Cake ideas come to life when the finishing touches are put on the cake. Decorating cakes is fun, but what is done to "polish" it with the last little details is what leaves that lasting impression. Once the cake is frosted and decorated with the borders and design on top, little things can be done to make it noticeable – not just a cake on the table. Here are some ideas that can make your decorated cakes look remarkable.

• Put artificial flowers (or real ones if available) in one or two of the opposite corners of the cake. This will give it a definate 3-D effect. Artificial flowers come in so many colors and kinds that you can let your imagination run wild. Mix and match the kinds and colors to come up with contrasting or complimentary colors to the rest of the cake theme and design. Whether using fake or real flowers, just cut the stem about 1 1/2" long and poke down in the cake in whatever position or angle you desire.

• Use spray food coloring to add a little color without having to use colored frosting. If there is a certain place you do not want any overspray, cover it up with a sheet of paper while spraying. Start with a light mist and then go over it till you have the shade you want.

• Sprinkles are a great way to add color to the cake, they come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors, and themes, so let your imagination run with that one.
• Confetti can be used to decorate cakes because there are not only designs available, but also words. People will a lot of times sprinkle confetti on tables for decorations at a party, but it can also be used on the cakes. Just make sure you tell the people when you serve the cake that they will need to pick the confetti off . The main timesweI use confetti is around the frosting sheet on a 12×18 or 11×17 cake where you end up with a wide border, that needs something to fill it in. The other time is on sheet cakes on the individual pieces. Below are pictures as an example of both instances, and the first one actually shows how a black and white photo looks when used for the frosting sheet.

• Small toys and decorations can be placed on the cake that go with the theme. For example, we are from a rural community and a cute idea for a little farm boy is to put a miniature tractor or toy cows or horses on the cake. And what little girl wouldn't like a little princess doll on hers?

These have just been some examples of cakes we have produced for customers. The finishing touches are what gives the cake a personality and character.  Just use your imagination and come up with your own cake ideas. 

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When getting ready to make and decorate a cake, there is some thought and planning that needs to go in to it first. What if you get in the middle of it and realize you don't have all the ingredients? What if you have something else planned the day the cake is needed? Below is a list of things we check, not only with the customer, but mostly with ourselves.

1. One of the first things we do is to check our calendar to make sure of the day the cake is needed. If we have something else going on that day, we can make it the day ahead and put it in the refrigerator. Much less stress doing this than doing the cake on a busy day with other plans. Make sure to double check the date with the customer. We once made a cake a week early because she said she needed it on Wednesday. Problem was, she needed it the NEXT Wednesday. Thank goodness for freezers!
2. Next, we check to make sure we have all our ingredients for cake and frosting that we need: cake mix, eggs, oil, powdered sugar, shortening, and vanilla, almond and butter flavorings. We live about 90 miles from a Wal-Mart store, so we usually stock up on the listed ingredients in order to have them on hand when needed.
3. We mix up the frosting at least a day in advance, if not four or five days. We mix up 4 batches of decorator icing at a time. It's just enough to fill a 5 quart ice cream bucket. We always seal the top of the frosting with a sheet of plastic wrap pressed down on top of the frosting to keep out any air that will cause the frosting to dry out, and then put the lid on the bucket and store it in the refrigerator. Having this step out of the way will let you concentrate on just baking and decorating cakes without having to stop and mix up frosting.
4. The night before making the cake, we get the frosting out of the refrigerator so it will be room temperature and easier to spread.  We also get our pans out and get them ready. If we are using a 9 x 13 or 12 x 18 pan, (also any square or round pans) we line the pans with waxed paper. This saves having to grease and flour the pans. Once you turn the cake out of the pans, the waxed paper just peals off and is ready to frost. Or if you have to bake them the night before, just leave the waxed paper on till the next morning and it keeps the moisture sealed in.
5. The night before you can also mix up any colors of frosting you will need. This will eliminate having to do it when you are in the middle of decorating cakes. We keep little yogurt containers with lids (some brands just have the foil top now) on hand just for mixing and storing colored frosting. We also use plastic wrap to seal over this frosting so it doesn't dry out.
6. Line out what you will be using for decorations to make your cake a masterpiece. We use artificial flowers to add color and character to my cakes. We know that is cheating, but who needs all that extra sugar from eating those frosting flowers anyway? You can get cheap artificial flowers at the discount stores and just clip off the flower with just enough stem to stick down in the cake to make it pretty. Doing this the night before eliminates hunting them down when you're trying to put the finishing touches on the cake.
7. Here is a checklist for a wedding cake planner you can download and print off: CLICK HERE .

Hopefully, there are some hints here that will help you with getting ready for making your masterpiece. These six steps are just some cake ideas we use when we're in the "preparation mode" to get ready to decorate cakes.