Everyday designs to boost cake sales

1. For a simple animal print cake, ice an 8-in. round cake with white icing. Place zebra print lay-ons around the side of the cake per the manufacturer’s directions.

2. Fold the tops of the lay-ons over the top of the cake. Pipe a flat bottom border using black icing and tip No. 125. Use tip No. 10 to pipe a hot pink icing border about ½-in. in from the outside edge of the cake.

3. With tip No. 10, pipe a black bead border on top of the flat bottom border. Then, overpipe the bead border with hot pink swirls piped using tip No. 2.

4. Use tip No. 234 to pipe “feathers” to make a boa around the top border. Pipe along the inside first, then pipe around the outside to complete the boa.

5. Pipe an appropriate message in the center of the cake in black icing using tip No. 2. This cake is great for baby showers, birthdays, girls’ nights out or Mother’s Day.

1. For the streamers cake, you will need to make the streamers ahead of time. Cut strips of colored gumpaste or fondant. Wrap them around dowels or columns, and let them dry partially. Before the strips dry completely, remove them from the dowels, and place them on crumpled paper towels. This will give the streamers a natural curl. Then, allow them to dry completely.

2. Ice a quarter sheet cake with dark blue icing. In the center of the cake, pipe and smooth a box of white icing.

3. Pipe an orange flat bottom border with tip No. 125. Use tip No. 10 to pipe an orange bead border on top of the flat border. Overpipe the bead border with blue swirls using tip No. 2. Outline the white box with yellow icing using tip No. 6.

4. Pipe an appropriate message on the cake using tip No. 2. Place the streamers randomly on the cake. Pipe a few lime green dots using tip No. 3. Sprinkle the entire cake with holographic silver pixie dust.