JOB SHEET: PREPARING AND DECORATE PASTRY PRODUCTS

UC: PREPARE AND PRODUCE PASTRY PRODUCTS

Objectives:
LO2: DECORATE AND PRESENT PASTRY PRODUCTS
C1: Regular and special fillings and coating/icing, glazes and decorations
1. Identify the fillings and coating/icing, glazes and decorations;
2. Enumerate the different filings and coating/icing, glaze and decorations;
C2: DECORATIVE TECHNIQUES AND RULES FOR GARNISHING
1. Identify the different techniques and rules for garnishing;
2.
Decorate and present pastry products
LC: Regular and special fillings and coating/icing, glazes and decorations
Variety of Filling
1. Buttercream
- is simple to use. Given that it's used to cover a cake, using it as a filling makes
sense.
2. Custard Filling
- Custard is a smooth, pastry cream filling. It is made from flour, sugar, cornstarch, and
egg yolks. While you can find it in various flavors, vanilla and chocolate are the usual
favorites.
3. Whipped cream
- Whipped cream is another filling that is frequently used in cakes. This type of cake
filling is popular among beginners. For a simple twist to your regular whipped cream
filling, mix melted chocolate to give it a delicious chocolate flavor. This type of cake
filling pairs beautifully with a vanilla cake and a dark chocolate cake.
4. Frosting
- Most birthday cakes use frosting as the main filling. If your cake seems dry, just add
some frosting to make it moist again. This filling is usually made with butter, milk, and
powdered sugar.
5. Chocolate Ganache
- Ganache is a smooth mix of chocolate and heavy cream that pairs nicely with many
cakes. To make it extra rich and tasty, use 1.5 parts chocolate for every 1 parts of
cream.
6. Fruit Fillings
- You can turn various fruits into cake fillings, like blueberries, apricots, strawberries,
peaches, raspberries, and rhubarb. When using fruit fillings, you usually put a
frosting barrier on the outer cake layer to keep the filling between the layers. If you
want to use fresh fruit, it's best to assemble the cake right before serving to keep it
fresh.
7. Cream cheese filling
- is loved for its tangy flavor. Even though it's often called a type of buttercream
frosting, most of the fat in it comes from cream cheese rather than butter.
8. Mascarpone cream
- Mascarpone has a unique quality that makes it perfect for almost every type of layer
cake. This type of cake filling is similar to cream cheese but smoother, sweeter, and
less acidic.
9. Curd fillings
- You can use curd as a filling by itself or mix it with buttercream to give your cake a
unique flavor. Some popular curd flavors include lemon curd, blueberry curd, and
strawberry curd.
10. Jam fillings
- Jam fillings work nicely when you blend them with other fillings like buttercream or
ganache.
11. Ermine frosting
- Ermine frosting is also referred to as "boiled milk" icing. This type of cake filling is
light and fluffy and has a texture similar to whipped cream.
12. Nut Fillings
- If you're a fan of nuts, a tasty nut cake filling is a great choice. It pairs nicely with a
chocolate chip cake or banana cake. Nut fillings usually include butter, sugar, flour,
and cream, along with your favorite nuts.
 13. Bavarian cream
- Bavarian cream is a bit more complicated to make, but it's incredibly satisfying. It's
perfect for no-bake pastries due to its silky, pudding-like consistency, and mild vanilla
flavor. It falls between custard and frosting in thickness.
14. Syrups and glazes
- Although they don't provide any thickness, glazes, and syrups can also be used as
fillings. They add flavor and keep the cake moist. You can store this kind of filling at
room temperature unless the cake needs refrigeration.
15. Mousse
- Mousses are airy, delicate, and velvety. When using it as a cake filling, the most
crucial consideration is that the cake you select shouldn't be excessively dense. You
don't want anything to press the mousse out the sides of the cake and weigh it down

Classification Of Coatings
1. Coatings- are mixtures made of egg, water, sugar and flavor which is used to cover the
cake before its decoration.
2. Glaze - coating mixtures usually in a syrup form and applied to cake.
3. Fondant – mixture made using a confectioner sugar. Usually thicker and fixed than glaze.

Different Types of Icing

1. Buttercream
- Buttercream is softer and more spreadable than most icing and is the preferred
choice for taste and flexibility. It can be used as a filling inside cakes and also as a
coating for decoration. It is made by creaming together sugar and butter or other fats
like lard or margarine. The quality of the fat used will affect the taste, consistency
and appearance of the cream frosting, as also the temperature at which the butter is
whipped. Add a burst of flavor with vanilla extract. The cream melts easily in hot
weather and so must be kept chilled to keep its form.

2. Whipped cream
- If lighter frosting is what you need then whipped cream is the answer. Often called
Chantilly cream or crème Chantilly, it is made by cold-whipping together heavy
cream and sugar till light and fluffy. You could also add or use meringue powder for
stability. Enhance your cake’s taste by adding flavors to the cream.

3. Royal icing
- Traditionally used to cover and decorate dense fruit cakes, Royal icing is a pure white
and fluid paste that solidifies into a hard outer shell on drying. Made by beating
together egg whites, icing sugar, and lime juice, it looks smooth, hard and matte
when dry. Some may use meringue powder instead of egg whites because of the risk
of salmonella when using raw egg whites. Glycerine is often added to prevent the
icing from setting too hard. It is easily dyeable using edible food colorings.
4. Cream cheese frosting
- Cream cheese frosting is perfect for carrot cakes, cupcakes, red velvet cake, as a
filling for doughnuts and well just about any kind of pastry with all that creamy and
cheesy deliciousness. It comes together quickly by creaming together part
 buttercream frosting and a good quality cream cheese. A bit heavier than most types
of cake icing, the texture and taste are best when made with high-fat cream cheese.
5. Meringue
- This very light & frothy icing is made by beating together egg whites, cold water, and
granulated sugar. The technique of introducing air to the mixture gives it a foamy
consistency. The added sugar stiffens the foam. It can be plain or flavoured and with nuts
added to it. There are 3 popular varieties of meringue – French, Italian and Swiss. The
difference lies in the methods of beating the eggs. Uncooked meringue can be used as
pastry toppings, or it can be baked until crisp and eaten likes cookies.
6. Fondant
- Fondant is a popular heavy frosting that can be easily sculpted and is used mainly for
celebration cakes. Basic fondant ingredients include water, gelatine, glycerine, water,
sugar (icing or castor sugar) and shortening. Some use marshmallows in place of
gelatine and glycerine. The ideal texture is a fondant that can be stretched without
tearing. It can be worked into different shapes using carving and decorating tools.

Cakes are beautiful, but they can also be very plain. Cake Glazes are a type of icing poured over
the top of a cake, filling, or pastry. A cake glaze adds flavor and a glossy finish to any cake. It is
made with only a few ingredients and can be made in all colors, flavors, and consistencies. A
simple glaze adds moisture, flavor, and appearance to an otherwise plain cake, while a thicker
glaze will add sweetness.
 Simple Glaze
A simple glaze is made from powdered sugar mixed with water or a liquid of your choice. It’s thin
and runny, perfect for drizzling over cakes, cookies, and pastries. While you can use milk to create
a richer glaze, melted butter gives the glaze a more icing-like consistency.
 Candy Glaze
Candy glaze on the cake is something to savor. The smoothness, the sweet taste of sugar, and
the luxury of this sweet treat will make your mouth water. The Candy Glaze icing is great for
decorating. It’s easy to apply and tastes delicious. You can make a chocolate glaze by adding
cocoa powder to a simple glaze. Substitute milk for water to give the glaze the richness of the
chocolate. You can use syrups like maple, carob, and molasses to add flavor and make a more
decadent glaze. A bit of brown sugar and butter simmering on the stove will create a caramel
glaze.
 Citrus Glaze
Citrus glaze works well for frosting pound cake or bundt cake and is a delicious addition to cakes
made with fruit. The citrus flavor balances the sweetness of the sugar in the glaze and gives it a
delightfully tangy taste. Add lemon extract or lemon juice and zest to infuse the glaze with lemon
flavor. The same can be made with orange, grapefruit, or lime juice and zest.
 Flavored Glaze
Add your favorite flavor to a basic glaze to make a customized glaze that compliments your cake.
You can add any flavored extract or spice to a glaze, such as mint, almond, rum, banana,
amaretto, or root beer. You can also add spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or anise. Try mixing
savory seasonings to make interesting combinations, such as a basil glaze on a lemon pound
cake. Add jam or jelly to the glaze for a fruit glaze.
Decoration is something we use to decorate a dish. The main difference between garnish and
decoration is that decoration is entirely a visual component. Decorations do not add flavor to a
dish. In general, they are not for consumption.
Decorations are mostly used in baked goods like cakes, cupcakes and cake pops. There are
different cake decorative items in the market as glitter dust, beads, petal dust, shimmer powder,
etc. Some of these ingredients are not edible and should be removed before serving. Therefore,
it’s always important to check the labels of food decorations before using them. However, some
decorations may be labelled as nontoxic, but this doesn’t mean that they are suitable for
consumption. Besides, we can also consider cake toppers and cake figurines as food decorations.
Some of these may be made with fondant and are edible. But some cake toppers are made not
made with edible materials.
Examples of pastry decorations:
1. Bubble sugar decorations
2. Almond paste rose
3. Candied citrus zests
4. Christmas chocolates
5. Crisped sugar
6. Meringue decorations with colored sugar
7. Meringue mushrooms
8. Puff pastry crescents
9. Rock sugar
10. Sugar flower decorations
DIFFERENCE

LC: Decorative techniques and rules for garnishing

Cake Decorating Techniques Every Pastry
1. Spatula icing
-
2. Piping
-
 Stars are made using a star tip and a single squeeze of the pastry bag. Use multi-
colored stars as stand-alone decorations or combine them to create textured tops or
borders.
 Dots are created much like stars, but with a round rather than star tip.
 Rosettes add a floral-inspired element with a limited amount of work.
 Shells are the foundation of one of the most popular cake borders, but they can also
be used to cover a cake with a subtle texture.
 Zig-Zags are just like what they sound like. You can use them to create borders,
cover sides, or fill in shapes.

3. Fondant work
- Fondant, a rollable icing, is another tool that should be in any cake decorator’s
toolbox. Once you get the hang of working with this flexible yet stable material, you’ll
be able to add new styles to your cake decorating skills.
4. Hand painting
-
 5. Sugar work
-

6. Airbrushing
- Airbrushing uses an air gun similar to that used by car detailers and graffiti artists. But
rather than working on rims and underpasses, pastry artists work on cakes.
- This technique is similar to hand painting in that it allows you to add color to a cake
after you’ve finished with your icing or fondant. However, airbrushing allows for
quicker coverage as well as seamless blending of colors.

7. Mirror glaze
- If fondant and buttercream icing are the equivalent of a matte paint, then a mirror
glaze is akin to a high-gloss finish. This technique involves combining gelatin, sugar,
and other ingredients until they reach the perfect temperature. At this point, the
satiny mixture is poured over a chilled cake.

Garnishing is a method of decorating food to make it more appealing thus enhancing once
appetite. It is an art that can easily learned with little time, effort and money. You can do this by
following these simple rules.
1. Garnishes should be edible.
2. Simplicity is beauty - Keep your garnishes simple and should appear natural, fresh and
dainty–
3. A few small groups of garnish are often more attractive than a continuous decorative
scheme.
4. The colors should be harmonized–never clash. Contrasting colors usually produce an
artistic picture. If applying artificial coloring it should be kept to the minimum.
5. Avoid garnishes which are highly seasoned because they might affect the true taste of the
main product.
6. Garnishes need not be expensive.
7. The garnish should not clash with the whole setting
.