How to Decorate a Cake with Chocolate Cigarellos
Equipment:
To cover a 6” or 8” cake in chocolate cigarellos you need the following ingredients and equipment:
• Cake board two inches larger than your cake (covered in sugarpaste that matches the colour of your chocolate cigarellos and trimmed with matching ribbon)
• Icing sugar
• Buttercream
• Dozen roses or fresh fruit to decorate
Method
Chocolate cigarellos come in milk, white and dark chocolate, so you can choose your favourite flavour or the one that works best with your colour scheme. They can be fragile, so make sure you handle them carefully and store them safely until you need to use them.
Start by using a sharp knife to level off any lumps or raised areas on your cake, then you need to cover your cake with a layer of buttercream. The layer should be about ¼ inch thick. Apply the buttercream with a palette knife and smooth it across the cake, then use a tool like the PME Side Scraper to get a nice even finish.
Now you’re ready to prepare the sugarpaste. Sprinkle icing sugar all over your work surface so that the sugarpaste doesn’t stick, then start to knead it into a smooth round ball.
To work out exactly how big your rolled sugarpaste needs to be, measure the top and sides of your cake and then add on another inch to be on the safe side. Don’t be tempted to guestimate as trying to work with the wrong sized rolled sugarpaste will just mean you’ll have to start again and that you’ll probably have sticky buttercream in your lovely fresh sugarpaste!
Start to roll your sugarpaste out with a large rolling pin, keep moving your rolling pin around and carefully lifting your sugarpaste from the work surface to prevent it sticking. Dust a little extra icing sugar onto your work surface if needed. Try not to use too much icing sugar though as this can dry your sugarpaste out and lead to cracking. If your sugarpaste gets too dry, carefully add a drop or two of water and work it in.
Your sugarpaste should be about ¼ inch thick and make sure you measure the width of your sugarpaste so you know it’s the right size. Take a deep breath and gently lift the sugarpaste by draping it over your rolling pin. Move it into position over the top of your cake and carefully lie it onto your cake.
Use your hands to smooth outward from the centre of your cake and down onto its sides, then use two smoothing tools like the PME Straight Edge Smoother and Polisher. Have a smoother in each hand and carefully work to flatten and smooth the sugarpaste around the cake’s surface – working at opposite sides of the cake at the same time. Using this tool can really make a big difference to your finished look.
Your final step is to trim away the excess sugarpaste off the bottom of your cake with a small sharp knife. The ideal piece of equipment for this is a Cake Decorating Turntable as it allows you to reach the bottom of the cake without having to lift it up or touch it yourself. It’s also great for when you’re smoothing the sugarpaste too. If you’re using one, make sure you pop your cake onto it before you roll out your sugarpaste.
Now place your cake onto your cake board and it’s time to add the chocolate cigarellos to your cake. Spread the sides of your sugarpaste covered cake with a very thin layer of buttercream, leaving the top uncovered, and start to stick your chocolate cigarellos around your cake. Just work around you cake placing each cigarellos tightly next to the previous one until you’ve covered the entire cake.
Finishing Touches
Some cake decorators cover the top of their chocolate cigarellos cakes in chocolate shavings or curls. If you have enough, you can also use the remaining broken chocolate cigarellos to do this too.
To finish your cake off with fresh fruit, just give it a wash, let it dry, and then arrange it on top of your cake. Berries like strawberries, blueberries, redcurrants and blackberries look amazing. To add fresh flowers just snip the heads off a dozen roses and then wrap the remaining ends of the stalks with self adhesive green florist tape. Although not poisonous, it’s best that the open stalks of your roses don’t touch your cake. If you’d like to experiment with other fresh flowers, just double check that they’re not poisonous first!
Last but not least, carefully tie a lovely wide satin or organza ribbon around your cake for the final finishing touch!
