Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network May 2015 | Page 76

For those that are not super artistic
but would like to paint on a cake,
what suggestions do you have for
transferring an image to paint onto a
cake?
For those who are not super confident
with free handing, there is no shame
it taking the easy route for the outline.
You can tape a piece of parchment
paper over the top of your desired
image, then trace with a pencil. You
can then place that parchment over
top your fondant, go over the outlines
with a scribe. This will indent the
pattern onto the cake.
What is one thing you think people
should know before deciding to set up
a cake decorating business?
Its non-stop, all the time, go go go.
I used to dream, literally day dream,
of “the easy life of owning my own
bakery” and how I would do it different
and right...then I was smacked on
the side of the head with reality. It’s a
ton of work. Employees, overheads,
paperwork, AND then you get to
bake, ice and decorate. Long, long
hours. With that being said, it can
be extremely rewarding. I suggest
that people do their homework. See
what the demand is in your area. See
what your competition is (both skill
and price-wise). What the demand is
as far as event centres and wedding
venues in your area. Make a business
plan. If you aren’t business savvy and
you want to work on strictly on cake,
consider a business partner. All in all,
do your homework and be realistic.

Are there any secrets to fixing up
painting mistakes?

How do you suggest people achieve
depth in a painting on a cake?

If you do mess up there is still hope.
Blot your mistake with a dry paper
towel first (don’t smudge). Then take
a paper towel with either alcohol or
lemon extract on and blot until it’s been
removed.

Pay attention to shadows and
highlights. Try to look at your
inspirational object objectively, try
to fight what your memory is telling
you this particular object looks like.
For instance, if you were to draw a
face, you memory might say “Draw
an oval with two ovals for eyes...” etc.
Instead try to look at each line/shadow
individually and replicate that.
What do you enjoy about painting on
cakes most?
That if you choose your edible
mediums wisely, you can almost
replicate any traditional art mediums
(acrylic, oil colors, etc). Edible
mediums also have some helpful
characteristic that traditional mediums
do not posses. I think the exploration
of painting on cakes has just begun
and 2015 will bring some amazing
artists out of the woodwork.
When you’re going to paint on a cake,
do you have a creative process you
follow to create a cake from start to
finish?
I always start with a faint outline of my
object, I usually then move from the
top down, concentrating on shading
and then reverting back to highlights.

Will you be coming down