Below you will find links to our current selection of How-To articles.

3D Decorative Cake Painting	Step by Step instructions on executing three dimensional painted designs on fondant-covered cakes. Marco Antonio López & Sonia Escobar of http://www.newcake.com 878 KB, PDF format. Updated: March 16/07
3D Elmo Cake Topper	Easy to follow instructions for building the famous kid's toy out of crispy cereal and fondant. The technique can be adapted to create other 3D designs. By cakefairy18 of CakeFairy.ca. 178 KB, PDF file format. Updated: Mar 30/06
Cake Pricing Matrix	This matrix was based on another popular cake pricing matrix but adapted to Canadian products and resources. Customizable to your own needs. From JamesSweetie. 186 KB, Microsoft Excel format. Updated: Apr 02/06
Build a Tilted Cake	How to make a tilted cake (a.k.a. "topsey turvey" or "mad hatter" cake) in 6 easy steps. Illustrated instructions based on the Whimsical Bakehouse book. By Paul. Web page. Updated: Mar 25/06
Carving a Shark Cake	A three-page instructional on carving a cake in the shape of a shark, does not include cake recipe although it is recommended to use a dense butter cake. Covering is rolled fondant. By flourgirl of Flour Confections. 144 KB, PDF format. Updated: Apr 09/06
Swiss Meringue Buttercream	How to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC). These are the steps only, no recipe included. By flourgirl of Flour Confections. 183 KB, PDF format. Updated: Apr 09/06
IMBC	A full and detailed 10 pages of illustrated instructions on how to make Italian Meringue Buttercream based on the Martha Stewart recipe. Don't be afraid of IMBC, it's really quite easy and darn nummy too! By cake4you of KakeKreations.ca. 794 KB, PDF format. Updated: Apr 20/06
Piping a Buttercream Rose	Let cake4you's quick How To show you the way to making simple buttercream roses. It's easy! By cake4you of KakeKreations.ca. 183 KB, PDF format. Updated: Apr 24/06
Baking & Decorating Cookies	An 8 page demonstration on how to bake and decorate cookies. By. Helen of Marmalade Cake Company 246 KB, PDF format. Updated: Apr 28/06
Making your own Gumpaste	Step-by-steps instructions on making your own home-made gumpaste. Save money! Requires gelatin, icing sugar and either Gum-Tex™ (Wilton), tylose or gum tragacanth as the stiffeners. By Flowers (aka Diane) of vjcakecreations.ca. 176 KB, PDF format. Updated: May 11/06
Volume Requirements	An Excel spreadsheet listing of multiple sizes and shapes of cake and their batter, icing and fondant requirements. By Michelle, Tierful Designs. 18 KB, Excel format. Updated: July 26/06
How to smooth SMBC	"How do I get my buttercream smooth?" is a question you see all the time. This How To will answer that for you. Just follow these Step-by-step instructions on smoothing your Swiss Meringue Buttercream - these same steps will work well on many other frostings. It's not as difficult as you think to get a really smooth icing! By flourgirl (aka Lisa) of flourconfections.ca. 298 KB, PDF format. Updated: July 27/06
Sugar	Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible, posted an extremely detailed blog entry about sugar on her blog space. From Real Baking with Rose. HTML web page. Aug 25/06
Sugar's Functional Role	"Sugar's Functional Role in Cooking is a 20-page PDF handbook detailing all the essential functional properties that sugar contibutes to foods and is a magnificent teaching tool for everyone from the average consumer to secondary school students to culinary professionals." From the US based Sugar Assosciation. 1.2 MB, PDF format. Aug 25/06
Types of Sugars	A listing & description of standard sugar types for the Canadian market. From the Canadian Sugar Institute website. HTML web page. Aug 25/06
Making Flower Sprays	A 6-page demonstration on making a cascading set of flower sprays. By Michelle, Tierful Designs. 189 KB, PDF format. Aug 27/06
Making MMF Fondant	MMF or Marshmallow Fondant is a very fast and easy way to make fondant. Got a microwave? You're halfway there. From frostings by Judy. 121 KB, PDF format. Aug 29/06
Making a Fuchsia	Illustrated step-by-sep instructions for making a fuchsia flower. By Flowers (aka Diane) of vjcakecreations.ca. 119 KB, PDF format. Jan 13/07
Gum Ball Baby	Instructions on creating a gum paste or fondant topper using perfectly safe gumballs as your base structure. Original article by (and used with permission of) Geraldine Kidwell. Submitted by MariaK. 90 KB, PDF format. Feb 9/07
Ruffles 101	Illustrated step-by-sep instructions for making beautiful ruffles. By KellyCreations. 651 KB, PDF format. July 12/07
Fondant from Scratch	Easy Step-by-Step illustrated instructions on how to make regular, good tasting, non-MMF fondant from scratch. So easy, even I can do it! No marshmallows were harmed in the making of this fondant. Submitted by Paul. 602 KB, PDF format. Aug 4/07
Making Ribbon Roses the Choc-a-holic way	Follow these instructions to make your very own, quick and simple fondant ribbon roses, the choc-a-holic way! By Mel of WildCakes.ca. 473 KB, PDF format. Aug 8/07
Making a Gumpaste Monkey	Simple to follow instructions showing the process of making a gumpaste monkey... or twelve. By Flowers (aka Diane) of vjcakecreations.ca. 92 KB, PDF format. Nov 16/07
Quicky Fondant Roses	Illustrated step-by-sep instructions for making easy and quick little fondant roses. By Flowers (aka Diane) of vjcakecreations.ca. 632 KB, PDF format. Jan 30/08
Making Basic Animals	Easily create a zoo full of cute critters with this simple method. Used by permission of Robin VanHoozer cakedesignsbyrobin.com. 93 KB, PDF format. March 28/08
Bejeweled	Instructions and illustrations for making decorative jewelry for you cakes. Graciously provided by ICES member Jennifer Jones of Icing On The Top. 152 KB, PDF format. Apr 29/08