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I'm going to share my tips for efficient cake decorating so you can really maximize your time
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and spend it decorating rather than cleaning up afterwards. Efficient cake decorating starts with
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baking your cake layers and to save time, bake in bulk even if you don't need that much cake at the
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moment. Let the cake layers cool completely, trim and level them if you want to and then wrap each
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in a layer of cling film or saran wrap so that it doesn't dry out. Put the cake layers in the
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freezer and they'll be fine for two to three months. That way the next time you want to make
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a cake you can pull your layers out of the freezer a few hours before you need them and they'll thaw
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and be ready to assemble and decorate. Once the cake comes to room temperature I guarantee you
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won't be able to taste the difference between these layers and layers that have just cooled
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after baking. When you're making your frosting make the biggest batch that fits in your mixer
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If you're going to take the time to make frosting you might as well make as much as you can and use
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the same batch for several cakes. Buttercream stores very well in the fridge or freezer as
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long as it's in an airtight container. I like to put my leftover buttercream in a large ziploc
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bag and press it flat so that it hardly takes up any space. Buttercream will be fine for two to
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three weeks in the fridge or two to three months in the freezer. When you're ready to use it, take
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it out of the fridge a few hours before or if it's in the freezer, take it out the night before and
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let it come to room temperature. Put it in a bowl and stir it a few times before using it to knock
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out any air bubbles and it will have the same texture and taste as fresh buttercream. It's
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almost impossible to tint exactly the amount of coloured buttercream that you need for your cake
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but those leftovers are actually useful. Spoon them into a ziploc bag and save them in the fridge
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or freezer for future cakes when you need just a little bit of that colour for decorating
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Using leftovers is much faster than tinting another bowl of frosting from scratch
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especially for dark colours. When you assemble your cake, always use cold cake layers. Cold
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cakes are less crumbly to move around and when you spread on your filling you won't pull off crumbs
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Also when the cake is cold, the frosting you spread onto it will set very quickly
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so by the time you finish spreading on a crumb coat and smoothing it, the frosting will have set
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and you'll be able to move straight onto your final coat without having to wait for the crumb coat to set in between. Before you start decorating a cake, take out all of the tools and materials
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you'll need. Ideally do this at least a day in advance to give you time to go and buy anything
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you realize you don't have. When it's time to decorate, you'll be able to dive straight in and
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once you start you won't have to waste time looking for things you need or rushing out to
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buy them. However you choose to decorate your cake, you're going to start with clean tools and finish
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with dirty tools. Have a box or tray or bucket where you can toss anything you need to wash
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like a dirty offset spatula or frosting smoother or reusable piping bags and piping tips covered
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with frosting. Have a sponge or cloth handy to wipe up frosting spills or smudges as you frost
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and decorate and throw things away as you go like the ends you cut off piping bags. That way
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you'll keep a clear workspace and won't have lots of picking up to do when you finish. I have an
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online course called Fabulous Cakes Fast where I teach how to decorate 10 cakes in 30 minutes each
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and I've put an exclusive discount code in the video description for that course. I'll tell you
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the most efficient way to decorate each of the cakes in that course but these are some basic
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tricks that will help you save time on all of the cakes you decorate. Thanks for watching! I hope
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you found this tutorial useful
