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Flamingo Cake 2 Ways
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Sep 6, 2024
Flamingos are trending and in this tutorial I’ll show you two simple techniques to make stunning, unique flamingo cakes! 0:00 Intro 0:08 Make a pink cake 0:28 Add turquoise ombre frosting 1:16 Make buttercream mosaic tiles 2:23 Outline a flamingo onto the cake 3:15 Attach buttercream mosaic tiles to cake 4:45 How to manage condensation on cakes 5:21 Make a flamingo stencil with parchment paper 5:50 Buttercream flamingo with layered stencils 6:26 Floral ideas for flamingo body 6:43 Piping a border around the flamingo cake 7:08 Two flamingo cake designs 7:15 Visit my online cake school 💫Start your FREE 7 day trial on my cake school https://britishgirlbakes.teachable.com/p/all-you-can-cake/ 🎂LEARN The Basics of Cake and The Basics of Buttercream in my most popular online courses! https://britishgirlbakes.teachable.com/
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0:00
Flamingos are trending, and in this tutorial I'll show you two simple techniques to make stunning, unique flamingo cakes
0:08
I'm using my strawberry cake recipe so that the inside of this cake will be pink just like the flamingos on the outside
0:15
and the recipe is on British Girl Bakes.com. For the maximum strawberry flavour, I'm using the strawberry buttercream from the recipe as my crumb coat
0:24
but after refrigerating it for 30 minutes, it's firm, and I can add this gorgeous Ombrosephrosy
0:29
on top. Ombre is secretly very easy to do. Use the lightest colour on top of the cake
0:36
then use the darkest colour at the very bottom of the cake, now mix the lightest and darkest
0:42
colour together and spread that around the middle of the cake, so you have three shades. Wiggle
0:48
your spatula up and down in zigzags around the cake to blend all of the shades together
0:54
slightly to make a gradual gradient of the colour and then scrape around the cake with a cake
0:59
comb to smooth the frosting. It's simple but such a stunning background to make any cake design
1:05
a bit more detailed and interesting. Tidy up the top edge as normal and then put the cake into the
1:11
fridge to chill and set the frosting because both of the two flamingo techniques I'm going to
1:17
show you need the frosting to be firm. For the first technique, which is my favourite, we're going to make
1:23
a flamingo mosaic. Spread coloured buttercream onto parchment paper on top of anything flat, a cutting
1:29
board, cakeboard, upside-down tray, whatever you have handy. You're aiming for fairly thin
1:35
smooth patches of color, and ideally all of the colors will be the same thickness. It's best to do this
1:42
on at least two separate pieces of parchment paper or wax paper so that you can chill them separately
1:48
and you see why later Put them into the freezer for about 15 minutes to chill and firm up and then use a sharp knife dipped in warm water to slice through the frozen buttercream
2:00
cutting it into little tiles of different shapes and sizes. You need to work quite quickly as you do this so that the buttercream stays firm
2:08
because after a few minutes at room temperature, the butter cream will soften and get sticky
2:14
Dip your knife into the warm water in between cuts to cut. clean it and then wipe it dry on a towel or paper towel before you cut again
2:24
Draw a flamingo or trace one, making sure it will fit on your cake
2:28
I used four six-inch layers to make my cake, using the strawberry cake recipe which can also be
2:35
used for a three-layer eight-inch cake. But by making four smaller layers, I have a taller
2:40
cake with more space on the sides for my flamingo. Of course, you could do this on the top
2:45
of a cake instead, but typically the sides of a cake are more visible at events and gatherings
2:51
so I like to put my decorations there. Cut the flamingo out and then take your cold cake out of the fridge and position the paper
2:59
flamingo wherever you want it to go, and trace around it using a toothpick
3:04
To draw a very faint outline, you can do this because the frosting on the cake has set
3:09
so it's firm and won't get damaged by the paper. Brush off any buttercream crumbs, using a paintbrush, and
3:15
and then brush the entire flamingo shape with a damp paintbrush, dipped in water and then blotted on a towel or paper towel
3:23
This will make the frozen buttercream stick to the frosting, even though the frosting has set, so it's not sticky anymore
3:30
Take your buttercream tiles out at the freezer and pick one up and press it against the cake within the outline you scored with your toothpick
3:37
and with a bitter pressure it will stick. Continue with more tiles using different colours and shapes and sizes for lots of variety making sure you going right up to the outline so that your shape is recognizable I adding a little black buttercream triangle for the beak and a tiny black dot for the eye
3:55
The buttercream tiles will get soft as they warm up to room temperature
3:59
and you'll notice because they'll start to stick to your finger instead of the cake
4:03
And if you can get them to attach to the cake, the shape will have warped because the buttercream isn't firm anymore
4:09
When that happens, put these colors back into the freezer to chill and firm up again
4:14
and take out another color and use those tiles instead. That's why it's a good idea to spread the colors onto at least two different pieces of paper
4:23
each on its own tray or cutting board or cake board, so you can move them around separately
4:29
You can cut the tiles now if you need smaller pieces or different shapes
4:33
to fit into little spaces between other tiles. Since the cake has been in the fridge, it will be cold, colder than the room you're decorating in
4:42
If the room is warm, like this one, you might notice beads of condensation forming on the cake
4:48
It's important to dab those with a paper towel as you notice them
4:52
and the paper towel will absorb them and leave the surface of the frosted cake dry
4:57
If you don't dab them, the colours of the buttercream tiles can run
5:01
especially dark colours like the beak and eye. I recommend adding the beak and I last for that reason so that the black color doesn't run
5:10
And after blotting the condensation droplets, put the cake back in the fridge for about 15 minutes before you continue
5:17
Okay, that's the first technique and I'll show you the end result in a minute. For the second technique, make your own flamingo stencil by tracing your sketch onto parchment paper or wax paper
5:28
and then cutting it out, leaving the paper around the shape intact to use as your stencil
5:34
I going to cut a separate stencil for the other leg because if I cut the whole thing out you have a big triangle instead of two dainty legs Wrap your stencil tightly around the cake
5:46
and use pins to attach it so it doesn't move. Spread frosting over it to cover the parts you cut out of the paper
5:53
and then use an offset spatula or cake comb to smooth the frosting and take off the access to leave a thin layer behind
6:01
Peel the stencil off and a smooth flamingo will be left behind. on the cake. For the bent leg, put the cake back in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set the
6:11
first part of the design and then press the other piece of paper with just the bent leg onto the
6:17
cake. Spread buttercream over it, smooth it and peel the stencil off. Now, what about the body
6:24
To give it some texture and depth, I'm making hot pink wafer paper flowers, which I teach how to do
6:30
in my layer-up program on my cake school on British Girl Bakes.com
6:35
You could use real or artificial flowers instead, or pipe rosettes with a 1M tip and pink butter cream
6:42
I'm adding a wave border around the bottom of the cake with the leftover turquoise frosting from the Ombray
6:48
because it looks like waves and flamingas like water. This is a petal piping tip, a number 104
6:55
and the narrow end of the teardrop shape of the petal is pointing away from the cake
6:59
to make this thin edge, while the wider end of the tip is pressed against the cake to make a thicker edge that will attach to the cake
7:08
So, which flamingo do you prefer? Stenciled with a floral body or a mosaic version
7:14
Tell me in the comments and visit my cake school on Britishgirlbakes.com to learn hundreds of other cake decorating techniques and designs
7:21
with my online courses and memberships. Start a free seven-day trial today by clicking the link at the top of the screen or in the video description
7:29
Thanks for watching
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