Turn a simple cake into a stunning centrepiece with some simple styling tips
Presentation is everything, well maybe not everything, but careful styling can lift the ordinary to something really special. Think how much nicer a glass of wine or a cocktail is when it is served in an elegant glass. Half the pleasure of eating out comes from beautifully presented food, served on attractive plates with shining cutlery, sparkling glasses and linen napkins and table cloth.
I recently attended an afternoon with Curry’s and Neff, where we baked a simple hazelnut cake filled with apples and then were shown by professional photographer stylist Carole Poirot how to style it to make a stunning centrepiece for a table, or a photo. The secret is to build it up gradually and to tell a story using ingredients from the dish.
Add height by putting the cake on a stand, dusting with icing sugar, then drap a cloth around for interest and texture.
Slowly build up flowers and greenery on the cake. If using fruit like apples then squeeze some lemon juice over to stop it going brown.
Add more items to the cake, nuts and apple were both used in the cake, so both are good to style with. Build up more flowers and leaves, and also put some apple and nuts on the cake stand.
Decorate the table around the cake, with some foliage, more apples and nuts, and finally a cake slice to complete the story and picture.
The star of the show were the Neff ovens, with the famous slide and hide door, and apparently enough power to cook Yorkshire puddings with the oven door open!
Fuss Free Living the guest of Curry’s & Neff for the Baked In Style event.
Makes it look so simple! If only my cake decorating was so effortless and so effective!
It did seem really simple. The professionals always do!
I wish I could decorate cakes like that! So simple, but so pretty too.
It is really easy, step by step and you are done.
Loved seeing how the scene was built up a bit at a time! Really interesting.
I think that if you look at the finished cake the styling seems overwhelming, but like everything else in life needs breaking down into bite sized pieces.