by Shirley Ryan-Rose with Katherine Martin
Retirement is a time of life for fun and relaxation, and the requisite parties usually include some good-natured teasing. Decorated cakes offer the perfect opportunity for poking fun at the retiree. I have showcased several ideas that cover a range of hobbies and relaxing pastimes, so your customers are sure to find a design that fits their retirees. As with all decorated cakes, customize them to fit each recipient for maximum customer satisfaction.
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| 1. Base ice an 8-in. round cake, and airbrush the top third of the cake blue and the bottom two-thirds green. Then, on the side of the cake, airbrush the top half blue and the bottom half green. | 2. Use star tip No. 14 to pipe two tree trunks on either side of the cake top. | 3. Stripe a pastry back with brown and yellow icing, and use tip No. 6 to pipe a hammock hanging between the two trees. |
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| 4. With tip No. 4, pipe a person's head on top of the hammock. Then, use a cut paper tube to add the reclining torso. Add blue pants with tip No. 4. | 5. Pipe the eyes, hair, feet and snoring 'z's using a cut paper tube. Use a toothpick dipped in red to form the open mouth. Add the hands with tip No. 4. | 6. Use tip No. 8 to pipe looping leaves on top of the trees and tufts of grass under the hammock. |
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| 7. Pipe a brown top border using star tip No. 14 and a 'c,' reverse 'c' motion. With the same tip, add a looping bottom border. Then, pipe several tree trunks on the side of the cake. Add tree leaves and grass with tip No. 8. | 8. Finish the design by piping the message 'Have a tree-mendous Retirement' on top of the cake with a cut paper tube. |
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| • For a 'Fun in the Sun' retirement cake, base ice an 8-in. round cake, and place a printed image of a beach scene on top of the cake. Use tip No. 8 to pipe a sunburned woman in the beach chair. Pipe a blue bathing suit over the body with a cut paper tube. Add a yellow shell bottom border with tip No. 8, and outline it with a blue zigzag border piped with a cut paper tube. Stripe a pastry bag, fitted with tip No. 18, with yellow icing and fill it with white. Then, pipe the top border using a 1-2-3 loop and pull motion. Use the same tip to pipe an interior top border around the printed image. Add yellow sprinkles to the top border. Around the side of the cake, pipe yellow scallops with tip No. 8. Then, add blue scallops using a cut paper tube. | • This cake covers several common hobbies for retirees. Base ice an 8-in. cake with white, and airbrush the top in varying shades of yellow and orange. Airbrush the bottom border with stripes of orange and yellow. Pipe a rocking chair and golf bag on top of the cake with tip No. 6, and smooth the icing with a spatula. With a cut paper tube, pipe golf clubs and add black details to the chair, bag and clubs. Use tip No. 4 to add the fishing pole and line. With rose tip No. 125, pipe a bottom band border. Pipe a ruffled top border with tip No. 103. Add an interior band border with tip No. 6 and overpipe it with black zig-zags using a cut paper tube. |
 | • Commemerate the stereotypical goodbye gift from the workplace with this gold watch cake. Base ice an 8-in. cake in white, and add more icing in the center of the cake for the watch's face, smoothing it with a spatula. Use a No. 6 tip to pipe the circle around the watch face and the white and gold watchband. Use a cut paper tube to add the details, such as watch hands and numbers. Pipe the yellow bottom border using tip No. 6 and a 1-2-3 loop and pull motion. Add a white shell top border also using tip No. 6. Add the number of years on the job to the side of the cake using tip No. 6 and yellow icing. Over pipe the numbers with chocolate and a cut paper tube. |