Design Inspiration: 3 Insanely Cute Ways To Decorate A Cake

Have you ever looked at the white icing and have been too intimidated to start? Or maybe you prefer the decoration is better left to the professionals. Or perhaps that white icing looks like white paper forcing into a horrible case of writer’s block. I mean, it is not like you can make a mistake. That icing, especially the cake underneath, is unforgivable. Blemish that, and there is no going back. Have no fear. In this post, I am going to give you three ideas to decorate your next white cake. You may never let the baker decorate your cakes again.

Although this post is all about the cake, this week I started training for a 15k run. What is that like 9 miles? Hmmm, no biggie, right? Well, with all the cake I had been consuming, I thought maybe I should give it a try. I am a firm believer in doing some exercise so that I can inhale my daily cookie (or a slice of cake). But jogging is precisely what makes the sweets worth it. Who was it that exclaimed life is sweeter with a cookie in your hand? Oh, wait, that was me.

If you were to ask me, I would choose sweet over salty. Any. Day. Of. The. Week. Does that mean I have a sweet tooth? Decidedly YES! Because of that, I thought I had better give my other “Sweet Tooth Anonymous” attendees some cake inspiration.

But I have also been a wedding florist for 18 years, so that means that I have decorated my fair share of wedding cakes. However, I wanted to try to decorate a cake that did not look like it was ready to be cut by a bride and groom.

This cake I decorated with a few blue hydrangea petals, marigolds, zinnias, impatients, and a pink garden rose that I picked up a Whole Foods. Oh, and some sage from my potted plants in the back yard.

How to collect blooms and keep them healthy until it is time to decorate with them:

Sometimes you have to look no further than your backyard for cake floral inspiration. These impatient blooms came from the flowers pots from my patio. To keep them fresh until you are ready to decorate your own cake, follow these steps:

1. Pick them during the morning hours when the sun is not hot, and the flowers are less stressed.
2. Most flowers can be picked the day before (or longer) as long as they are kept cold and moist.
3. Place them in a rectangle cake pan, or anything that will safely store them, so they do not get smashed.
4. Set a spritzer to mist setting and give the flowers a good misting. That will keep them moist enough until they need to go on the cake. I PROMISEtheir stems do not necessarily need to be touching a water source. Please take it from a florist of over 23 years of experience. As long as the flower is continuously moist, it does NOT need to be in the water. It is like getting moisturized with lotion instead of a bath. It still does the job.
5. This step is a crucial one: cover the flowers with a plastic sack and trap in the moisture. You may have to use a bag on each end to get enough coverage. If they dry out, your blooms will be limp and possibly die.
6. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.

For my sunflower lovers, try making one out of coffee beans and picking the petals off a bloom.

Remember how I said I began training for a 15k? That is 9 miles for this of you who are not runners. I am not, because I had to look it up myself. I have always been intrigued by marathoners. My friends were doing it, and I invited myself to crash their running party. I figure if I write it down and publish my running goals in a post, I am more likely to hold myself accountable and finish the 6-week training. Once my 6-week training is over, and I run my 15k, I will have run approximately 104.5 miles. I need a slice of cake after that! Today I agree with Marie Antoinette when she said: Let them eat cake! I am positive she was referring to me.