DIY cake decor step by step: 130 photos of cake decorating ideas. Instructions with simple design options

Fruits

The most obvious decoration, always pleasing to the eye and seemingly very simple to implement, can be considered fruits and berries. Place a composition of different pieces of fruit on the cake, add berries here and there, and your appetite is guaranteed.

Fruits can be used whole, cut into pieces, frozen, or even made into jam.

But it won’t do without a nuance:

To prevent the fruit from slipping, they need to be fixed.
Glaze is perfect as a basis for fruit fantasy.

It is not too difficult to prepare, it is prepared from simple ingredients:

Milk,
Powdered sugar and butter.

Adding cocoa will result in a chocolate glaze.

How to decorate a cake with fruits yourself

Decorating cakes with fruits is a simple (if you don’t take into account complex options), quick and beautiful technique for decorating confectionery products. There are many ways to decorate a cake with fruits and berries at home. We offer some options suitable for a novice pastry chef:

Minimalism. A small amount of fruits and berries is required. They can be placed on the cake, greased with cream, at a short distance from each other along the edges, in the center, on one side of the cake, depending on what shape it is and how well your imagination works. Decorate the center of the product with a large fruit. Combine according to color scheme: fruits of contrasting colors look best on light cream.
Rainbow. You will need fruits of several types and different colors (preferably from a rainbow palette). Cut the fruits and arrange them in a circle, starting from the center and alternating by color. The sides can be decorated with fruit slices or cookies. You can conditionally (or carefully use a knife) divide the surface of the cake, coated with cream or whipped cream, into several zones, including the sides (triangles, stripes), then fill them with one layer of berries/fruits of different colors.
Mono. A very elegant way of decorating sweets, when the basis is taken of one type of fruit and berries, contrasting color with the creamy mass. For example, white and red, white and black, white and green, etc. Give free rein to your imagination: there are a lot of options.
Chaotic. Cut the fruits, take the berries whole. Mix the prepared fruits in a cup and place evenly on the top crust, the surface of which should be sticky. Usually they use kiwi, pineapple, currants, cherries, blueberries, and citrus fruits.
Flowers and ornament. From thinly sliced apples, oranges and other fruits using a slicer, form beautiful voluminous flowers. Gather the slices into a rosette and place on the surface of the cake. Decorate the edges with grapes or other fruits. Large berries can be used to make ornaments.
Cubes. The delicacy in the shape of a hemisphere, decorated with fruit cubes, looks unusual and interesting. Cover with sticky cream. Place a circle of strawberries in the center, divide the remaining space into 6 equal parts and decorate them with cubes of orange, pineapple, banana, kiwi, and currants.
Volume. Place the prepared fruits and berries for decoration onto a toothpick and place on the surface of the cake. You can choose any form. This method will add volume to the confectionery product. Medium-sized fruits are optimal: strawberries, apricots, raspberries, cherries.
A combination of large berries and fruit slices. Prepare tangerines, large grapes and mangoes (fresh or canned). Place a flower of mango slices in the center, slightly overlapping each other. Place grape halves and tangerine slices alternately around the perimeter.

As you can see, it is very easy to make an original fruit decoration for a confectionery product with your own hands. Don't be afraid to experiment: you won't spoil the cake with fruit.

Mastic and marzipan

Mastic is a plastic mass based on marshmallow or “condensed milk” that can be used to cover the entire cake. From it, like from plasticine, you can make various decorations. Such cakes turn out very bright, toy-like.

Photos of mastic cake decor are easy to spot in children's holiday photo galleries. Marzipan is considered a similar material. This nut mass has a delicate taste and is very elastic, which allows you to create any miniature figures from it.

Cream and whipped cream

A widely known method for decorating cakes is buttercream.

Having painted it with food dyes in different colors, lush flowers, borders, and inscriptions are made using a pastry syringe.
After the process is completed, the cake should be refrigerated so that the cream hardens a little and holds the desired shape of the decorations.
You can decorate the cake with whipped cream using the cream technique, also using a pastry syringe.

The difference is that the cream in the decor is lighter, airier and more voluminous.

With gelatin and sour cream

Summer jelly cake with fruit is easy to create from sour cream jelly, store-bought sponge roll and fresh fruits and berries.

The ratio of products that will be required during the cooking process:

two glasses of sour cream;
half a glass of powdered sugar;
a couple of bags of gelatin;
80 ml drinking water;
300 g ready-made sponge roll;
strawberries, currants, bananas and other fruits and berries to taste.

Cooking recipe step by step:

Leave the gelatin with water for a while so that it becomes saturated with moisture and swells. Meanwhile, beat the sour cream until fluffy, gradually adding powdered sugar.
Wash the fruits, dry them and, if necessary, cut them into small pieces.
Melt the swollen gelatin in a water bath and add it into the whipped sour cream in a thin stream, then add the fruit and mix.
Line a bowl with cling film. Cut the roll into slices 1 - 1.5 cm thick and decorate the bottom and walls of the prepared form with them. Pour sour cream jelly with fruit onto the biscuit, smooth it out and put it in the refrigerator until completely hardened.
Turn the bowl of frozen jelly onto a serving plate and carefully remove the cake by pulling the edges of the cling film. If desired, the dessert can be decorated as your heart desires.

Jelly

Jelly filling will help make the cake more beautiful. It will give your baked goods an unusual appearance. You can pour jelly on top of chopped berries or fruits, keeping them fresh and appetizing.

Multi-layered multi-colored jelly looks very impressive when cutting the cake.

To create this effect, jelly is poured on top of the cake one by one. Each layer needs to be cooled.

Chocolate in cake decorating

Chocolate, being the delight of those with a sweet tooth, cannot stay away from participating in the decoration of a birthday cake.

The easiest way to make a cake with chocolate decoration is to sprinkle it with grated or finely chopped chocolate chips.
Openwork patterns will turn out excellent from melted chocolate if you first apply them to parchment paper with a pastry syringe and then transfer them to the cake.

You can use any chocolate:

Lactic,
White,
Black,
Porous.

Waffle decoration

Cakes decorated with waffle pictures look very original. Such pictures based on wafer cakes of various themes are sold in all pastry shops.

To make waffles with an image at home, you need to purchase a special printer and edible ink of different colors.

How to make a decor for a cake with waffle crust:

Smooth out the surface of the cake well.
The basis for the waffle cake should be mastic, glaze or cream.
Grease the back side of the picture with honey and sugar syrup using a silicone brush.
Place on the surface of the cake and press down.
Cover the edge of the waffle with a border of whipped cream.

Rules for decorating cakes with fruits

A cake beautifully decorated with fruit will become a real pearl of any celebration and a source of pride for the hostess. In order for the finished product to retain its shape, you need to follow certain rules for decorating a cake with fruit:

Berries dipped in jelly on a cake

Preparing the cakes. They are well soaked in cream, to which canned fruit is added if desired. An important condition is that the last cake must be covered with a thin layer of cream. This will prevent the fruit pieces from sliding off the dessert.
Fruits. Confectionery products are decorated with fresh, frozen or canned fruits. Cakes decorated with fresh berries look more colorful and vibrant. Fruits prepared for future use must first be thawed and the resulting juice drained before use. Place the preserved mixture in a sieve to drain the syrup. Fruits are laid out in the form of figures (heart, animals, flowers, numbers, fairy-tale characters) or chaotically. Don't forget about a reasonable combination of shades.
Jelly. They pour it over a cake decorated with fruits so that they are better attached to the surface of the sweet product. It is better to use ready-made jelly powder. Just dilute it with water according to the instructions on the package and pour liquid jelly over the cake.
Additional decoration. A cake decorated with fruit is decorated with chocolate, powdered sugar, confectionery sprinkles and other elements. Pieces or whole fruits dipped in melted chocolate look elegant.
Surface. The fruit decoration will ideally adhere to the top cake covered with whipped cream, cream, or unfrozen glaze. Mastic, marzipan and hardening glaze cannot be used.

Fruits are an excellent solution for decorating a cake and decorating other sweet products or baked goods: muffins, cupcakes, pies, desserts.

Choosing fruits

Fruits

Not all fruits can be used to decorate confectionery products. To decorate your cake beautifully with fruits, choose each one carefully. Only strong fruits without dents, dark spots, cracks or other damage are suitable. Overripe and very juicy ones are not suitable, since the juice they secrete will spoil the presentation of the cake.

Most often used to decorate a cake:

pineapples, mangoes, kiwis, peaches, apricots (fresh or canned);
citrus fruits (tangerine, orange, grapefruit);
apples, pears, bananas, plums;
strawberries, blueberries, currants (black and red), grapes.

Some fruits lose their taste and attractiveness after defrosting. It is not advisable to decorate products with such fruits. In this list:

watermelon melon;
persimmon;
cherry, pomegranate;
gooseberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries;
lime.

If you plan to decorate a cake filled with jelly with kiwi or pineapple, then first pour boiling water over them. Otherwise, they will not allow the jelly mass to harden.

Preparation for registration

Wash fruits

You should start decorating a cake with fresh fruits and berries by preparing the fruits.

To do this you need:

choose beautiful, ripe, but strong fruits or berries;
wash them thoroughly under running water and dry on a towel;
remove leaves, seeds, stalks, and from citrus fruits – peel, film;
remove seeds and cut.

To beautifully decorate a confectionery product, fruits are cut in a certain way:

cut apples, pears, mangoes, kiwis and others into thin slices and circles;
apricots, peaches - in halves, as well as slices or quarters;
bananas - in elongated circles;
fresh berries are usually placed whole; only large grapes can be cut into halves.

If you decorate with sliced apples, sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent the used fruit from darkening.

You can cut roses, records or other various shapes from large fruits at home. Beautiful slicing can be achieved by using a knife with a thin blade or a special slicer.

Using canned fruits involves placing them in a sieve/colander to drain excess liquid.

Berries and fruits on the cake

When designing a product, select fruits based on shape, size, and color. Usually large fruits/berries are placed in the center, smaller ones - along the edges. The choice of color combinations depends solely on your imagination and artistic abilities.

Coating the finished product with jelly for cakes (described above), purchased in a store, will help maintain the integrity of the composition. To prepare it correctly, use the instructions.

Icing technique

Icing is an ice pattern, a delicate and filigree confectionery technique for creating jewelry. More often, icing is used to decorate a wedding cake. Decorations in this style do not spread, adhere perfectly to the surface and look like an icy pattern on glass.

They are performed with a special pastry syringe with a narrow nozzle. Elegant lace, openwork patterns, painted edges, and various inscriptions can be created using the icing technique.

Using other sweet products for decoration

You can quickly, but at the same time creatively, decorate a cake with ready-made confectionery products.

All types of sweets are perfect:

In addition to candy
Taffy,
Wafer rolls,
Marmalade,
Bizet.

A very simple way to decorate a cake is to use sprinkles.

There is a huge selection of sprinkles on sale:

Flowers,
stars,
Balloons,
Sticks,
Butterflies.

It can be multi-colored, gold, silver, mother-of-pearl. The topping made from coconut flakes, nuts, and cookie crumbs looks appetizing.

Decorating cakes with carving

Carving is considered a complex way of decorating cakes with fruit. However, this technique is within the capabilities of even novice masters. The main thing is to cut the fruits in a certain sequence with a thin knife.

Cake carving

It is necessary to have special devices - a slicer, a thin carving knife, a vegetable peeler.

It is better to start experiments with familiar fruits.

We offer some carving ideas with apples and pears:

Apple basket. Cut the fruit in half, scrape out some of the pulp from one half with a spoon to imitate a basket. Cut a flower from the second, string it onto a toothpick and insert it into the lower half (basket). Fill it with other fruits and berries. Such baskets can also be made from other oval-shaped fruits - mango, peach, etc.
Flower. Cut the apple into halves, remove the seeds and cut into very thin slices. Form them into a flower. Apple slices can be blanched in syrup or coated with a thin layer of jelly.
Leaves. In the center of the apple quarter, make a longitudinal notch, the edges are jagged, reminiscent of leaves.
Pear hedgehog. Peel two-thirds of the fruit from the narrow side. Simulate needles by inserting toothpicks with stringed grapes into the pear. In the peeled part, make the nose and eyes using currants or blueberries.
Strawberry flowers. You can cut the berries into thin slices and arrange flowers from them in the center of the cake. The best solution for a volumetric composition is to place a cake or chocolate vase in the recess. You can cut the berries to the base and slightly open the resulting petals. Then thread it onto a skewer/toothpick and attach it to the crust.
Asterisks. Using a knife, cut parallel indentations along the peeled banana and then cut into circles. Decorate the cake with the resulting stars in accordance with your idea.

Strawberry flower on a cake

With the help of berries and fruits you can make original decorations without any special equipment. For example, small berries of different colors are suitable for placing congratulations, pictures or other patterns on the cake, which can be covered with jelly.

Application of decor gel

Decor gel is a real godsend for the confectioner. It is similar in structure to jelly, but cake gel decor is denser and resistant to external influences. Using the gel, you can stick the wafer sheet on, and also protect it from cracking and drying out on top.

A cake covered with a gel base will be shiny, with an original, smooth surface.

Any figures or jewelry elements can be secured with it like glue. When cooling the cake, the decor gel will protect it from condensation and getting wet. To prevent the berries on the finished product from being damaged during storage, they are dipped in a gel, which gives them a luxurious presentation.

The decorative gel is applied to the surface of the cake with a wide brush made of artificial bristles, moving it strictly in one direction. Then allow the coating to dry.

There are many decorative elements available for decorating cakes in confectionery departments:

Chocolate and marmalade figures;
Mastic figures;
Beads;
Edible flowers;
Decorative fruits;
Curb tapes;
Glitter.

You can choose any of the suggested decoration techniques or come up with your own. A creative approach and a good mood will help make the celebration and the festive dessert unforgettable.

Features of fruit decor for cakes and other desserts

Decorating a cake with fruits and berries has its own secrets:

Before decorating, the cakes must be spread with syrup or cream. The harder and denser the dough, the longer it should be soaked. At the same time, there should be a thin layer of cream on the top cake, otherwise the decor simply will not stick to it.
Fresh, canned or candied fruits and berries are used for decoration. Decor made from fresh fruit looks most impressive. If you plan to place frozen cherries, cherries, plums, strawberries, raspberries, apples or pears on the cake, you will first have to defrost them (without filling them with water), then drain the resulting juice and only then start decorating.
You can lay out a figure with whole or chopped fruits (circle, triangle, heart, star, etc.), or arrange them chaotically, but more or less evenly across the cake.

Cream, chocolate fondant, glaze or confectionery powder are used as additional decoration. Recently, filling fruits with gelatin has become popular. This creates an unusual translucent layer on the top cake layer, which contains delicacies used for decorative purposes.

What fruits are suitable for dessert decor?

Not all fruits are suitable as cake decorations. The fruits must be strong, hard, elastic, without dents or any mechanical damage. Also, do not use products that are overripe or beginning to deteriorate. They will secrete juice, which, when mixed with the cake cream and absorbed into the cakes, will spoil the taste and appearance of the confectionery product.

Apples, pears, quinces, plums and bananas are most often used for decoration. You can use citrus fruits (lemon, tangerine, orange, grapefruit, pomelo, etc.), kiwi, pineapples, peaches, apricots and mangoes. Berries are often used to decorate baked goods: black and red currants, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, blueberries and grapes (preferably seedless).

It is not advisable to add watermelon, melon and persimmon to the dessert, since they drain quite quickly.

When exposed to air, bananas and apples become weathered and darken. To avoid this, they are first sprinkled with lemon juice.