Basket weave
A piping technique that features interwoven vertical and horizontal lines (like a wicker basket).
Beading
A border along the edge of tiers that resembles tiny pearls.
Buttercream
A smooth, creamy icing that stays soft so it’s easy to cut through. It can be colored and/or flavored. Also used to create piping, swags and other borders, as well as decorative rosettes. It can be used as filling too.
Knot Note: Buttercream is made from butter (as its name implies), so it may melt in extreme heat or humidity.
Cornelli
An elaborate piping technique that yields a lace-like pattern.
Dragees
Round, edible sugar balls coated with silver or gold and used for decorative purposes.
Fondant
A sweet, elastic icing made of sugar, corn syrup and gelatin that’s rolled out and draped over a cake. It’s a smooth, firm base for gum-paste flowers, decorative details and architectural designs, and has a porcelain finish.
Ganache
A sweet, rich chocolate, denser than mousse but less dense than fudge, which can be used as icing or filling.
Knot Note: Because ganache is made of chocolate and heavy cream, it will soften in very humid weather.
Gum paste
This paste of sugar, cornstarch and gelatin is used to mold realistic-looking fruits and flowers to garnish a cake. Gum paste decorations are edible and will last for years as keepsakes, but some say they don’t taste as yummy as marzipan.
Latticework
A piping detail that crisscrosses with an open pattern.
Marzipan
A paste made of ground almonds, sugar and egg whites, used to mold edible flowers or fruit to decorate the cake. Marzipan can also be rolled in sheets, like fondant, and used as icing.
Petal dust
Adds sparkle or sheen to a cake.
Pillars
Separators used in a tiered cake. They can be made of plastic or wood in several lengths to achieve the desired look.
Piping
Decorative technique created using a pastry bag and various metal tips. Piping details include leaves, borders, basket-weave patterns and flowers.
Pulled sugar
A technique in which boiled sugar is manipulated and pulled to produce flowers and bows.
Royal icing
Made of egg whites and confectionary sugar, this icing starts life as a soft paste piped from a pastry bag to create latticework, beading, bows and flowers.
Knot Note: When dry, its texture is hard and brittle – so don’t refrigerate.
Swiss dot
A piping technique that forms tiny dots in random patterns that resemble a fine dot Swiss fabric.
Torte
A dense cake that does not use leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda.
Whipped cream
Heavy cream beaten to achieve a thick consistency.
Knot Note: Whipped cream must be kept refrigerated and doesn’t work very well as an icing – it’s unstable and not recommended for outdoor weddings.
