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Sweet on cakes

Award-winning cake decorator Rosalind Chan has made baking cakes an art form,
writes CATHERINE SIOW.

Rosalind Chan (centre in front row) derives
great satisfaction from helping others master
the art of cake decoration.

“From the age of nine, I already had a strong interest in baking and cake decorating, a passion I shared with my mother. She was my mentor; from that young age, I was the one responsible for all the baked goodies during festive seasons. I always stood in awe of my mother who was a very keen cake decorator. When I saw what she could do with a piping bag, I knew I had to learn to be as good as her,” said Chan in an e-mail interview recently.  

Chan never forgot her childhood dream when she furthered her studies overseas. When she took up secretarial and business studies in Britain and then, a BA from the American University of Sarasota through an affiliated British night school, she continued with her hobby and sold cakes to earn pocket money.  

“While I was living in Britain, I took up various courses in cake decorating and joined competitions. I actually only started professionally in this business (teaching) after I immigrated to Canada 13 years ago,” said Chan, whose impressive credentials include an advanced Wilton Method instructor certificate, masters diploma in cake decorating from the Wilton School in Chicago, advanced Australian Method diploma, diploma in Lambeth Method of cake decorating, and numerous certificates in sugarpaste, chocolate and advanced cake decorating techniques.

The 43-year-old mother of three has conducted cake-decorating courses for people from various walks of lives ranging from homemakers and professionals to pastry   chefs in countries such as Canada (Toronto), Japan (Tokyo), China (Shanghai, Harbin and Guangzhou), Singapore and Malaysia (Ipoh, Penang and Kuala Lumpur). She has appeared on Canadian radio and television, and is a member of the British Sugarcraft Guild, Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry and International Cake Exploration Society. She has also won numerous local cake awards from the Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry, including one for her sugar creation of an eagle, perched on a log, ready to take flight. “However, my most memorable achievements were when I won the Wilton Method International Instructor of the Year award for 1997, and when I was inducted into the Wilton Hall of Fame in Chicago the same year.

“The Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionary Art (Chicago) has been the world leader in cake decorating education for generations. It was in 1929 that Dewey McKinley Wilton first began to teach the now-famous Wilton Method. It started with age-old cake decorating traditions, enhanced by constantly developing and ever-refining creativity,” said Chan, who has taught her art at Durham Board of Education (adult night school), Lewiscraft, Bulk Barns, and Michaels & Loblaws Marketplace, all in Toronto, since she moved to Canada. 

The cake artist, who makes it a point to conduct cake-decorating courses at least once a year in Malaysia, teaches the various techniques she has acquired, including the Wilton Method using butter cream and royal icing, the Lambeth Method (old English overpiping), gumpaste/ sugarpaste flowers, non-toxic cold porcelain flowers using cornstarch and the Australian Method. 

“It's really quite easy to pick up skills in cake decorating. You just need to have an interest in this art coupled with a bit of creativity. Patience plays an important role as well as most of the finer works of cake decorating often involves very delicate, intricate and time-consuming pieces.  

“All it takes for one to succeed is a love for cake decorating together with the right instructions and techniques,” Chan added. 

Does she miss anything about Malaysia? After all, she travels back to Malaysia at least once a year.

“Yes, I definitely miss the local food very much and tuck in as much as I can whenever I'm back. I also miss my childhood friends and hope to meet up with them this time around.

And what gives her the greatest joy in her work? 

“I guess for most people, it would be the compliments received on their work or cake pieces, but for me, it is the joy of seeing my students' faces light up when they graduate with their masterpieces. The appreciation and fulfilment that I get from my students are beyond words.

“To be able to successfully teach a person that has totally no experience whatsoever in cake decorating and who can't even hold an icing bag correctly on the first day of the course, and then seeing them put together their final three-tiered wedding cake complete with their own hand-piped decorations on the final day, and the joy on their faces when they complete their pieces, is a highly gratifying experience for me.  

“I love teaching more than I love selling my cakes, and the appreciation that I receive from my students beats it all. Students who have interests in this art sometimes do not have the financial means to pursue this course abroad in the Wilton School in the United States. They are just so appreciative when I can bring this course to them locally, and they graduate with an internationally recognised Wilton certificate.” 

To potential cake decorators out there, Chan had this to say: “If you have a dream or a hobby, pursue it, achieve it, you never know where it may lead you some day!”

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Also known as sugar paste, fondant tastes much softer. It melts in the mouth
and is not as sweet as royal icing.

Royal icing also dries up solid hard like rock candy and risks chipping during transportation of the cake. Butter cream cakes tend to get smudgy and risk melting.

In North America, couples like to have three different layers for their wedding cakes. The common cake choices are mocha, cheese and carrot. Fruit cakes are not so popular anymore.

"All three tiers of the cake are real so that the couple can cut and serve the cakes to everyone. It's more practical than to have a dummy wedding cake which costs more or less the same," she said.

Sometimes, people bake their own cakes at home and send them to cake decorators.

Chan, a qualified Wilton-method instructor, was in Kuala Lumpur recently to conduct a three-day Advanced Cake Decorating Course at Pastry Pro, a specialist supplier of baking and confectionery ingredients and utensils.

The Wilton School of Cake Decorating in the United States is world renowned. The Wilton method of cake decorating emphasises "perfection of execution". An evolving method, it embraces cake decorating techniques from the past and present, and from all countries of the world.

During the course, students were taught aspects of cake decoration like making gum paste flowers, filigree, ribbon insertion, brush embroidery, English embroidery, bas relief, suspended collar and Australian stringwork.

Stringwork, an extremely delicate form of cake decoration, is also known as extension work. She said cake decorators regard stringwork as "the Rolls Royce of cake decoration." The arduous task involves building a bridge formed by a series of dropped loops with subsequent rows piped exactly on top of the previous row against the side of the cake.

Chan said: "The rich are willing to pay for richly embellished cakes. It's something to boast about. A three-tier wedding cake with stringwork can cost between US$1,500 (RM3,900) and US$2,000 (RM5,200).

"In the United States, there is an extra US$3 (RM7.80) to US$5 (RM13) for every inch of stringwork. This charge is on top of the cake charges."

Gum paste, also known as candy clay, is a pliable mixture to shape flowers and all kinds of fancy decoration. Gum paste decorations are edible but many people prefer to save them.

Gum paste flowers, Chan said, are more realistic looking and make better bouquets on fondant cakes. These flowers last indefinitely too, she added.

Colours that represent joviality are bright, loud colours like red, yellow, orange and bright blue. To capture formality, use white, pale yellow, pale green and pale blue.

All colours should look appetising. Dark colours should be avoided as much as possible because they may give a bitter taste and stain or colour the inside of the mouth!

Here are some icing recipes taught by Chan at the course, published with permission.

Rolled Fondant

• 15ml gelatine
• 60ml water
• 2 tbsp solid white shortening
• 120ml glucose
• 22.5ml glycerine
• 910g icing sugar, sifted three times
• 2 or 3 drops clear flavouring

Put sifted sugar in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour warm liquid mixture into the well and mix with your hands to a dough-like consistency.

Transfer to a smooth surface. Knead until smooth and pliable. Add flavouring while kneading. If too stiff, add a few drops of boiling water.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Knead again before rolling out. If storing longer, refrigerate and bring to room temperature before kneading and rolling out.

Gum paste (Flower paste) 500g icing sugar 2 tsp cornflour 3 tsp gum tragacanth 2 tsp powdered gelatin 5 tsp cold water 2 tsp white vegetable fat 2 tsp liquid glucose 1 egg white (size 2)

A bunch of various gum paste flowers.

Method:
SIFT sugar, cornflour and gum tragacanth into a heatproof bowl. Heat gently in the oven or over a pan of boiling water until the sugar feels warm.

Sprinkle the gelatin onto the water in a heatproof bowl and leave to stand until the gelatin has absorbed all the water. Dissolve it over a saucepan of hot water or in a microwave (do not allow the mixture to boil as this would destroy the elasticity). Remove from heat and add the fat and liquid glucose.

Pour the liquid and the egg white into a well in the centre of the sugar mixture. Mix in a heavy duty electric mixer on the slowest speed until the sugar has been incorporated. Increase the speed to maximum and mix for 5 to 10 minutes or until the paste is white and stringy (use of a dough hook will place less strain on the mixer).

Put the paste into a strong polythene bag and leave it in a container in the refrigerator overnight.

Next day, bring to room temperature. Smear hands well with white fat and knead the paste well, adding more fat if it is sticky.

As this paste dries out very quickly, it must be kept covered at all times. To use, cut off only a small quantity and store the remainder in the refrigerator.

Note: Gum paste can be stored for several months in a plastic bag inside an airtight container. It handles best when it is several days old. Gum paste is coloured by kneading in liquid or paste food colours. Colours will fade slightly as gum paste dries.

Gum tragacanth is collected from the stem of a plant in the Middle East. When mixed with water, it will solidify the liquid like gelatin. However, gum tragacanth is very costly compared to gelatin.

Gum glue (Flower making)

• 1 tbsp gum arabic
• 3 tbsp rose water

Keep up to 2 weeks.

Note: Gum arabic is produced by a species of the acacia tree. Like gelatin or gum tragacanth, it will thicken or solidify a liquid.

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Klang Valley Streets: Cake decor made simple

Keen to learn how to put the finishing touches to cakes, cookies and anything else you care to bake? The International Centre for Cake Artistry Sdn Bhd in PJ is the place for you. FRANCIS DASS drops in. YOU could almost picture the wonderful waft from sugar icing combined with the smell of fresh cakes transformed into an imaginary CGI hand, alluringly tickling your nose and leading you up the stairs to the premises of the International Centre for Cake Artistry Sdn Bhd (ICCA) in Petaling Jaya.

This is the place where baking aficionados go to learn how to put the finishing touches to cakes, cookies and anything else one would care to pop out of the oven. It's the place with the icing on the cake, if you'd like.

Barely one year old, ICCA (which opened its doors in September 2006) is hot as buns and brimming with students young and old, of all races and even a few men, who have signed up to master the art of cake decorating using the Wilton Method.

For those in the know — in cake-decorating circles — apparently the mention of ‘The Wilton Method' will result in a glint of awe and recognition.

It is a method of cake ornamentation using icing and all manner of decorative mixtures that originated in the United States and a simple Google search will result in an avalanche of related websites and reading material for the curious person.

According to ICCA, Wilton industries started out as a manufacturer of cake decorating tools. It is based in Illinois, United States, and today has established itself as a celebrated institution in the arena of cake decorating, issuing Wilton certificates to students (young and old) who have mastered its prescribed techniques.

And how has ICCA, which is located in a quiet corner of Petaling Jaya's popular commercial hub of Section 14 maintained interest in its courses amongst the public?

“We have managed to sustain our students because they spread the word around about our centre. Their friends also sign up for cake decorating

classes here and the circle of students keeps growing,” says Vivian Tan, business development manager and a Wilton-certified instructor at ICCA.

The ICCA was set up by Rosalind Chan, a 46-year old Malaysian who is currently based in Canada.

Besides conducting classes, ICCA also has a retail outlet that sells all manner of cake-baking and cake decorating paraphernalia made by Wilton Industries.

“A lot of people are signing up for our classes because they are passionate about cake decorating. These include lawyers, doctors, pensioners and college students,” added Joanne Loo, who also holds the same designation of business development manager and is a Wilton-trained instructor like Tan.

Tan explains that for some women (especially young mothers), joining the cake decorating class is also a way of enhancing their relationships with their children.

According to her, there have been many incidences of mothers beaming with pride when their children boast of their mom's abilities to make fantastic cake decorations, ideal for birthdays and just about any other occasion at home or in school.

“Cake decorating involves a lot of creativity and techniques. I can safely say that Malaysians nowadays want something that not only tastes good, but also looks good.

“Take wedding cakes for example: young people know what they want and the cakes are designed and decorated to tie-up with their wedding themes,” explains Tan.

Besides wedding cakes, the big money is also in cakes for baby showers; bridal showers; kek hantaran; and, of course, birthdays.

Some students, Tan proudly says, go on to start their own cake decorating business after taking classes at ICCA.

An important aspect of cake decorating that Tan points out, which most might not consider, is that it is a de-stressing activity.

“When you are so focused on your decorating work in the class for a few hours, it takes your mind off other things and you forget about your troubles. It is a wonderful thing,” she notes.

Students, besides attending classes, also are given homework to do so that they can master the art of decorating.

Besides creating flowers, ribbons and other simple ornamentations in classes, students can also sign up for special classes where they create figurines to put on their cakes.

If, after reading all this, you feel like decorating and eating your cake too, ICCA is the place to go.



* International Centre for Cake Artistry Sdn Bhd,
16-B, 1st & 2nd Floor,
Jalan 14/20, Section 14,
46100 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor
Tel: 03-7960-0388
Fax: 03-7960-6833
E-mail: nancy.liew@2decoratecakes.com
Website: www.2decoratecakes.com

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