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How to DIY Rustic Wedding Cake Decorating. 3 Simple Techniques.

Do you see pictures of rustic wedding cakes and wonder, “Could I do that?”  Those textured patterns in the frosting are easier than you may think. You can do it without experience, bags, or icing tips. And the decorations are simple, too. 

How to DIY Rustic Wedding Cake Decorating. 3 Simple Techniques. 1

 

This tutorial consists of seven videos. The main video at the end of this post shows the process of assembling all the decorations on the cake.

The six additional videos demonstrate, in detail, how to make the rustic cake decorations and create the icing effects.

Here are those six decorating steps …

Decorating a DIY Rustic Wedding Cake

This country wedding cake DIY shows you the steps in decorating a rustic cake. Three simple buttercream icing techniques, a love knot rope, and burlap leaves for flowers.

At the beginning and end of each video, you will find what I call a menu, where there will be links to each of six videos and this page. The cue that you are in a menu section will be my black shirt.

In the actual tutorials, I’m wearing salmon with polka dots. You can always skip past this part at the beginning of any video by going straight to 1:05.

Since I have no wedding cake decorating experience and little natural craftiness, my videos are geared toward helping those with limited talent figure out how to DIY. Consequently, I show you easier methods than you may find in videos from experts.

Additionally, I share tips for avoiding some of the pitfalls you may run into. Enjoy!


Karen

Friday 3rd of September 2021

Where do you get burlap ribbon that you can put on the cake so the fibers don’t get in the cake

Bobette Kyle

Friday 3rd of September 2021

Hi Karen, It is just regular kraft-type burlap ribbon. To keep it from getting on the cake, I glued wax paper on the back as a barrier.

Michele

Wednesday 20th of September 2017

Do you think that if I make a buttercream with a meringue base, after I refrigerate, I get this tree trunk effect?

Bobette Kyle

Wednesday 20th of September 2017

Hi Michele. I do not know how it would react. I'd recommend making a small batch and experiment to see what it would look like.

Tammy W.

Tuesday 21st of March 2017

Can you tell me how to attach the burlap ribbon to waxed paper?

Bobette Kyle

Tuesday 21st of March 2017

Hello! Any all-purpose glue should work fine to attach the wax paper to the ribbon. The glue will be on the non-cake side, with wax paper between it and the cake, so there are no worries about it needing to be food safe.

Ashley

Friday 19th of August 2016

Hi could u tell me where you got the steak knife that you used for the middle tier?

Bobette Kyle

Friday 19th of August 2016

Hi Ashley, It's a knife I've had around for years. I *think* it's part of a Ninja knife set I got 15-20 years ago. Here's a close up of the blade. Hopefully that helps.

Carolyn

Thursday 17th of March 2016

Hi, could you tell me if a buttercream frosting on a wedding cake for July would be stable enough to hold in hot weather or can you suggest an alternative for a rustic style cake, thanks

Bobette Kyle

Thursday 17th of March 2016

Hi Carolyn, You would want to use a shortening-based buttercream (as opposed to one with butter). That way, it will not require refrigeration. Wilton gives you an all-shortening substitution in their recipe here: http://www.wilton.com/buttercream-icing/WLRECIP-41.html

HTH. Bobette

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