Taking Care of a Loved One
One of the hardest things that we have to deal with in life is caring for someone we love as they age, and as we age as well. If you are the one who is doing most of the care for someone you love, you might find it difficult to take time out of care giving to focus on your own health, but be sure to know that it is very important that you take care of yourself, even if you are taking care of others.
When someone takes care of a loved one going through an illness or who has gotten to the point where they can’t care for themselves, they tend to stop taking care of themselves, and are more likely to fall ill. If this happens, their loved one will have no one to care for them, and they will feel even worse about not being able to help.
Luckily, there are some things that you can do to make sure that you are caring for your own health, even if you are caring for someone else’s health as well.
Be sure that you take a few moments for yourself every day. It is important that you do this even if it seems you have no time, because otherwise the stress of taking care of someone all day is going to wear on you and you will get sick yourself. If you have to call someone to come in and stay with your loved one, even for only a half hour each day, it is going to be worth it because you need to be able to take some time for yourself.
You can also use this as your own personal exercise time. If you take a half hour break and go on a walk, not only are you getting time to clear your head and relax, but you are also getting a bit of exercise, which is going to be better for your health overall. It is going to be worth it, even if you have to pay a little bit of money to have someone come into your home while you take time for yourself.
Also, you should remember that you need to ask for help when you need it. One of the biggest problems facing caregivers is that they are sometimes afraid to ask for help, and feel ashamed if they have to ask for help. So, you should never feel like you can’t ask for help.
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Cake Decorating - Children’s Birthday Cakes
Filed under: cake decorating ideas, cake decorating lessons, candy corn cake, children's birthday cake, unusual wedding cakes
Cake decorating Equipment: When you are decorating for birthdays and the holidays, you don’t need every cake decorating tool out there, but you do need a few basics. The following are a must for cake decorating. - Rubber Spatulas: These spatulas are made of flexible material and they are the best for scraping cake and frosting bowls. - Metal Spatulas: Every cake decorator needs one large and one small angled spatula to spread and smooth frosting on your cake. To keep your cake from crumbling, use the small metal spatula to carefully spread a thin layer of frosting on the cake. This is followed by a normal layer of frosting. - Piping Bags: You can purchase reusable 8 inch, 12 inch, and 18 inch bags, or disposable plastic bags, for cake decorating. Zip-lock bags will work in a pinch. - Couplers: Coupling nozzles are needed to hold the icing tips in the bag. They allow you to change tips when you need to. - Food coloring paste, gel, or powder: These food colorings are more concentrated than liquid, and they will not thin the icing. Important tips for cake decorating 1. All ingredients should be at room temperature, as they will mix much better than when they are cold. 2. Always use and electric beater when mixing the cake. You will have less lumps than if you beat it by hand. 3. You really need a wire rack to invert and cool your cakes. 4. Trim your cake so it will sit flat. Never use this part of the cake as the top, always use the smoother side of the cake to decorate with icing. 5. To reduce crumbling, bake your cake the day before you will be decorating it and place it in the freezer until you are ready to frost it. When you take it out frost it right away. 6. You can purchase cake boards from any hobby or cake decorating shop. You can also cover a large piece of stiff cardboard with colored foil and use that instead. 7. A great icing for cake decorating is Butter Cream, especially for a child’s birthday cake. 8. Cut strips of waxed paper and place them under the unfrosted cake. When you are done with your cake decorating they will pull out easily and the cake board will not be smeared. These are the basic tools that everyone needs for cake decorating. The tips given are meant to make it a bit easier to ice your child’s birthday cake. It doesn’t matter whether you have decorated a cake before, there are many sites on the internet that will give you ideas for cake decorating. And others that will take you step-by-step through the decorating project. My advice is to gather as many useful tips that you can and keep them in a little booklet. When you run into a problem, you can consult the book. I know that anyone who has a desire to learn cake decoration, can do so just by visiting the various sites that are available to show you how to go about cake decorating.
Cake Decorating - The Wedding Cake
Filed under: cake decorating ideas, cake decorating lessons, candy corn cake, unusual wedding cakes, wedding cake
Nearly every social event offers food in the celebration, birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings, are but a few of the events where food is an important part of the celebration. This article is about the wedding cake. A wedding is a way to celebrate the union of two people who are starting a life together. People come to eat and drink and a great deal of work is put into the preparation for this day. The wedding cake is often the focal point of the event. There are times that it is considered bad luck not to have a piece of the wedding cake. There are specified rules for cutting the wedding cake that are a part of tradition. For instance, at a wedding reception, it is traditional to cut the wedding cake just before dessert is served, if the wedding reception takes place during lunch or the dinner hour. However, if the reception is held during tea or cocktails, the cake is cut just after all of the guests arrive. It is tradition for the bride and groom to cut and eat the first slice together, as a symbol of their choice to be together. The rest of the cake is sliced by the maid of honor or a family member. Choosing a wedding cake is quite a task. Tradition calls for a white cake with white frosting for weddings. In this day and age, couples are choosing their favorite flavor. This has bakeries and cake decorators striving to offer a larger selection of cakes. Chocolate, fruit, yellow, pound, and marble are some of the cakes made for modern weddings. Some wedding cakes offer a different flavor for each layer. White icing, while still ordered, has made way for a wider selection of frostings. Chocolate, mocha, lemon, and any other flavor you can imagine are used for wedding cake decorating. It is possible to customize your cake using all of your favorite flavors. How the wedding cake is decorated is a personal choice as well. You can have just about anything you can dream up put on a wedding cake including, fruit and even real edible flowers. The wedding reception is the most anticipated part of the wedding. And everyone looks forward to seeing the cake cut and sharing it with the bride and groom as a symbol of good will and a hope, that as a couple, the bride and groom will be prosperous and fertile. If you would like to become a cake decorator, there are several ways you can go about it. There are hundreds of books out there that will teach you how to decorate cakes, from the simple to the ornate. Another way to learn cake decorating, is to purchase one of the many videos or DVD’s that will take you, step-by-step , through the cake decorating process. The best way to learn cake decorating is to take a class. While DVD’s, videos, and books are highly popular and informative, taking a class will help you move along faster. You will be able to get immediate feedback from the teacher, and they can see where you might be going wrong and correct you before the project is ruined.
Cake Decorating Themes
Filed under: beauty, cake, cake decorating theme, icing, romance
Everyone seems to enjoy cakes that are baked at home, it is a wonderful surprise on special occasions. When you are the one bringing the cake, you probably will want the cake decoration to stand out, and look a bit more professional than those you make for your family at home. I have put together a 16
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Cake Decorating Themes
- Fun and activity: These cakes are full of color and whimsical design. The use of different shapes, Balloons, circles, stars, clouds, and other interesting designs will help to make your cake decorating the talk of the party. With the use of animal crackers, you could make a zoo or farm cake. Your imagination can take you anywhere.
- Say it With Flowers: The use of floral patterns in soft shades, are perfect for cake decorating. The addition of a few green leaves make this type of cake decoration an excellent choice for any special occasion. Flowers are great on wedding cakes, birthday cakes, mothers day cakes, and for other happy celebrations.
- A Little Romance: Romantic cake decorating is perfect for sweethearts day, valentines day, a birthday for a husband or wife, or a wedding anniversary. You can make any color frosting, including the favorite of the person or people you are baking the cake for. You can add hearts, cupids, or anything that will remind the guests what the celebration is about. Use your imagination and make it a little jazzy without going overboard. Just a bit of glitter or candies that sparkle should do the trick.
- “What’s Up Doc”: Younger children (and some that are over 90) love cartoon characters as much as they love cake. This is why it is a great idea to combine both when decorating a cake for the birthday of someone who loves these whimsical critters. You can either draw them in icing and color them in, or use molds and fondant to make the characters. After they are made, they can be colored before they are placed on the cake. So invite Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Taz, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Garfield, Donald Duck, or any of the many cartoon characters that have stolen our hearts and funny bones, and are doing the same to our children, to the party.
There are some supplies that are essential when you are thinking about cake decorating, these are:
- A professional icing smoother or thin metal spatula. This tool will help you to cover your decorated cake with an even layer of icing, and to make the frosting very smooth so that it can be decorated. This will make the cake look as if a pro did it.
- The use of decoration Molds is a very easy way to make figures and objects to use in cake decorating. You will probably want to start with the basic shapes like circles, squares, or triangles, until you are sure of how to perfect the process. You can move from that to flowers, numbers, and characters. Some molds also have text so you can add a message.
- Icing bags are an absolute essential if you want to do any type of cake decorating. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to use it as you would an ink pen, except it is held with both hands. One hand is used to apply steady pressure on the upper part of the bag, while the other guides the tip to make the decorations.
- The use of frosting flowers that are already made for you is a less time consuming way to add beauty to your cake decorating.
- Edible glitter and colorful sprinkles are a great way to spruce up your cake decorating design. These small additions could be just the thing to give your cake that finishing touch.
- Edible color sprays are quite easy to use, especially when you are using a template. It can be the difference between a cake decoration that is blah, to one that has everyone complimenting you on your artistic ability.
- You can also print out edible photographs of the graduate, that fish that almost got away, or a wedding photo of the bride and groom, the way they looked when they were married to place on their 50th anniversary cake. The paper these edible images are printed on is also edible, so you can place the whole thing on the cake.
A cake stand will make your creation stand out, especially a glass stand.
Cake Decorating: Baby Shower Cakes And Frosting Recipes
Filed under: baby showe, cake decorating ideas, cake decorating lessons, candy corn cake, ready-make cake decorations, unusual wedding cakes
Baby showers are usually a light hearted and fun way to congratulate the soon-to-be mom and give a gift to the baby. The cake should make a statement about the baby and what you wish for the family. There are several different types of icing to use on this type of cake. Quick Buttercream 1 pound sweet unsalted butter 1 pound icing fondant 1/2 tsp vanilla Yields 2 pounds 3 cups Use a flat beater or mixer to cream the butter. Add fondant gradually while beating. Time - about 12 minutes Cream Cheese Icing 10 oz of cream cheese 14 oz of icing fondant 7 ounces of shortening Yields 2 pounds 3 cups With a flat beater, beat cream cheese while adding icing fondant a little at a time. Mix until smooth, add shortening, mix all together until smooth and light. Time 10 to 12 minutes. Remember that your cake decoration for a baby shower will be the centerpiece for the baby shower. There are plenty of places to get ideas for making wonderful baby shower cakes on the internet, or you may want to make up your own design. In any case you can use one of these great icing recipes. Buttercream 1-2-3 3 Tblsp. Meringue Powder 1/2 cup water 3 cups of Icing Sugar 1 cup Sweet Butter 1 cup shortening Vanilla to taste. Yields 4 cups Place water, meringue powder, and sugar in a bowl. Beat with a beater until mixture makes peaks (7 to 10 minutes) Add soft butter, shortening, and vanilla Whip until fluffy and all lumps are gone Flavoring your buttercream icing. Amounts are based on flavoring one cup of icing. Nougat 2 Tbsp Hazelnut paste (melt over low heat) Mocha 1/2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1/2 tsp water. 2 Tbsp Semi-Sweet chocolate-melted Cocoa and Oil Mix 3 Tbsp cocoa powder and 2 Tbsp veg oil into a paste. Lorran Oils- 10 to 12 drops Vanilla- 8 drops Lemon Flavor- 6 drops lemon oil and 2 Tbsp Lemon Butter Of course, you can use these recipes on any cake decorating design. The baby shower cake is usually a smaller cake with whimsical or heartwarming decorations in a baby theme. In times past, the decorations for baby shower cakes were limited, now they can be found everywhere. Craft stores usually have a variety of ready-made cake decorations for your baby shower cake. Whether you are a pro or a novice it is fun to do a baby shower cake decorating project. You can choose to buy the decorations, or make your own with icing. You can use your skills and imagination to make your baby shower cake outstanding. You will be elated when everyone compliments you on the beautiful baby shower cake.
Cake Decorating - How To Make Your Icing Smooth And Even
Filed under: cake decorating ideas, cake decorating lessons, candy corn cake, shape you intended, training and practice, unusual wedding cakes
If you want to become a master at cake decorating, you will need training and practice. Once you have mastered cake decorating you could become famous in the cake making industry. If you are a creative person you could go far when it comes to cake decorating.
Even a person who is new to cake decorating you want your cake to look beautiful. My mother just made a cake and frosted it, she may have added sprinkles, and she wrote a happy birthday message with icing. Those were our cakes, they may not have been well decorated, but they were tasty. This article will give you ideas and tips to make your cake look much better than Mom used to make.
When you make the cake, be sure that the batter is level in the pan before you place it in the oven. Check the cake at 20 minute intervals to make sure the cake is baking evenly, if you find one side of the cake is higher than the other, you should turn the pan around so it will rise evenly. If you find that your cake baked with one side higher, use a knife to even it. You should do this while the cake is warm.
The cake should be cooled for at least a day before you even think about starting any cake decorating. The outside of the cake could feel cool, but the middle of the cake may stay warm for hours. Frosting the cake before it is completely cool can ruin your decorating.
After the cake has cooled, turn it upside down on a cake board, you will have less crumbs this way. To avoid crumbs all together put a thin layer of icing on the cake. Once you have covered the cake with a thin layer of frosting, you can cover that layer with a normal layer of icing. Make sure the icing is smooth and even. You can dip your metal icing spatula in cold water and go over the icing, this will smooth the icing beautifully.
Icing is the most important ingredient in cake decorating. The icing should be quite stiff, if it is too stiff to work with you can always thin it out. When you are making the frosting, make a good amount. You will need it for other decorations on the cake. Make sure you have plenty of food coloring, as you will need it to color the icing for different cake decorations.
When you are ready to start decorating your cake you will need a few pieces of equipment. You will need more than one pastry bag, and the icing tips you will be using for the decorating you want to do. These items can be bought at craft stores and cake decorating supply store.
To start with, choose the tip you will be using first. Hold the pastry bag with the hole down and place the tip inside, as far as possible. You should use about a cup of icing in the bag at a time, and start it out in a bowl, that way you can thin the icing with a little milk if you need to, before you put it in the icing bag. The icing should be thin enough to go through the tip, but thick enough to make the designs you choose. If you are still a novice at cake decorating, you should practice making the decorations on waxed paper before you attempt to put them on the cake.
When you are ready to ice the cake, you will need to hold the bag with both hands and apply steady pressure. Applying a steady pressure assures that the icing the icing will come out in an even strip. Unless you are making a long strip of piping, you should place the bag closely over the cake start squeezing and count to three, then stop squeezing and lift the tip up and away from the cake. If this decoration looks the way you want it to, move on to the next one, if it isn’t quite right, keep practicing until you get it.
If the cake decoration stays in the shape you intended, then you have the frosting at the right consistency. If it does not hold together, the icing is too thin, and if it was hard to push it through the tip or the cake decoration cracks, the frosting is too thick.
You can get a list of the equipment needed for cake decorating before you start. The list can be found in craft store or pastry supply. The basics are Several pastry bags, icing tips, a coupler to hold the tips in the bag. You will find a cake stand would be a big help, as it swivels so you can frost all sides of the cake, and bring the cake up and closer to you. You should also have several sizes of cake pans, a rubber spatula, a short and a long metal cake icing spatula, a sharp knife, and a baking tray. These are the essentials.
Although cake decorating can be frustrating at times, it can also be very rewarding when you realize the beautiful cake on that stand is something that you created. With a bit of patience and a can do attitude, you will become and accomplished cake decorator.