Portugal-based Marta Torres teaches advanced techniques such as 3D piping that create ultra-realistic cookies. Her creations are handmade with hours of work.
She won the 2016 EAG Award for the Most Inspiring Royal Icing Artist held in Hong Kong. She teaches her craft at top cake festivals around world. She has been featured in magazines such as American Cake Design, blogs and on-line sites. Torres travelled to India recently to share some of her stunning royal icing mantras with her students. In an interview with Ancy James, she reveals her inspiration for creating cookie design.
Please share your early experiences in the sugar world.
I started my career in banking—a completely different world from dough and piping bags. My husband’s work took us to Japan. During that time, I worked as a freelance translator. It was in Japan that I began to cook and bake for fun. I took this as an opportunity to study at the Culinary Institute of America. I collaborated in a project sponsored by the Portuguese embassy to teach Portuguese traditional cooking to Japanese locals. I soon did the same for the International Cooking School too.
A sudden move from Tokyo to Madrid left me jobless. I attended a cookie decorating class in Madrid and it wasn’t love at first sight. Royal icing was unfamiliar and challenging. It was only after moving to Portugal that I, after six months of practice, entered Julia Ushers Christmas Cookie Contest and won the first prize.
Soon I started receiving invitations to teach cookie decorating techniques. USA, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Turkey and Lithuania were among my next stops. I also travelled to the Gulf, Africa, Oceania and South East Asia for my master classes.
What would be the trends in 2018?
We see companies adjusting products to fulfill customer expectations. That is a trend. Fondant cakes have become more popular. Plastic chocolate stays strong for its modelling properties. On the cookie decorating side, royal icing has become more demanding. Design is important but it’s not the only concern for customers. Royal icing will continue to become stronger. We barely see fondant decorated cookies nowadays. Royal icing can be manipulated to give us the expected result.
I like to use coloured royal icing. The products used for colouring are very important for a good royal icing result. Dimensional piping is one of my favourite techniques. I’ve been spreading it around the world.
These techniques can be used not just with coloured royal icing but also with plain white and then painted.
What would you advise cake and cookie decorators who have creative ideas but haven’t managed to develop their own style?
I can talk about this only from my personal experience. When I started my journey into cookies, I didn’t know anything about it. I’m self-taught. I started on a trial and error basis. Coming from the banking industry, I had no clue on royal icing. I didn’t even know there was such a big world of cookie decorating.
I wasn’t concerned about having a style to identify me. I was focused on trying to make what I had in mind. Sometimes we succeed, and sometimes we do not. But trial is a lesson in itself. It was only when people started saying that a product was mine even before they saw my name on it that I realised I had created my own style.
Which are your favorite tools?
There are amazing tools that can make our life easier. We may not see as many innovative tools in cookies as in cakes. The perforated mates made a huge turn in the cookie baking process. Small turning tables save time and avoid damage when turning wet cookies. A food dehydrator and a tip-less bag that can replace the paper cone piping bag are also a must. Airbrushes are increasingly being used in cookie decorating. There is a huge range of stencil holders to fit any shape and size. Food colouring products are essential for a good result. These are some of the great tools that I use.
What are the ways to remain updated?
Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are a few good sources of information. There are small videos constantly calling our attention. Companies promote their new products by using known artists. We all have our idols, and when we follow them innovative products come to us.
How do you de-stress after days of intensive work?
Those who have attended my classes know that I fortunately have a lot of energy. Creating a new work and seeing it coming to “life” is my way of de-stressing.
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ROYAL FLASH
Royal icing is a hard white icing, made from softly beaten egg whites, icing sugar and sometimes lemon or lime juice. It is used to decorate Christmas cakes, wedding cakes, gingerbread houses and many other cakes and biscuits.
It is used either as a smooth covering or in sharp peaks. Glycerine is often added to prevent the icing from setting too hard. When placing icing on cakes, Marzipan is usually used under the royal icing in order to prevent discoloration of the icing.
Usual proportions are 2 egg whites to 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of glycerine, and around 1 pound of sugar depending on the application.
As well as coating cakes and biscuits , royal icing is used to make decorations such as flowers and figures for putting on the cake. The royal icing is piped into shapes which are allowed to harden on a non-stick surface.
These can then be arranged to create edible decorative effects on a variety of sweet foods. The Glycerine must be omitted for this purpose. Royal Icing is often used to create snow scenes but is also used as an edible adhesive – particularly for gingerbread houses.
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