Hi!

I'm brand new to this website and to cake decorating, too.

I'm the Head Cook at a local bistro and I've recently been "thrown into" the role of baker as well. I am producing almost all of the baked goods for the bistro.

So, I'm trying to learn some cake decorating that I can use for cakes as well as to make some pretty cupcakes.

But, I'm sort of on my own, as there isn't a Wilton class for me to attend.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can learn decorating techniques on my own? Websites? Instructional DVDs? Good books? Anything else?

There's probably a lot of information on this website, but I haven't had time to look through it and feel kind of overwhelmed, sorting through all the information.

I did pick up one Wilton cake decorating book---but I seem to have trouble learning from the instructions in the book.

I guess I need really explicit instructions or lots of photos or better yet, something more visual, like a DVD.

Well, thank you all in advance for any and all responses! I look forward to being part of the CC community!

Peace,
Jeff

Welcome. You will learn so much here on Cake Central. Look up sugar shack on this site she has instructional DVD's that are wonderful Also Nicholas lodge.com has instructional videos that I like

Hello...welcome to CC.

For starters you will learn a lot of things just by reading the posts here on CC. When I first signed up, I couldn't stop reading the posts. I found myself getting up in the middle of the night to log on. Guess what...I found out that there's a lot of people browsing CC in the wee hours of the morning.

I also suggest that you check out SugarShack's website. She has several DVD's for sale and you'll find all of the rave reviews in posts here. Here's the website. http://sharonssugarshack.com/

Just in case the web site doesn't show up, look up sharonssugarshack(dot)com.

If your trying to find a book with great recipes and explanations on what went wrong I definitly recomend the cake bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. She is very good at breaking down the science behind baking cakes. There is also a book called the pastry bible that I recommend as well. As for dvds I have heard really great things about sugarshacks dvds. If your trying to some basic fondant flowers, definitly go with to edna's page on youtube. She goes into detail very well and even as a beginner you will be making some impressive flowers.

I feel for you though, baking is a lot harder than cooking. Welcome to cc, you will love the advice you recieve here. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Welcome to CC. There are a lot of things on youtube which should help you. Just Google youtube cake decorating and they will all come up and you can choose which you want to watch.

I have one on youtube of doing 10 borders using the #17 tip.

Serious_Cakes here on CC also has an assortment of videos on youtube.

Duplicate post, please also see:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-607139-.html

HTH

Hi Jeff and welcome to CC!

I would definitely start with youtube to give you a feel for cake decorating. It's free and there is a ton of information out there and it's great being able to see video's. I love all of Sharon's DVD's but so far the 3 she has is more to do with covering the cakes (be it icing or fondant) as well as stacking cakes, filling them etc. These are definitely a must have for cake decorating as you want a nice base to start with and I highly recommend getting them but if you are looking for piping skills and such these will not help you much.

You can also browse the articles tab here and see if there is anything there that could help you out as well.

also,

here is a good link for acronyms on this site:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926.html


HTH and once again welcome!