Cake decoration is a fun hobby that can provide you with delicious results. If there is one thing that you will have to become an expert in if you want to do a good job with icing your cake is how to choose the right kind of icing for your cake. Although it may seem like an obvious choice some of the time, other times, choosing the right kind of cake icing can boggle the mind. Here are some tips for working with icing.

The Three Primary Consistencies of Icing

There are three main consistencies to icing. Professional pastry chefs often refer to these consistencies. The three main icing consistencies are soft, medium and stiff. Of course, there are varying degrees in between each of these consistencies, but most pastry chefs speak of these three categories with a basic understanding of what the consistency is like. Many times, pastry chefs will use all three different consistencies in one cake. This is quite common, especially in more elaborate culinary creations. However, if you are working on a more simple cake, you will find that you may only have to work with one consistency at a time.

Using the Right Icing for the Right Cake

The type of icing or icings that you choose to use will depend on the type of cake that you are making. Stiff icing is the hardest icing, and usually, only professional pastry chefs will use very stiff icing with any degree of regularity. Stiff icing is often used to create professional decorative touches and flourishes on your cake, such as confectionary flowers or other shapes that need to stay in their shape. When do you use medium consistency icing? Medium icing is often used for many of the horizontal and vertical borders. Decorative puffs, shells, flourishes, corners, ropes and borders are all usually completed with medium consistency icing. When will you need to use soft consistency icing? Soft or thin icing is used to write messages on cakes, and depending on the type of icing and the consistency, it is often used to cover a whole cake.

Establishing the Perfect Consistency is Key

So you know that you need an icing with a soft consistency, but will your icing be soft enough? That is, even if you have found yourself in the right general ballpark of icing consistency, you will want to make sure that you have just the right consistency when you are working with your icing. What do you do if you find yourself with an icing that is too soft for the cake you are working with? If you find that your icing is too soft, you can add egg whites or other thickening agents to make it stiff enough to hold. If, however, you find that your icing is too thick, there are many things you can do to make it thinner. The easiest thing you can do to change the thickness of your icing consistency is to add water or milk so that the consistency will become a bit thinner.

Finding the Right Flavors for Your Icing

When it comes to icing, think of it as the most important complementing ingredient of your cake. If you choose the wrong icing, there's a good chance that your cake will not be all that it can be. You will want to choose the right kind of icing for your cake. If you are making a winter fruitcake, for instance, you will want to choose a clear icing glaze that features cooking brandy. If you are baking a traditional wedding cake, you may be more inclined to use a butter cream icing.