reverse shell border with star tip No. 22. To have a perfect circular sun, imprint a circle lightly with a cookie cutter or other round open object, such as a drinking glass. Fill in the circle with yellow icing using open tip No. 12, and smooth it with a palette knife. Pipe the sun's yellow rays using leaf tip No. 69. Add facial features to the sun and the inscription using open tip No. 3 and black piping gel. Use open tip No. 6 to pipe red hearts and swags along the bottom border. The 9-in. heart-shaped cake is base iced in white icing. Warm chocolate fudge icing, and pour it over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. It is best not to warm the chocolate icing higher than 110°F, so the base icing will not melt when the chocolate is poured over it. Outline the top border of the cake by piping a green vine using tip No. 3. Add red, white and pink buds along the vine using flower tip No. 104, and add green leaves using tip No. 352. Pipe the inscription in pink using writing tip No. 3. Pipe a white shell bottom border using star tip No. 22, and add some chocolate sprinkles.
Valentine's bear
The next cake, a darling bear with his proclamation of love, is piped on a quarter sheet cake. After base icing the cake, airbrush a light red background. Use a cookie cutter or a drinking glass to imprint a circle on the top of the cake. Use the circle as a guideline to pipe the bear's brown head using open tip No. 12. Use the same tip to pipe extended arms and ears. Smooth the face and ears with a palette knife. Pipe a white muzzle and eyes using tip No. 12. Smooth the muzzle with a palette knife. Add additional features in black with tip No. 3. Pipe the bear's red bowtie using flower tip No. 104 and the red hearts using open tip No. 10. Add X's and inscription in red with open tip No. 4. Use tip No. 87 to pipe white top and bottom shell borders. Tip No. 87 resembles half a star tip and half a flower tip and creates a ruffled appearance.
The final cake is quite whimsical and will bring a smile to any Valentine's face. Begin by base icing a cake in white, and comb the sides. Using an airbrush, spray a fine mist of yellow color along the bottom and top edges. I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to imprint a perfect heart shape in the center of the cake top. With open tip No. 12, fill in the heart with red icing, and smooth it with a palette knife. Pipe squiggles of red icing with tip No. 3 on top of the heart to give it a lacy effect. Using yellow icing and tip No. 12, pipe a snake coiled around the heart. Use a palette knife to smooth the snake's face. Pipe the facial features, hearts and inscription with various sizes of open writing tips. Fit a pastry bag with star tip No. 12, and stripe one side of the bag with red icing. Finish filling the bag with white icing. Pipe a shell border along the bottom edge of the cake. Pipe a triple "e," reverse triple "e" border along the top edge of the cake.
Special Valentine's cakes deliver sweet messages of love. Plan a "sweetheart" of a sale to last the entire month of February.