Farida Abdel Malek 
A lot of people are intimidated by the idea of decorating cakes, especially if it's for something as big as an engagement or wedding. Over the years wedding cakes have become more and more dramatic and complex but some people like to keep it simple, with small engagement parties and private intimate weddings. Some also like to have every detail in their big day made special, this could be by designing their dress themselves or by having someone close to them do the cake.
If you're doing your own cake for your small engagement or you want to make one for a friend, you should know it's very much possible. Once you have your cakes baked and you find your decorating inspiration you're already half way there. Rustic chic aesthetics are now very much appreciated and their key is imperfection, the more it looks homemade and effortless, the better.
You can even engrave the initials with a toothpick if you want to, people appreciate originality and intimacy especially if they're the closest people to your heart. If you're making this for the bride or groom they will love it even more for its originality and simplicity, and that's the beauty of a small personal event.
The best thing about fruits and flowers is that they look incredible and look professional yet rustic without the need of skill. Some of these don't even need any frosting skills and they're all about making the frosting messy. I Recommend keeping it to a max of 3 tiers so that it has enough support and won't need dowels.
Take a look at the steps and tools you need below, along with some beautiful easy cakes for inspiration.
You Need:
- Layers of cake.
- Big batch of your preferred frosting or buttercream (Make sure it's stiff and spreadable, not too loose).
- Your cake toppings of choice.
- A piping bag with a round piping tip.
- Offset spatula.
- Long serrate knife.
- Cake stand
Steps:
1. Make sure your cakes are completely cooled. Then use the long serrated knife to trim the cakes and level them removing any bumps and uneveness, making sure all the cakes are the same height.
2. Fill the piping bag with the frosting of your choice. Pipe out a ring around the edge of the top of the cake and fill the center.
3. Put on the next layer of cake and repeat step 2.
4. Once you've done staking the cakes, you can start coating the sides with an offset spatula, if you want to. Make sure to leave it in the fridge for a while after the first layer of buttercream to get a more even look.
5. Now you can start decorating. Look below for decorating inspirations using flowers and fruits.
6. If you're using real flowers make sure you follow the guidelines we wrote about before.
Recipe & Main Image Credits: BRIT + CO
