Startup Library: Cake Decorating (DVD + Streaming)

Ready to sweeten up your skills? Explore the sugar art of cake decorating with Jenny McCoy as your expert guide. In this comprehensive beginner’s class, you’ll learn how to bake and construct a variety of one-tiered frosted cakes with professional-quality results. Along the way, discover essential tools, materials and techniques, including fondant and buttercream, sugar flowers, piping, hand modeling and much more.

NOTE: If you’d like to purchase only the DVD for this class, you may do so through this link. (Please note, any class PDF materials are not on the DVD itself. You must have streaming access to download those materials associated with the class.)

Introduction to Cake Decorating (07:36)
Ground yourself in the fundamentals of cake decorating as Jenny discusses the elements that make up a decorated cake. Discover a few basic tools, plus the timeline for making your first cake!

How to Bake a Cake (19:10)
Get right into action by learning to make a yellow butter-based cake. Find out how to prepare the pans, mix the batter, and bake it to a beautiful golden brown. You can use the same recipe to make a chocolate version, too!

Making Swiss Meringue Buttercream (12:10)
Jenny shows you how to make her favorite decorating frosting: Swiss meringue buttercream. It’s a step up from the traditional one-bowl, powdered sugar-and-butter variation.

Constructing a Single-Tier Cake (52:13)
Trim your baked cakes so they’re uniform and level every time. Find out how to stack up the layers, fill them with frosting, and frost the entire cake with a crumb coat. You’ll add a final coat for a sharp-edged flat finish that will get you ready to start decorating.

Buttercream: Textured Finishes (07:11)
Discover three techniques for texturing cakes with buttercream: horizontal ridge, vertical stripe and a simple-yet-beautiful brushed finish. These finishes are not only beautiful and on trend, they’re also great at covering up anything that’s less than perfect.

Buttercream: Preparing to Pipe (23:18)
Set yourself up for piping success by learning to color buttercream for endless customization. Jenny shows you how to fill a piping bag with buttercream and pipe a line of frosting.

Buttercream: Simple Designs & Borders (45:51)
Once your buttercream is colored and in a pastry bag, practice making a few simple designs with two different tips: round and star. You’ll see how to turn your designs into borders.

Buttercream: Piped Roses & Leaves (18:48)
Continue to work on your piping skills by learning to pipe the classic buttercream rose with Jenny’s step-by-step instructions. Don’t worry if you mess up; since these beauties are away from your cake they can go right back in the frosting bowl.

Fondant: Handling & Coloring (16:09)
Conquer the pliable sugar dough known as fondant as Jenny shares her best tips for handling, storing and coloring to make gorgeous, professional-looking decorated cakes.

Fondant: Rolling Out & Covering a Cake (34:13)
It’s important to give yourself a pristine, clean canvas for decorating. In this lesson, learn how to roll out fondant and drape it beautifully over your cakes. Jenny will also walk you through some common problems and explain how to fix them.

Fondant: Cutouts (23:14)
See how to make a variety of fondant decorations from just a few simple cutters and place them securely as you make a cute and easy “Happy Birthday” cake. Plus, learn Jenny’s secret no-stress method for writing messages on cakes.

Fondant: 3-D Roses (39:15)
Here, Jenny introduces sugar flowers, then goes over a few basic techniques for hand-modeling petals to create a classic fondant rose.

What’s Next: Design Ideas & Inspiration (04:08)
In this final lesson, find out how to mix and match the above techniques to create new designs and cakes for any theme or occasion!

Jenny McCoy
Jenny McCoy is a pastry chef with more than 10 years’ experience working in some of America’s finest kitchens. She uses classic techniques to create inventive desserts, many of which are featured in her book, “Desserts for Every Season.” Jenny’s philosophy on baking is simple: By combining the best ingredients available and a personal creative touch, anyone can make refined recipes and original pastries with ease. A truly approachable expert, Jenny offers detailed lessons that are both inviting and inspiring.

How will I receive my DVD class?
Your DVD will be shipped in the mail using the address you provide at checkout. Your purchase also includes access to a streaming version of the class and downloadable PDF class materials. After your purchase, you can find your streaming class and your PDF class materials by logging into your Craftsy account using the user name and password you established.

How do I access the companion materials for my DVD class?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” area, select the “Classes” content. On this page, you’ll see all classes you’ve purchased from Craftsy. Simply select the desired class from your content list, and you’ll be presented with your selected class page. From the class page you can easily view, download or print the companion class materials, which are in the “Bonus Materials” tab on the class page. You can log in any time, and download or print the companion materials as many times as you like. Companion class materials are not shipped in the mail with your DVD, and must be accessed on Craftsy.com.

How do I stream my class on Craftsy.com?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” content, select the desired class. Stream the video on-demand from the class page any time you like; your viewing access is unlimited. You can stream your class from any computer, tablet or mobile device with Internet access.

Do I have to purchase a Craftsy Membership to get my class?
No, you do not. Every DVD purchased on Craftsy.com includes both the physical DVD in the mail and unlimited on-demand streaming access at Craftsy.com. These benefits are yours with or without a Craftsy membership.

Are DVDs included in a Craftsy Membership?
No, they are not. DVDs can only be purchased on an individual basis and are not included in Craftsy memberships. For non-members, DVDs are a flexible way to purchase only the classes you love best. For members, DVDs are a great choice to build an at-home library you can keep forever and enjoy any time, with or without Internet access.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes, we do ship most physical products, including DVDs, to several International destinations. In addition to the USA and Canada, we ship to Australia, Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and most Western European countries. If you live outside these countries, you can still purchase digital items including memberships, individual streaming classes, and pattern downloads.

Do your DVDs work on international players?
Yes, our DVDs should be compatible with any DVD player in use today. All our videos have been created with all current Region Codes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8). If you have trouble viewing a DVD purchased from Craftsy.com, please contact Customer Service.

What is your return policy?
We want to be sure you’re satisfied. If you have trouble playing your DVD, if the content is not correctly presented on the DVD, or you are dissatisfied with the content of your class, we will work with you. Contact Craftsy customer service via email or phone. Upon your request, and upon your return of the DVD to us, we will refund your purchase price or send you another DVD to replace a damaged or incorrect DVD, whichever is your preference. If you do receive a full refund, your streaming video class will also be removed from your Craftsy account, so on-demand video access will no longer be available to you.