Confection Couture Stencils is excited to announce our new line of cake decorating stencils! Cake stencils are a simple way to create elegant designs on a cake for any baking enthusiast. Making its debut is this Edison Lace cake stencil! This design will make the perfect statement at an elegant soiree or for dessert after your book club. Learn how to airbrush a round fondant cake with Confection Couture Stencils!
Here is what you'll need:
- Edison Lace Cake Stencil-
- AirGenie Airbrush Gun- https://bit.ly/2xYgtPR
- DecoPac Airbrush Food Coloring
- Offset Tapered Baker's Spatula- https://bit.ly/3dupj8c
- Saran Wrap
- Sewing Pins
- Paper Towel
- Vegetable Shortening
- Rotating Cake Decorating Tray
First, the fondant should be formed as cylindrical as possible around the cake. This makes it easier to wrap the stencil smoothly around the cake. Before placing the stencil, spread a thin coat of Crisco vegetable shortening on the back edges of the Edison Lace cake stencil. You only need to put shortening around the outer edges of the cake stencil. This will help hold the cake stencil flush to the fondant.
With four sewing pins nearby, wrap the stencil around the cake using both hands. Adjust the stencil for even placement and ensure the design lies flat against the cake. On one side of the stencil use a sewing pin through the top and bottom of the design into the cake. Applying light pressure, wrap the unpinned side of the stencil and once more place pins through the top and bottom of the design. The combination of vegetable shortening and sewing pins should hold the stencil flat around the outside of the cake. Any holes created in the process are discrete and are easily covered by frosting or smoothing it out afterwards.
The last step before airbrushing is to cover any part of the cake left exposed with saran wrap! Put a bunch on the top and wrap up the back so that any stray airbrushing doesn't go outside the stencil.
Now let’s airbrush! Prepare your AirGenie Airbrush by loading the color well with Amerimist Gold Sheen airbrush food coloring. Test out the airflow on a piece of paper towel before stenciling the design. You may need a slightly higher airflow than you would for cookie stenciling. Once you have an even spray you are ready to begin. Should the airbrush sputter or spray erratically that may indicate it is time for a cleaning with warm water or vodka.
Hold the airbrush about 4-6 inches away from the surface of the cake. Angle the airbrush so that it is straight on with the cake and cake stencil. Lightly build the color of the design in 2-3 light coats of the Amerimist Gold Sheen food coloring. Take it slow and keep an eye out for any droplets of food coloring that may bead up as they could run beneath the stencil. Similarly, if the stencil is not flat against the fondant then food coloring may get sprayed beneath the design giving it a blurry look. Make sure each coat of food coloring is nice and light for nice crisp design edges. If you do get food color beneath the edges or have droplets of food coloring form you may need to turn down the airflow. When in doubt it is better to do more coats with a lighter spray.
After 2-3 coats with your airbrush there should be a solid gold color fill in the spaces of the stencil. Now time to remove the stencil! Start by lifting off the saran wrap and set it aside.
Rinse any food coloring off your hands unless you want to get fingerprints on your fondant!To remove the stencil, gently pull out the sewing pins without touching the design. Peel the cake stencil off towards the other side. Pull out the other set of sewing pins and lift the stencil straight off the cake. Be careful not to touch the cake or the design to prevent any smudging. Rinse off your hands once more for good measure and set the cake aside for 10 minutes so the food coloring may dry. We popped the cake in the fridge during this time for good measure.
While the design is drying, thoroughly rinse the food color and vegetable shortening off the stencil in warm water. Pat the stencil dry before reapplying vegetable shortening to the back edges. At this point the cake design should be dry. Line the stencil design up with part of the repeated pattern and carefully insert the sewing pins through the top and bottom like before. As you wrap the stencil around you may find the design does not repeat perfectly, depending on the cake's circumference. Unless you calculate this beforehand (think back to math class, C=2πr) you will have no way of knowing how long the stencil will need to be to match perfectly.
As you wrap the stencil around you may find the design does not repeat perfectly depending on the cake's circumference. No matter, where the cake does not repeat perfectly there will be a minor "seam". You could position this part of the cake away from the audience. Place the design so that it just begins to overlap the previously stenciled portion, letting the rest hang loose. Once more, cover the top and back of the stencil in saran wrap. Try not to use the same saran wrap as before since there could be food color that you won't want to get on your cake.
Test the airbrush on a piece of paper towel to get any uneven spray out of the way, then lightly airbrush the 2-3 coats. Airbrush straight at the design to prevent the spray from going beneath the stencil where it may not lay flat. At the seam where the design may not match perfectly, airbrush the right up to its edge but not past it. This will cut down on any concentrated areas of color that may draw attention to the "seam". After completely airbrushing the design, remove the pins and saran wrap, then set the cake aside to dry!
Confection Couture Stencils are reusable and if taken care of will last a lifetime! If you are interested in more be sure to check out https://www.confectioncouturestencils.com/ and check out the video above for the step by step tutorial.