General video · Level C1 - Part 2

How It's Made Wedding Cakes

Wedding cakes have become bigger and more elaborate over the years. Today's wedding cakes are multi-tiered and even multi-flavored.

Level: C1 · 64 sentences

Transcript

Wedding cakes have become bigger and more elaborate over the years.
Today's wedding cakes are multi-tiered and even multi-flavored.
They're typically covered in fondant icing and decorated with ornate sugar flowers.
The finished product is an edible work of art, perfect for that special day.
These customized wedding cakes are covered in fondant.
This special icing acts as a canvas on which delicious designs can be created.
The baker starts by making chocolate cakes for the bottom tier.
Once the cakes come out of the oven,
she transfers them directly to the fridge.
The cool, firm cakes are easy to slice into layers.
She spreads buttercream frosting between the layers.
The frosting ingredients include lightly salted butter, icing sugar, and Dutch cocoa powder.
Layer by layer, she builds the tier to the desired height.
She puts the tier back in the fridge.
While it's solidifying, she makes the gum paste that will be used to craft the edible flowers.
First, she adds icing sugar to egg whites.
Then thins out the mixture with a teaspoon of water.
Next, she adds food coloring.
She mixes the ingredients for a couple of minutes until they're thoroughly blended.
She adds tylose powder, a synthetic version of gum Arabic to harden the mixture.
After another 15 seconds of mixing,
the gum paste is ready for kneading.
The baker rubs some vegetable shortening on her hands for lubrication.
She sprinkles some icing sugar on the table to prevent the gum paste from sticking.
Then she kneads the gum paste for 5 to 10 minutes.
Now, the artistry begins.
She uses a set of modeling tools made of food-safe, nonstick plastic.
First, she makes a little hat out of the pink gum paste,
then she rolls out another piece until it's paper thin.
The baker uses a gum paste cutter to cut out several teardrop shapes.
One at a time, she lays the teardrops out on a hard foam mat.
She thins and curls the edges with a ball tipped modeling tool
to create a natural-looking rose petal.
Then she switches to a scribe tool.
She curls back the edges to make the petal even more lifelike.
Then she applies tasteless edible glue.
She adheres the first petal onto the point of the gum paste hat.
She wraps it all the way around to create the center of the rose.
The baker attaches the next layer, this time using two petals.
She adds several additional layers using two more petals each time
until the rose is complete.
She snips off the base of the hat,
then lets the glue dry for 15 minutes.
The baker uses green gum paste to make the leaves.
She rolls the paste thicker at the base and thinner at the top.
Then she presses the sheet against the top of the board to produce vertical veins.
She centers her leaf shape cutter over one of the veins and cuts out a leaf.
After attaching a wire to the base,
she uses a silicone stamp to imprint smaller veins on the leaf.
This makes it look more realistic.
The baker curls the leaf's edges with a round tool.
She uses a different tool to deepen some of the veining and complete the leaf.
The baker sets her decorations aside
and removes the cake tiers from the refrigerator.
She firmly applies the fondant over the chilled chocolate frosting.
She made the fondant earlier with melted marshmallows, butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract, and food coloring.
She applies fondant to the remaining tiers, then stacks them.
She begins decorating this cake with ribbon and Italian lace.
She attaches the flowers with stiff edible glue made from egg whites, icing, sugar, and lemon juice.
She can also make edible ribbons and lace
by pouring liquid gum paste into the appropriate molds.
This special gum paste uses corn syrup and cornstarch to reach the right consistency.
A magnificent custom-made cake is designed to be a showpiece at the wedding reception,
admired, devoured, and always remembered.