In the UK the traditional wedding cake was fruit cake covered in royal icing. I'm not sure if this is as popular today as it was in the past, but royal icing kept the cake moist and you could do incredibly intricate designs with royal icing. If interested, do a youtube search for Elaine MacGregor to see some of the detailed work she was teaching in the 80s.
This is a real cake. Take a look at it in the beginning. I've been decorating cakes for almost 20 years and I have to say you are very good. Because of arthritis, I had to change my specialization to scenery/themed type cakes. Hope you take care if your wrists!
This takes me back... I learned my craft 60 years ago and still love to make these cakes, though they are seldom asked for nowadays. It was a beautiful icing to work with, and results were spectacular!😊❤
To Samantha, Please accept my heartfelt condolences, for your family. So sorry to hear that Charlotte has left this earth. She will be missed by all of those who admired her beautiful cake work, even though we have never met her nor, even, seen her dear face, as we know her only from this video. As GingerCarol has said movingly, it is so painful to lose a sister, an unfathomable loss. I also lost a brother in law, who I knew my whole life, was a brother, truly. My thoughts move from pain of missing him to gratitude for having him in my life, for who he was and how he was in the world with everyone he met, kind and curious, sweet and talented. I imagine your sister was like this too, from her voice and the care she put into her teaching and her craft.
Great piping technique and designs. I have tried my hands on simple piping and believe me it is not easy and very hard on the hands. I think t he consistency of the icing is important. Thank you Lauri for sharing
yes its true..Charlotte Feve passed away on the 5th May bless her soul sooo sad, and such a loss to her family and friends loved by so many...the best Cake Decorator Hull had ever seen in my eyes...god bless your beautiful soul Charlotte (Charlie) xxx
As with all Master craftspeople, they make it look like something you might be able to do with a little practice.... realistically you need years and years and years of practice! Amazing.
So young and patient, I was that once. She did a lovely job not her only exquisite decorating but in her describing how to do things all while she decorated. I waited the whole time to see how she was going to cover the flaw on the back middle, a shell crisscross design or flower perhaps? No nothing to my surprise! A decorator for showcase cakes to be sure.
mama cmx I personally like small details like that. Although its a royal icing cake, meticulously detailed...those small imperfections actually improve its overall appeal, when they are limited. Its handmade and professional all at once.
This cake was done by my very talented sister Charlotte. You was taught so many your amazing talent. You will be sadly missed by many. I love and miss you. RIP Charlotte xxxxxxxxxxx love Samantha xxxxxxx
+gingercarol Charlotte sadly passed away aged 38 on 5/5/16. Her talent was amazing . She was one of life's greatest and I was proud to say that she was my sister xxxxx
+Samantha Morrow I am so very sorry, Samantha. One of my dearest friends is a psychoanalyst and he told me some years ago that the only pain worse than losing a child to death is to lose a sister to death, because our children see us always as older, our grandchildren see us as just plain old, our husbands, no matter how old we get, usually see the woman they fell in love with, our parents always see us as children no matter how old we are, but it is only our siblings who know who we are in our own right, who knew who we were as children, then as teens, then as young adults, then as middle aged women with grown children of our own and finally as senior citizens. The same is true for brothers. I have 3 sisters of my own and while we are not nearly as close as I wish we were, I cannot begin to imagine living without them, and I certainly cannot comprehend the utter devastation of losing a sister as young as Charlotte. Bless your heart, Samantha. One day, one night at a time, Dear. I suppose that's how we make it through such terrible grief, that and a boatload of faith and knowing this is not the end of life, just a change in direction with more to learn and more to do. I believe that with every fiber of my being. Selfishly, I so wish she had made more videos to share with the world. I know the sound of her voice, the way she moves her hands, but I do not know her face, the color of her eyes, the length of her hair or the shape of her smile. I wish I knew those things and so much more about her. It was a brilliant, stunning moment when I realized that a person on the other side of the ocean moved me so deeply from one little video that I actually wanted her friendship and now, tonight, I actually feel an emptiness inside of me. She must be a magical, blessed and wonderful woman indeed. I pray your connection with the Divine creator brings you peace, and I also pray that your other family and friends bring you a modicum of comfort. My heart aches for you. Blessed be, Samantha. Blessed be.
oh thats a lot of work.a master piece indeed but quite difficult and i notice only one decorating tip was use.the round one.very simple looking design but it took a lot of patience and practice to achieve a very clean result.she is indeed a master cake decorator
My mum put a few drops of glycerin to make it flow? forgive me watched/helped her bake Xmas cakes/puddings when I was growing up 55yrs ago I'm now in late 60`s. God bless you Charlotte R.I.P
gingercarol You are right, I was thinking that at the time, it was difficult to get an angle that showed everything, could have done with another camera. I've tried to get her to do more videos, as she is so skilful and a great teacher.
+LauriShowler Oh, Lauri, is it true? Has Charlotte passed away? God, my heart is broken if it's true what Samantha Morrow posted earlier today, and I didn't even know her other than through her video.
Very sad to hear about Charlotte, such a talented teacher and lovely person. she really wasn't too keen on making this video, which is why you don't see much of her only the cake. it was fun to make and I'm glad she did it. the popularity of this demonstration is testament to her skill and ability. love to all who had the pleasure of knowing her. x
My 1st homemade Christmas cake is in the kitchen cooling at the moment. 28cm, brandy infused. Looking at Tesco all in one Royal icing sugar. Will likely buy that closer to xmas when cash available. I enjoyed the video. I really am on the wrong side of 40. Preparing xmas fruit on the last day of August - 4 months almost before Christmas.! Ahhhh. Oh, i suppose i had better subscribe... Thanks again for the video.
from what I've read before, RI was used to preserve cakes for royalty way back in the day. Yes it dries HARD. But it makes an almost airtight seal on the cake. When food preservation was not as it is today, that was important in those huge royal celebrations that took days to prepare for, and even longer to get through! Not as silky smooth as IMBC, for sure, but a beautiful method of cake decorating anyway!
First I want to say the video fascinates me. I didn't look away for one second. Such pretty, pretty work. But that ridge of icing on the side of the cake almost drove me mad. I thought for sure she was going to put some kind of decoration on top of it or scrape it away.
this was pure art! I watched this like it was a movie. I'm a newbie to cake decorating so please excuse my question. Royal icing is brittle when it dries right? If so, when the cake is cut, does it crack?
pardon me for being ignorant...in the states, we mostly eat buttercream or ganache iced cakes but how is this cake eaten when it is served? Is it a normal thing to eat the crunchy hardened icing along with the cake or am I missing something?
I've never had royal icing. When people say it dries "hard," what does that mean in terms of eating it? Does it "crunch"? Doesn't sound too appetizing. Can someone explain?
When a cake is covered in royal icing, you would usually put a layer of marzipan underneath it too. The cake does not turn hard because it's not a sponge cake, it's a fruit cake which is very moist, so it will stay soft.
