Pretty (and) Easy: Polka Dot Cake from Country Living

Polka dots are just cute; there's no way around that. Dots of varying sizes all over a layer cake is simple enough to do, and they can hide imperfections in your icing (if, say, you have a few crumbs that got rustled up). These dots look relatively uniform, either a speck or a button-sized spot, and we'd strive for something similar to keep it from looking too random. But the point is that you don't have to be perfect. A few bigger blobs here and there won't look odd. And you can always add in tiny points to fill in empty space.

If you don't want to dye an entire batch of frosting, you could ice the cake in white, then do colored dots. Maybe pale yellow or pink? We would keep it to a single color, though. Multi-colored dots would be a different look altogether- less refined, more kid's birthday. Which isn't bad, of course, just different.

This has got to be easier than trying to pipe on flowers or leaves or, heaven forbid, letters.

• See the slideshow: Homemade Cake Recipes at Country Living (the polka dot cake is the sixth photo)

What do you think?

Related: How to Frost a Layer Cake

(Image: Charles Schiller for Country Living)

You can :) You'll actually need TWO plastic baggies. One with a smaller snip in it than the bigger one, and for pete's sake, do a test spot or two on a napkin or plate so you know how fast it's coming. It's the worst thing ever to make an oops when your base frosting is so smooth and perdy.

posted by bfootnovellista on February 23rd 2009 at 3:18pm
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Ooo, this makes me want to bake again. Blast.

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on February 23rd 2009 at 4:15pm
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Why not just buy a pastry bag and nozzles? It's not very hard, and practice makes perfect.

posted by Palmetto on February 23rd 2009 at 6:40pm
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question/request:

i'm doing my first steps in icing cakes, but can't find a good guide for the shapes of tips/nuzzles and the shapes/flowers/stars they create. i'm also missing something with the technique - my merengue "spikes" are too flat.
could you please help?

posted by maayant on February 24th 2009 at 4:13am
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@maayant, there are lists at Sugarcraft of tips and shapes:

- Tip Info

Click through the metal and plastic tips above. They are listed by brand, though. Also, if you use Wilton, they have their own guide in their store:

- Wilton tips

Anyway, that cake is super cute!

posted by faith on February 24th 2009 at 9:37am
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@maayant, your icing might be too soft too. If you're spikes are looking flat, try putting the icing in the fridge to cool for a bit. Or try adding a little more powdered sugar to thicken it. The thicker consistency will help the icing hold its shape.

posted by eminthekitchen on February 24th 2009 at 10:50am
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