Review of Zoe Clark’s Elegant Lace Cakes

The first thing that I’d like to share with you regarding my review of Elegant Lace Cakes, by Zoe Clark, is that I love British accents.

If Zoe was telling me how to tie a shoelace with that accent, I would be thoroughly impressed! I wonder sometimes if my American accent is as impressive….something tells me my Jersey accent isn't quite as great….but don’t tell Buddy the Cake Boss that. I might end up with broken knees and how will I ever make my cakes? How does her accent relate to cake? It just somehow makes her cakes look even prettier when she describes them!

Getting back to lace and these beautiful techniques that Zoe shares with the Craftsy audience, I will say that even a budding cake artist can replicate lace after this class. She leads you through quite a number of techniques in a short bit of time. I would say this class is geared toward beginners to intermediate cake artists with a bit of advanced tips along the way. If you’d like to replicate the cake she demonstrates then you will definitely need to obtain lace molds. However, if you are skilled in piping, then you can easily make do with using actual lace as a guide by imprinting it (which in this case means pressing it into the fondant at the “right” time) and piping over it.

A recurring theme of this class is how you apply texture to your design. I was surprised how many little ways Zoe was able to incorporate texture with appliqués, cut-outs, piping, embossing, by using lace molds, embossing with cord lace, frilling, overpiping with royal icing, brush embroidery, and one of my favorite techniques that she demonstrates with a piping bag. You could actually incorporate these techniques as well toward a buttercream cake if you are industrious enough. If you are afraid of piping, not to worry, you will love her special techniques.

I am not sure if anyone does lace prettier than Zoe, and she is very serious about sharing insights into her design process. One thing about this class that surprised me is how focused and serious she is about teaching. Zoe was on CakeFu.com, Master Series, being interviewed about this particular Craftsy class and she was so smilingly engaging and witty in that British way. Again, I refer to my “tying a shoe lace” comparison. However, she seemed so very serious in her class and she didn’t waste a bit of time being charming or filling time with fluff. You learn something every minute! She takes you from your source of inspiration, be it the lace from a wedding dress or a piece of fabric, all the way to a three or four tier masterpiece with coordinating cupcakes, cookies and dessert table.

In summary, I would highly recommend Zoe Clarks, Elegant Lace Cakes to all cake artists who want to add some “pretty” to their cake decorating skills. She shows you very interesting techniques and principals to achieve an impression of lace on your cakes in a figurative and literal sense. Afterward you can go all out with lace molds or you can “MacGyver” your way with what you have at hand. For those readers who don’t know who MacGyver is, you can Google him. Let’s just say if you are a cake artist, there is inherently a bit of MacGyver in you already!

Does Elegant Lace Cakes sound right for you? Purchase it here for 25% Off! Not ready to purchase? Then we recommend starting with one of Craftsy's free mini cake decorating classes!