Cake Decorating Basics

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Across
  1. 5. Hinged tool pressed into soft fondant to create decorative pinched borders
  2. 6. Hard-setting mixture of egg white and icing sugar used for run-outs and fine piping
  3. 8. Thin first layer of buttercream sealing loose crumbs before the final covering is applied
  4. 14. Technique of piping royal icing then pulling it with a damp brush to mimic embroidered fabric
  5. 17. An emulsion of chocolate and cream used for glazing, filling or truffles
  6. 20. Delicate run-out or flexible sugar sheet cut into fine openwork patterns
  7. 22. Technique of pressing icing through a nozzle to create lines, rosettes and lettering
  8. 25. Serrated edge tool dragged along buttercream to create ridged texture on the side of a cake
  9. 26. Acetate printed with cocoa butter colour applied to tempered chocolate to release a pattern
  10. 27. Flexible offset blade used to spread and smooth buttercream in even layers
  11. 28. Swirling two or more coloured pastes together before rolling to create a veined stone effect
  12. 30. Process of heating and cooling chocolate to achieve a glossy stable snap
Down
  1. 1. Flat template held against a surface and dusted or sprayed to transfer a pattern
  2. 2. Fine gauge wire used to support hand-crafted sugar flowers
  3. 3. Silicone mould pressed into paste to emboss realistic petal and leaf textures
  4. 4. Hand-crafted bloom made from petal paste, wired and dusted to replicate real botanicals
  5. 7. Tool that uses compressed air to spray colour in fine graduated layers
  6. 9. Individual cake layer stacked on supports to build a multi-height structure
  7. 10. Setting agent dissolved into water to make pliable sheets and pulled sugar work
  8. 11. Rod inserted into stacked tiers to bear the weight of upper layers
  9. 12. Edible starch-based sheet used for floral petals, printed images and feather effects
  10. 13. Soft pliable covering paste made from glucose, gelatine and icing sugar
  11. 15. Emulsion of butter and sugar used for crumb coating, filling and textured finishes
  12. 16. Light French sponge made by whisking whole eggs and sugar over heat before folding in flour
  13. 18. Soft pleated folds of thinned paste applied to create movement and texture
  14. 19. Pliable sugar paste rolled smooth to cover cakes and sculpt decorations
  15. 21. Pearlised powder mixed with alcohol and painted on to give a metallic sheen
  16. 23. Hand-shaping paste into three-dimensional figures and decorative elements
  17. 24. Embossed diamond grid pattern pressed into fondant to imitate stitched fabric
  18. 29. Sugar substitute melted to create transparent jewels, shards and blown sugar