[Sca-cooks] cake icing

[Pixel, Goddess and Queen]

On Fri, 19 Oct 2001, Mark.S Harris wrote:

> Amanda said:
> > It's actually really easy to do a heater:  make a sheet cake in whatever
> > size you want and then trim two corners at the narrow end to shape.
> > Pre-shaped pans tend to be pretty small.   Just remember to apply a crumb
> > coat of icing, especially to the cut edges, so crumbs don't smear into your
> > finished product.
>
> I've done little cake decorating, so some of this is unclear to me.
> What do you mean by a "crumb coat of icing"? Is this applied
> differently than the background icing? Or do you just mean to apply
> a sacrificial layer of icing that will be under the real layer of
> icing? If so, is it a thinner mixture or applied thinner than the
> final coat?

It is indeed a sacrificial layer. Chilling the cake helps, too, but
basically what you are doing is sealing the cake so you don't get crumbs
in your pretty icing. It does help to thin the icing out a bit--it doesn't
have to be pretty, it just has to do its job. You can also use something
like apricot preserves--boil and strain them, then brush them over the
cooled cake.

 >
> We have briefly mentioned period icings before. I get the feeling
> that these were much thinner than the fluffy, often rather thick
> icings that I'm used to seeing these days. When did these thicker
> icings come into use? Or was this a Victorian thing? I imagine these
> questions on icings are highly affected by the price and availability
> of sugar.
>
> Stefan li Rous


Oh, heck. I don't know much about the history, unfortunately, although I
can check what references I do have when I find the marzipan recipes.

Margaret