Angel Food Cake A type of cake made of meringue (egg whites and sugar) and flour.

Attach To secure royal or buttercream icing flowers or plastic decorations, pipe dots of icing to "attach" the decoration to an iced cake. Royal Icing dries hard and is more permanent than buttercream. Use your icing to attach as you would use "glue."

Australian A complex technique comprised of delicate string work and icing lace on a rolled fondant covered cake.

Border A continuous decoration used around the top, side or base of a cake.

Boston Cream Pie A sponge cake or other yellow cake filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate fondant or confectioners' sugar.

Bran Flour Flour to which bran flakes have been added.

Brown Sugar Regular granulated sucrose containing various impurities that give it a distinctive flavor.

Bud The first stage of a growing branch, leaf, or flower.

Butter A saturated fat made from churning cream until it reaches a semi-solid state.

Buttercream An icing made of butter and/or shortening blended with confectioners' sugar or sugar syrup and sometimes other ingredients.

Buttermilk A thick, smooth liquid made by adding lactic acid bacteria to nonfat or low-fat milk.

Calyx The outer protective covering of a flower, which folds back when open in segments called sepals.

Candy Clay Candy clay comes in many formulas, but it's usually a combination of chocolate and corn syrup to keep the chocolate pliable. It can be modeled in many ways and is often used for larger pieces like bows and ribbons. It can also be used to make flowers.

Caramelization The browning of sugars caused by heat.

Cascade A continuous flow of decorations that tumble down from level to level.

Cast Sugar Sugar that is boiled to the hard crack stage and then poured into molds to harden.

Celstick is a thin cylinder of food grade plastic (there are various sizes of celsticks, the most common size is the same size as a standard pencil)

Charlotte  (A) A cold dessert made of Bavarian cream or other cream in a special mold, usually lined with ladyfingers or other sponge products.
(B) A hot dessert made of cooked fruit and baked in a special mold lined with strips of bread

Chemical Leavener A leavener such as baking soda, baking powder, or baking ammonia, which releases gases produced by chemical reactions

Chocolate Liquor Unsweetened chocolate, consisting of cocoa solids and cocoa butter. 

Christmas Pudding A dark, heavy, steamed pudding made of dried and candied fruits, spices, beef suet, and crumbs.

Classic buttercream Has a creamier texture and a more pronounced sweet taste.

Cobbler A fruit dessert similar to a pie but without a bottom crust.

Cocoa Powder of roasted cacao beans, when added to oil makes an excellent substitute for processed chocolate.

Cocoa Butter A white or yellowish fat found in natural chocolate.

Color flows This is a name given by Wilton Industries to the procedure they teach which relates to other names such as "Flood work", "Run Sugar", or "Icing Run out". It is Royal Icing that is thinned down with water, and formed into a picture. You outline the picture with thicker icing, and then thin the icing down. It flows out of the bag filling the area. After it dries, it is lifted off the wax paper, and set down on the cake on top of sugar cubes or wax paper cutout, so as not to come into contact with the grease or humidity of Buttercream. Very fragile. Good idea to make two or three. For a shiny effect, use a warm light bulb shining close to the surface while drying for 48 to 72 hours.

Compote Fruit cooked in a sugar syrup.

Confectioners’ Sugar Powdered granulated sugar used to make icings, gum paste, fondant, etc. (Powdered Sugar).

Cornelli Lace An elaborate piping technique that yields a lace-like pattern.

Cornstarch A powdered maize used as a thickener in cooking and to dry gum paste when working.

Corn syrup A thick, sweet liquid (light or dark) made by processing cornstarch with acids or enzymes. Light corn syrup is clarified to remove all color and cloudiness. Dark corn syrup has a stronger flavor and a deeper color because it is flavored and colored with caramel. It is a popular ingredient used in candies, frostings and jams because it doesn't crystallize.

Covered wire floristry wires covered with paper not plastic.

Coupler A two-piece device placed in piping bag allowing speedy interchange of decorating tips.

Crème Caramel A custard baked in a mold lined with caramelized sugar, then unmolded.

Cream of Tarter Potassium bitartrate; a white powder used to hold beaten egg whites and to harden flowed sugar.

Crumb Coat This is where you put a thin layer of your frosting on to the cake just to keep the crumbs sealed in.  Then you just frost the cake. This also helps with your cake not drying out if your not able to frost your cake right away. But make sure that your cake is completely cooled before frosting. 

Cupcakes Individually decorated cupcakes can be arranged in tiers to resemble a larger wedding cake.

Custard A liquid that is thickened or set by the coagulation of egg protein.

Decorating Tubes The size and shape of the opening on a decorating tube determines the type of decorations the tip will produce.

Devil's  Food Cake A chocolate cake made with a high percentage of baking soda, which gives the cake a reddish color.

Dotted Swiss Texture effect made by dotting surface area.

Dragees Round, edible sugar balls coated with silver or gold and used for decorative purposes.

Dutch Process Cocoa Cocoa that has been processed with an alkali to reduce its acidity.

Embroidery A delicate technique that creates a pattern resembling fine embroidery.

Evaporated Milk A liquid, slightly thicker than milk, made by homogenizing whole milk from which 60 percent of the water has been removed.

Filling Frosting, preserves or pudding that's spread between cake layers and holds them together.

Fondant A sweet, elastic icing made of sugar, corn syrup, and gelatin that's literally rolled out with a rolling pin and draped over a cake. It's a smooth, porcelain finish and provides a firm base for hand molded sugar flowers, decorative details, and architectural designs. Cakes iced in fondant have a layer of buttercream or ganache underneath.

Frangipane A type of almond-flavored cream.

Garland Swags of buttercream icing create a garland along the top of the cake.

Gelatin Ingredient of gum paste, this protein strengthens the sugar work. (Unflavored Jell-O).

Genoise (zhen wahz) A sponge cake made with a batter containing melted butter.

Glucose A type of sugar used in commercial candies and frosting, baked good, soft drinks and other processed foods because it doesn't crystallize easily. Also called dextroglucose or dextrose. Check in a store that has a large cake decorating section or offers cake decorating classes.

Glycerin / Glycerine A colorless, odorless, syrupy liquid made from fats and oils and used to retain moisture and add sweetness to foods. It also helps to prevent sugar crystallization in foods like candy. Stir into icing to restore consistency or use to soften fondant or royal icing.

Granulated or White Sugar Made from highly refined beet or cane sugar.

Gum Arabic Powdered resins of the acacia tree, when mixed with water makes gum glue, a substitute for egg white as an adhesive.

Gum Paste A sugar paste (dough) with a gum stiffening agent, this mixture is most often used for handmade flowers and other three-dimensional decorations. Flowers made from Gum paste usually look the most lifelike. It dries very hard and breaks easily if not handled gingerly. Gum paste is susceptible to heat and humidity. If properly stored, Gum paste decorations will last for years as keepsakes.

Gum Paste Flowers This paste of sugar, cornstarch, and gelatin is used to mold realistic-looking fruits, flowers, ribbons and bows to garnish a cake. Gum paste decorations are edible and will last for years as keepsakes.

Icing Pearls To pipe icing "pearls" on your cake, fit a round-holed icing tube (a #3-5 works fine) onto a pastry bag. Then, simply coat the inside of the pastry bag with clear piping gel before loading the pastry bag with icing. Fill one side of the bag with white icing, the other side with some pink icing. When you squeeze and release, glistening "pearls" of icing are formed.

Icing Runout A name used for the technique of "running" Royal Icing into a pattern or pre-traced design which has been prepared for "running out". It runs out because it's so thin. Same as Flood work, Color-Flo.

Iridescent Powders These give cakes and decorations a Pearle scent finish.

Japonaise A baked meringue flavored with nuts.

Jelly A cooked mixture of fruit, sugar and sometimes pectin, jelly is used as a spread able topping for breads and pastries and a filling for cookies and cakes.

Kernel Paste A nut paste, similar to almond paste, made of apricot kernels and sugar.

Lace Points Royal icing piped filigree that extend past cake.

Ladyfinger A small, dry, finger-shaped sponge cake or cookie.

Latticework A detail that crisscrosses with an open pattern. The lattice can be piped on the side of the cake or pressed into the cake.

Leveling Removing the "crown" of a cake to provide a flat surface for frosting or decorating.

Marble To partly mix two colors of cake batter or icing so that the colors are in decorative swirls.

Margarine An unsaturated fat made with vegetable oils. Margarine was originally developed as a butter substitute.

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.

Miniatures Individually decorated wedding cakes serve each of your guests.

Modeling Chocolate A thick paste made of chocolate and glucose, which can be molded by hand into decorative shapes.

Mousse A very light and airy filling similar to a dense whipped cream flavored with fruit or chocolate. Mousse is not recommended for cakes that will be displayed at room temperature for any length of time.

Napoleon A dessert made of layers of puff pastry filled with pastry cream

Nonpareil Decorative candies used for cakes and cookies. Also refers to a chocolate candy covered in sugar beads.

Pastillage glycerin, corn syrup or shortening and it dries even harder. It can be rolled very thin and is used primarily for decorative ribbons, shapes and appliqués, as it dries bone-dry and crusts more quickly than Fondant. It is also used to make sugar greeting cards, picture frames, bells, boxes or other containers which can then be decorated with piping or sugar flowers. It is considered "technically" edible, but if eaten, it will not harm you, but it is not palatable.

Pastry Cream A delicate milk and egg-based filling similar to pudding. Pastry cream can be vanilla, chocolate or coffee flavored.

Pearls Round, edible sugar balls coated with a pearl dust (in almost any color) used for decorative purposes. Pearls can be individual or in strings.

Petals The outermost segments of a flower.

Petit Four A delicate cake or pastry small enough to be eaten in one or two bites.

Pillars Separators used in a tiered cake, such as a wedding cake. They can be made of plastic or wood in several lengths to achieve the desired look.

Pipe To squeeze icing from a bag through a decorating tip.

Piping Decorative details created using a pastry bag and various metal tips. Piping details include leaves, borders, basket-weave patterns, and flowers.

Piping Gel Tint, flavor with concentrated flavored oil and make various designs. Even make a design transfer.

Pistil Female part of flower that bears the seed and houses the stigma and ovaries.

Powdered or Confectioner Sugar Granulated sugar that has been crushed to a fine powder. Used when making frosting.

Pulled Sugar A technique in which boiled sugar is manipulated and pulled to produce flowers and bows.

Rolled Fondant (It may be referred to as "Sugarpaste"). Originally called "plastic icing" in England, this thick, malleable dough made of powdered sugar, corn syrup, gelatin and glycerin with added flavor and then optionally tinted. Typically, it is rolled out and then draped and smoothed to conform with the shape of the cake for a flawless matte finish, making it a popular covering for wedding cakes. Rolled fondant can also be modeled, formed, twisted, imprinted, cut out to form eyelet lace and used to make scrolls and flowers. It can be used to cover cake boards. It acts as a smooth base for pastillage flowers and royal icing details. Fondant can be made from a recipe or bought from a cake decorating store. Many people dislike its taste and leathery texture, others have tasted the ready-made flavored varieties, and like them greatly. Most popular flavors would be Almond, and Lemon. Other flavors available commercially include Peach, Strawberry, Cappuccino, and Caramel. Chocolate Fondant is also available, and there is a White Chocolate Fondant available as well. Marbleizing, rolling together fondants using white and chocolate

Royal Icing Flowers Decorated flowers made of royal icing. Meringue powder or egg whites, water powder sugar and cream of tarter

Score Using your spatula edge to make a mark in icing or marzipan, for example, by gently pressing it against the surface.

Self- Rising Flour All-purpose flour with a leavener and salt added.

Sepal One Segment of a calyx.

Separated Tiers of the cake are separated using plastic pillars. The space can be left empty of filled with flowers.

Shortening (A) Any fat used in baking to tenderize the product by shortening gluten strands. (b) yellow in color for butter flavored shortening  A white, tasteless, solid fat that has been formulated for baking or deep-frying.

Simple Syrup A syrup consisting of sucrose and water in varying proportions.

Semisweet and Milk Chocolate  Varieties of chocolate used in baking or for eating made by adding sugar, milk, vanilla or other flavorings to unsweetened chocolate. Chocolate is available in bars and chips.

Spatula Broad, flat metal utensil used to spread icing smoothly and evenly.

Sponge Cake A type of cake made by whipping eggs and sugar to a foam, then folding in flour.

Spun Sugar Boiled sugar made into long, thin threads by dipping wires into the sugar syrup and waving them so that the sugar falls off in fine streams.

Sweetened Condensed Milk A thick, sweet liquid made by boiling down a mixture of whole milk and sugar until 60 percent of the water evaporates.

Swiss Dots A piping technique that forms tiny dots in random patterns that resemble a fine dot Swiss fabric.

Swiss Meringue buttercream has a very silky texture and is not too sweet ... this buttercream has a very delicate structure and is not recommended for warm weather.

Stacked All tiers of the cake are placed directly on one another.

Stamens Male part of flower made up of filament and anther, which carries the pollen. Premade stamens for floral work may be purchased at cake decorating suppliers, or make your own.

Sugar A sweetener that is primarily made from sugar beets or sugar cane.

Sugar paste An icing sugar (sugar paste) or a gum based paste (Gum paste) . Easy to mold, shape, color and roll out and you don't have to wait for the sugar paste to dry before finishing the final decoration on the cake. Use powdered sugar to make a very flexible sugar dough. Sugar paste is suitable for wedding cakes, because the dough can be saved for years at room temperature.

Texturizing A procedure for putting a finish onto the surface of the cake

Throat Trumpet like center of a flower.

Throat former Object used to shape and dry orchid centers.

Tier To stack cakes of graduating sizes.

Tier Separators Constructed supports that separate stacked cakes.

Tongue Sausage-shaped protuberance near the center or top of orchid throat.

Torte A dense cake that does not use leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda.

Turntable Revolving cake stand for easier decorating.

Vanilla A flavoring extracted from the seeds of an orchid.

Zest Thin, colored outer coating of citrus fruit, not to be confused with thick, white pulp, which is bitter. The outer rind that carries the oil extracts.

Ladycakes' Place
www.Ladycakes.com
If you have any terms to add to this list please email me