Tips and tricks in cupcake decorating

MANILA, Philippines - If you're a stay-at-home mom who's into the cupcake business, here's a some tips and tricks from New York's top cake decorator Chef Toba Garrett to make your goodies even more enticing.

Chef Toba recently gave members of the media and the blogging community a hands-on lecture on upscale cupcake design.

No matter if our experience in cupcake decorating (or any pastry decorating for that matter) is zilch, the short, but very insightful lecture made us feel like professional cake decorators after. 

The lecture was conducted at the American Hospitality Academy, wherein Chef Toba held a three-day workshop for its students. 

Chef Toba is one of the world's leading experts in classical cake art and design. She has studied with world-renowened chefs and cake artists from England, France, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, New Mexico and the United States. She is currently a master chef-instructor of cake decorating and design at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.

Here, Chef Toba shares the recipes to the buttercream icing and marzipan used in decorating her cupcakes. Here, too, you will find how you can learn the techniques she taught us in creating marzipan fruit designs for our cupcakes.

Just remember this one rule from Chef Toba: the more imperfect your marzipan fruits look like, the more natural they look.

Buttercream icing

Yield: 2.27 kg

454 kg unsalted butter

230 g solid vegetable shortening

1 1/2 tsp lemon, vanilla or almond extract

1.36 k 10x confectionners' sugar

134 ml water, milk, heavy cream or clear liquer

3 tbsp meringue powder

1 tsp salt

1. Cream shortening and butter with a paddle-whip mixer for 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Stop and scrap bowl. Cream for an additional 60 seconds. Add flavoring and salt mix until combined. Gradually add sugar, then add meringue powder. The mixture will appear dry.

2. Add liquid of choice and bear until light and fluffy (approximately 5 to 8 minutes). Keep the bowl covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.

3. Store icing in airtight container.

Marzipan

454 g of almond paste

454 g of 10x confectionner's sugar

126 g of light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp light rum

1. Cut the almond paste with bench scraper and place in mixer bowl. Attach paddle and mix on low speed until some of the oil is extracted from the paste (about 30 seconds). 

2. Add 1 1/2 of the powdered sugar and continue to mix while slowly pouring in vanilla, rum and corn syrup. Mix until the dough comes together and stick to paddle. Remove paste from paddle.

3. Sieve remaining sugar unto counter top. Add dough unto powdered sugar and knead in all of the powdered sugar. If dough is still sticky, knead in a little extra powdered sugar. Knead until marzipan has a fine smooth texture. The mixture should feel soft but firm.

4. Double wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Marzipan strawberries

Form 28 g of deep red marzipan into a ball. Place the marzipan ball in your non-writing hand. Place your index and middle fingers on the ball near the cheek of your hands - that is, the 9 o'clock position, if you are right handed. Rotate the marzipan back and forth, forming the ball into a cone shape.

Roll the shaped marzipan onto a cheese grater to form texture. Add a calyx and clove to complete the berry.

Marzipan orange

Add a pea-sized amount of Granny Smith paste to 28 g orange marzipan. Knead the green paste into the orange paste, but don't let it disappear entirely - that is, leave some shadows of green throughout the orange. Place the paste in your non-writing hand and put your writing hand directly on top. Rotate your hands in opposite directions until the paste forms a round ball.

Roll the ball of paste over a cheese grater to give it an orange-like texture. Do not apply too much pressure, as you want to maintain the ball shape. Next, to soften the texture, lightly rotate the ball between your hands.

Place the paste on the work surface. Press lightly on the top of the ball to form a slight indentation. Place a small clove in the center of the indentation and push it until it is flush with orange. This is the stem of the orange. Add a small marzipan lead at the opposite side of the clove.

To create a small leaf, roll out a small piece of the Granny Smith green marzipan on a little cornstarch. Always use a non-stick rolling pin to roll out marzipan. The paste should be as thin as possible. Rub a little vegetable shortening on the work surface. Place the thin marzipan paste on the shortening. Roll over the paste with the rolling pin to secure the paste to the shortening. Place a Xacto knife at a 45-degree angle to the paste. Drag the tip through the paste, cutting a small oval shape. Carefully pick up the oval cut-out with the Xacto knife. Attach the leaf by making a tiny hole next to the stem of the orange, brushing the cavity with a tiny amount of water. Attach the leaf.

Take note: You can add depth to its appearance by dusting the orange lightly with a sable paintbrush dipped in orange petal dust, which is non-toxic chalk with cornstarch added. For even more depth, blend a little moss-green petal dust near the stem of the orange into the orange petal dust.

Marzipan lemon

Add a pea-sized amount of Granny Smith green paste to 28 g lemon-yellow paste. As for the orange, knead in the green paste, but leave shadows of green throughout the yellow. Place the paste in your non-writing hand and your writing hand directly on top. Rotate your hands in opposite directions until a ball forms.

Roll the ball of paste over a cheese grater for a textured surface. Use your fingers to hold the textured ball in your non-writing hand. With the thumb and index fingers of your writing hand, pinch the top of the ball to a dull point and rotate the ball back and forth. Reverse the paste so the dull point is on the bottom. Pinch the paste again to form another dull point. The lemon is starting to take shape.

Hold the lemon at one end and score the other end with a Xacto knife, pressing the knife into the middle of the dull point, turning the paste one-quarter turn, and pressing the knife again, forming a cross. Press a tiny clove sliver in the center of the cross for the lemon's stem.

Take note: For greater depth, lightly dust the lemon with lemon-yellow petal dust and a little moss-green petal dust near the stem. For a shiny look, brush the lemon with a quick glaze made with equal parts corn syrup and water that is heated until the corn syrup melts and then cools. This glaze can be brushed over fresh or marzipan fruit or anywhere a shine is needed.