A Thread For All Uk Bakers!!
Decorating By hailinguk Updated 25 Aug 2017 , 10:29am by Magic Mouthfuls
also for cake boards to go under my second tier- were do you get yours or do you cut cardboard? does it have to be a special cardboard.
TIA and your all so great for sharing your knowledge
They are called cake cards rather than cake boards or drums. The top is covered in the same silver paper as cake boards but they are very thin. Just do a search for cake cards on ebay, they will come up or good cake decorating shops sell them. Whereabouts are you?
Hey folks,
Hope you've all had a good weeekend. Raining today
, think I'll put today's run off for a wee while.
I'm thinking about getting a clay gun and I've done a search on here for which seems to be the best one and the vote from what I can gather goes to Makin's but I don't know if that brand is available over here. Do any of you UKers have any other advice or any idea where's the best place to buy these things? I've looked in the art shops in Glasgow and they didn't have anything, I could try hobbycraft but I can't find anything on their website.
I've looked on cake supply websites and can only find a sugarcraft gun for around £18. Any advice?
TIA
I also have the red and black sugarcraft gun. It does the job and I am happy with it.
Where did you get the black and red clay gun only the one I have is rubbish, I struggle to get the fondant to push through and it kills my fingers in the process.
I use Covapaste all the time. You have to knead a bit of trex into the covapaste and fill the barrel and it works so easily. But if you are using Regalice, then you have to struggle a bit and you have to knead lot more trex into it. Sometime I use flowerpaste as well. Knead some trex into the paste and dip it in some warm water and kead really well. It has to have the texture of a chewing gum. Then fill the barrel and use it as you normaly would.
Thanks for the replies re the claygun. I had been swithering about whether I needed to spend any more money on equipment but just did a knitting cake today, very last minute request http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1707016 and have now decided after doing all the wool by hand that I am most definitely going to buy one, there's no way I'm going thru all that again! x
njoy cakes you have done a wonderful job on the cake welldone.
I have the red and black one and it has 16 discs with it for different holes and is great for hair and such .As Bashini said you really need to work the trex in as it is nigh on impossible without it. I use flower or modelling paste rather than sugarpaste/fondant but to do the type of string as in your cake I would rather use my cake smoother as it is quicker and easier for that amount of work in my opinion. What i do like about it is the rope effect. Great for trimming pillow/cushion cakes.
Thanks so much Rosiepan and thanks to everyone for hints on how to use the clay gun, I'm going to have to get the post-its out again to jot all this down!
By the way why is the word shugacraft blocked? (obv not properly spelt) seems random to me or is it cos of that other forum that exists in the UK? hmmmm 
on a side note, I'm going back to work tomorrow so you might not here much from me for the next wee while (i'll miss you all, even before I posted, I like many of you was a lurker). doc's said I'm over the stress now but I'm not looking forward to it much, having to confront all the teachers that had to take on the extra pressure of taking my classes over the last few months, think I'm going to make some cupcakes tonight to soften the blow. Feed them so they like me again 
Shugarcraft is a blocked word due to politics on CC, nothing to do with the guild in UK. Best not spoken about really we all end up knowing what the [Blocked] means 
Wow, I've missed out on a lot! Got loads of pages to catch up on this forum but I had a quick question.
I've been asked to demonstrate sugar flowers at a nearby high school. Does anyone know if I am expected to do it for free? I'm not really fussed about getting paid for it or anything coz if I can share my enthusiasm of decorating with anyone, thats a big enough reward for me! But I don't want to look like I'm being taken advantage of. Initially they asked me to do 2 classes but when I talked to a teacher, she mentioned adding more lessons later on!
I'd appreciate anyone's opinions.
Hi everyone I am a newbie on this site, have just discovered the UK thread, so will have to catch up with all those pages.
I am quite a experienced cake decorator, having had my own business in Durban South Africa. But at the age 0f 70 have just started making cakes for friends and family. I enjoy the challenge still, and have a Mini car cake coming up for next week.
Have been looking at mixers, but at the moment they are all out of my range. Am using a cheapy hand mixer from local supermarket, not sure about mentioning names?? The only thing that gets me is when I make buttercream, and everything in kitchen gets coated in clouds of icing sugar.
Does anyone know where I can get chocolate from for Ganache, it seems to be so expensive here in UK.
Anyway greetings from Humberside east yorks
Wow, I've missed out on a lot! Got loads of pages to catch up on this forum but I had a quick question.
I've been asked to demonstrate sugar flowers at a nearby high school. Does anyone know if I am expected to do it for free? I'm not really fussed about getting paid for it or anything coz if I can share my enthusiasm of decorating with anyone, thats a big enough reward for me! But I don't want to look like I'm being taken advantage of. Initially they asked me to do 2 classes but when I talked to a teacher, she mentioned adding more lessons later on!
I'd appreciate anyone's opinions.
I would say that if they are expecting you to go in on a regular basis,unless they have asked you to do it on a voluntary basis they should expect it to be voluntary they should be paying you.
Hi everyone I am a newbie on this site, have just discovered the UK thread, so will have to catch up with all those pages.
I am quite a experienced cake decorator, having had my own business in Durban South Africa. But at the age 0f 70 have just started making cakes for friends and family. I enjoy the challenge still, and have a Mini car cake coming up for next week.
Have been looking at mixers, but at the moment they are all out of my range. Am using a cheapy hand mixer from local supermarket, not sure about mentioning names?? The only thing that gets me is when I make buttercream, and everything in kitchen gets coated in clouds of icing sugar.
Does anyone know where I can get chocolate from for Ganache, it seems to be so expensive here in UK.
Anyway greetings from Humberside east yorks
Hi there, when I make ganache, I use Bourneville chocolate from sainsbury's. I also have used Lindt and Green & Black as well. But prefer Bourneville.
HTH. 
Thanks, i will try bourneville chocolate, what do you use when you do a vanilla sponge, do you use white chocolate, and where from. Sorry for all the questions, but I do balk at paying the prices they are asking for chocolate at the cake decorating shops, some people say you have to use choc with at least 60% cocoa butter. others say supermarket cooking chocolate.
No problem. Yes, I use white choc ganache for vanilla sponges. But I have seen some use normal choc ganache for vanilla cakes too. Not sure about the taste those two together.I know that you have to use chocolate which has at least 50% cocoa solids, but I use sainsbury's white chocolate for white choc gananche. It has worked well so far.
Thanks Scrummy, Il check that link out My Mum is a major chocoholic and loves my Chocolate ganache, ive experimented with several different recipes, Using Thorntons chocolate (Tastes wonderful) Green And blacks milk (Tasty) The green and blacks dark is a bit too bitter for my taste! Ive also tried using asda's smart price chocolate (which actually tastes really nice considering) but ive have had trouble with that one setting up as well as others, im extreemly lucky i have alot of sugar fiend friends so most my experiments get passed off onto them !
Hi , I'm new to cake decorating and you have all given me sum great tips and ideas.
Just got one question tho, I've been making a sponge cake and it's seems to start burning on the outside but not cook on the inside any1 got any ideas of how to stop this happening?
Newbie here, lovely to have other Uk bakers to mix with. I hope I can join in too.
Hi , I'm new to cake decorating and you have all given me sum great tips and ideas.
Just got one question tho, I've been making a sponge cake and it's seems to start burning on the outside but not cook on the inside any1 got any ideas of how to stop this happening?
Welcome to the world of cakingNice to see more Brits join us here.
You might want to invest in a thermometer for your oven to make sure there is nothing wrong with your thermostat. lakeland sell them quite reasonably.
Other than that your temperature may be too high. I cook my cakes at gas mark 3. Also you can invest in some baking strips that go around your pan/tin as the outside always cooks quicker than the inside so by using strips it can help stop it burning while the inside has time to cook through. Some people make theirs using stips of wet towels around them. I have a strip of thick foil that I lay 3/4 layers of paper towels along and spray water over. Then I fold over in thirds so towel is on the inside and wrap that around. I use a metal buldog clip to hold together.
Hope that helps.
Thank u for the tips I will try them out next time I do a cake
I've been asked to demonstrate sugar flowers at a nearby high school. Does anyone know if I am expected to do it for free? I'm not really fussed about getting paid for it or anything coz if I can share my enthusiasm of decorating with anyone, thats a big enough reward for me! But I don't want to look like I'm being taken advantage of. Initially they asked me to do 2 classes but when I talked to a teacher, she mentioned adding more lessons later on!
Sabz, I'd try to speak to someone about who you should invoice, even if you're only interested in covering costs of materials, but you shouldn't be shy about charging for your time either. How did they find out about you? The reason I ask is because I wasn't sure if this was a favour you'd offered to do for a friend. As a teacher myself I know that schools don't have the biggest budgets and some can be guilty of taking advantage of people's good nature (just take a look at how much extra work they expect teachers to do) but I've volunteered to go in to facepaint at my sister's school before and even tho it was a volunteering thing and it was my sister's school and I offered, I still got paid.
Hope it goes well in any case! 
Hi , I'm new to cake decorating and you have all given me sum great tips and ideas.
Just got one question tho, I've been making a sponge cake and it's seems to start burning on the outside but not cook on the inside any1 got any ideas of how to stop this happening?
When i have a bigger sponge to cake, Bigger than an 8inch, i wrap the tin in a double layer or brown paper like i would do with a fruit cake, it wont stop the edges being completey burned if its your oven temp thats off, But i find for me, it stops the edges going to dark or becoming to dry
Thankyou Rosiepan, Im blushing lol! My nana absolutely loved it so made all the pain of making that bloody tea cup worth it haha! xxx
Hi everyone, hope all you UK bakers are ok!
Just wondering if theres anyone in the Bedford area in the UK who wants to take on a !4" duluxe scrabble board cake due this saturday??? I have come down with chicken pox over the weekend, and cannot now do this order, and i feel terrible about it!! I was charging £70 which is quite low i know, as Im just still learning, but im sure if anyone CAN do it and is nearby the client would understand if the price was higher. I feel awful about letting her down, I have emailed a lot of local decorators but had no replies yet..probably as its the weekend and they are all off doing nice weekend activities!
I havent even spoken to the scrabble cake lady yet, as shes not answering her phone and has no voicemail, and so have had to email her. What a nightmare, I am dreading having to speak to her
Thanks in advance if anyone can help
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