I’ve never enjoyed a project more. Doing research that involves watching the Food Network is the best!

To begin my post, I wanted to answer a question from a comment. No, I have never taken cake decorating classes. I do have some experience in baking cakes, but no experience in really decorating them. I would love to take some classes, though! Learning from an instructor is entirely different than learning on your own and developing proper technique is key in decorating exceptionally well.

In Webbing there are several things I need to do. This is basically the search process.  Callison outlines Kuhlthau’s Prewriting ISP and her section on Collecting Information was especially helpful, particularly the Strategies point.  This says “use descriptors to refine search and locate more pertinent information; be comprehensive in search of all options regardless of format; seek guidance to meet specific information needs.”  This ties in well to the webbing step and, in my mind, helped further solidify what it was.

I think one of the most important aspects of this section is Identifying Key Ideas.
Words: icing, frosting, fondant, gum paste, modeling chocolate, tiers
Ideas: piping, technique, rolling, modeling, creating

Now I want to select research formats.
Live: maybe take a decorating class or watch a demonstration
Print-Based: Cake decorating books and cookbooks
Digital-Based: Food Network shows, online web forums
Multiple Forms: web pages, pictures

I’ve watched hours of the Food Network and seen a lot of decorating techniques, but I still feel like I should try to find some other videos about it. I’m going to check out YouTube for this or even see if there are any instructional DVDs out there.

Here’s a list of a few webpages I’ve found:
http://www.wilton.com/ – Wilton is a well-known company that makes products for baking. They also offer classes. This has some great information about decorating and some online forums to get advice from fellow decorators.

http://www.baking911.com/decorating/101_intro.htm – This is such an informative website about all things decorating. There are so many things I was able to read about! This is a must-read site when learning to decorate cakes.

http://www.azcentral.com/home/food/cooking201/lesson2.html – Videos included! Some basic information on cake decorating in general.

http://www.cakecentral.com/ – Pictures and forums.

http://sugarbuzz.us/forum/ – Forums.

I’m still searching for books and other infomation. Another webbing post is to come!