Icing Consistency
If the consistency of your decorating icing isn't just right, your
decorations won't be right either. Just a few drops of liquid will make
a great deal of difference in your results.
Stiff Icing holds a 3/4 in. peak on the spatula. Use it for flowers
with upright petals -if icing is not stiff enough, petals will droop.
Medium Icing is used for flowers with flat petals and for borders -when
the icing is too stiff or too thin, you can't get the uniform designs that
characterize a perfect border.
Thin Icing is used for writing, stems, leaves and for frosting a cake.
Correct Bag Position
The way your decorations curl and point and lie depends not only on
the icing consistency but also on the way you hold the bag and the way
you move it.
Bag positions are described in terms of both angle and direction. Angle
refers to the position of the bag relative to the work surface. There are
two basic angle positions:
90° angle, or straight up, perpendicular to the surface. Used when
making stars or flat flowers or rosettes.
45° angle, or half way between vertical and horizontal. Used for
writing and borders.
The angle in relation to the work-surface is only half the story on
a bag position. The other half is the direction in which the back of the
bag is pointed.
When you hold the bag at a 45° angle to the surface, you can sweep
out a circle with the back end of the bag by rolling your wrist and holding
the end of the tip in the same spot. (If you do not have a bag, try it
with a pencil). Pretend that the circle you formed in the air is a clock
face.The hours of the clock face correspond to the direction you should
point the back end of the bag.
Pressure Control
The size and uniformity of your icing design are affected by the amount
of pressure you apply to the bag and the steadiness of the pressure -how
you squeeze and relax your grip on the decorating bag. Your goal is to
learn to apply pressure so consistently that you can move the bag in a
free and easy glide while just the right amount of icing flows through
the tip. Practice will achieve this control.
How close to hold to the surface or cake
It is just as important as the above suggestions, that you understand
what happens when you raise the tip too far above or too close to, the
cake. Experiment when in doubt!
Notes:
When bag positions differ from those of the right handed decorator,
the position is listed in parentheses.
  
Also, look for these clock icons throughout Course I. They'll show
you at a glance, in which direction to point the back of the bag.
 |
