Cake decorating 101 with "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro

Want to be able to decorate a cake just like Buddy Valastro from Cake Boss? Now you can! Impress all your friends and family with these tips from Buddy himself.

Want to be able to decorate a cake just like Buddy Valastro from Cake Boss? Now you can! Impress all your friends and family with these tips from Buddy himself.

Ingredients:

  • 2 10-inch cake layers
  • Your choice of filling
  • 4 cups white buttercream
  • 3 pounds purple fondant
  • 7 ounces pink fondant
  • 7 ounces green fondant
  • 7 ounces yellow fondant
  • 2 ounces dark brown fondant
  • 1 cup yellow buttercream
  • Cornstarch or powdered sugar
  • Note: Fondant quantity varies by brand of fondant

Method: 

Prepare Cake: 

Place one 10-inch cake layer on a cake plate with the top or crown of the cake facing up. Carefully use a serrated knife to remove the top and make a level layer. Spread your filling evenly on top of the layer. Trim the second layer in the same way before carefully placing it on top of the filling, gently pressing down to ensure the filling stays nice and level.

Dirty Ice:

Use an icing spatula to spread a very thin layer of white buttercream over
both double-layer tiers, covering top and sides. This is known as a crumb coat or “dirty icing” and will help the fondant stick to the tier. It is OK if the cake underneath peeks through or if a few crumbs get stuck in this thin layer of frosting. After dirty icing the tiers, refrigerate them at least 30 minutes or until the crumb coats are stiff to the touch.

Decorating Your Cake:

1. Cover Cake:

Dust your work surface with cornstarch or powdered sugar. Knead the purple fondant for about 1 minute to soften the fondant and make it pliable. Roll it out to 1⁄8 inch thick. The trick with rolling fondant is to frequently lift it up off the work surface as you roll to keep it from sticking. Roll it out to a near-circle, about 20 to 22 inches in diameter. Lift and lightly drape the entire cake with this fondant circle. Then, using your hands or a fondant smoother, smooth it onto the cake: start from the top center, gently pressing and working your way out and around, smoothing any bulges or bubbles. You should feel the fondant begin sticking to the crumb coat as you go. When the top is done, smooth out the sides: start from the top edge using one hand to smooth and the other hand to lift and “tease” the fondant into place as you keep smoothing. Work your way down and around the cake no more than an inch or so at a time. Smooth all the way to the bottom, then trim the extra fondant away from around the cake’s bottom edge with a paring knife or fondant/pizza cutter. Set the covered cake aside.

2. Cut Flowers:

Knead and roll out pink, light green, yellow and dark brown fondant to 1⁄8 inch thick. Use the three stainless steel daisy cutters to cut out daisies of various sizes in the pink, green and yellow fondant. For the full Cake Boss™ effect, you’ll need a total of 6 large daisies, 10 medium daisies, and 12 small daisies. Use different size cutters with different fondant colors for variety. In the small daisy shapes, use the small round cutter to cut out the centers; reserve these 12 dots for later. Use the small round cutter to cut out more dots in the dark brown fondant. You’ll need a total of 12 dark brown dots.

3. Assemble Large Daisies:

For the large daisies, start with any color large daisy fondant shape. Lightly dampen the back of a medium daisy fondant shape with water (use a wet fingertip, a small pastry brush or a water pen) and place on each large daisy; mix up the colors of each layer for variety. Lightly dampen the back of a small daisy fondant shape with its center already cut out, and add on top of the medium daisy; again, mix up the colors for variety. To complete each daisy, lightly dampen the back of a dark brown dot and place in the center of the small daisy. Set aside. Repeat for the remaining large daisies.

4. Assemble Medium Daisies:

For the medium daisies, start with any color medium fondant shape. As before, lightly dampen the back of a small daisy fondant shape with its center already cut out and place on top of the medium daisy; again, mix up the colors for variety. To complete each daisy, lightly dampen the back of a dark brown dot and place in the center of the small daisy. Set aside. Repeat for the remaining medium daisies. The last two small daisies will be made right on the cake; see below. 

5. Decorate Cake:

Lightly dampen the back of each daisy as you place it on the cake top and sides. Assemble, position and place the last two small daisies and their dark brown dots directly on the cake. For the full Cake Boss effect, let some daisies flop off the top edge and over the sides of the cake; cut some daisies across the center and position them around the base so they “peek up” from the bottom edge of the cake. Lightly dampen the pink, green, and yellow dots set aside from before and scatter across the top and sides of the cake in a confetti-like pattern.

6. Pipe Border:

Prepare an icing bag with a #21 star tip and the yellow buttercream to pipe a “shell” border around the bottom edge of the cake: hold the tip of the filled bag against the bottom edge of the cake with the bag at an angle of about 45º. To make each link in the border: squeeze the bag hard, and as icing fans out of the tip and into a “shell” shape, the shape will push the tip up a little. Once the shell is about the size of a fingertip, gently release the pressure on the bag. At the same time, lower the tip and pull it gently along the base of the cake; this will pull each link into a point and tuck it into place along the cake’s bottom edge. Start the very next squeeze at this point, so each shell “links” to the last. For the very last “link”, use the icing bag’s tip to gently “tuck” it into place; don’t worry if it shows a little.

Courtesy Buddy Valastro
Cake Boss