What equipment is needed for cake decorating?
What equipment is needed for cake decorating?
The art of baking a cake takes time and practice. However, after you’ve mastered your craft, it’s time to take your skill to the next level by grasping the art of cake decoration.
Baking allows you to experiment with different recipes. You’ll find decorating a cake simple or complex depending on what you’re looking to achieve.
You may find it challenging and overwhelming moving from baking cakes to decorating them, but with the right cake decorating tools, you should find this a breeze.
Whether you’re a beginner or a pro looking to upgrade your decorating skills, below are some must-have cake decorating tools.
Sometimes levelling a cake with a knife doesn’t cut it. If you’ve tried using a serrated knife, but nothing seems to work, you may need a cake leveller to do the magic. Invest in a quality leveller, as some poor quality ones bend quickly.
Cake boards differ in size and come in numbered measurements to correspond to your desired cake size. A board gives you a starting foundation to build up your cake. What’s more, it supports your dessert and is useful when you need to move your cake from the turntable.
Decorating your cake on a board is more convenient than doing it on the display plate. You have more freedom while decorating, and you don’t have to deal with icing or crumbs on your final platter.
Make sure that you use a board that is an inch larger if you plan to pipe a bottom border. You can use a ten-inch board if your cake is eight inches. You can choose a board that is the same size as your cake or a bit smaller if you need to hide the appearance of a board.
A cake turntable comes in handy when you need to decorate your cake on all sides. The turntable is elevated to make your work simpler.
It’s time to serve your cake after you’re done decorating it. You wouldn’t want to ruin all your efforts by placing the cake on an ordinary platter. Get a quality cake stand to display your finished cake.
An angled spatula makes spreading frosting quicker and straightforward. Always have some warm water and some paper towels close if you need to create a smooth finish. Place the spatula in the water each time you are smoothing the frosting.
You need different sized icing bags for various projects. Get some quality bags that won’t burst or tear when using ganache or buttercream.
Choose piping tips of different sizes and shapes if you need to create borders, and put some extra details on your cake. The cones help to produce multiple designs.
You have unlimited decorating techniques when using piping tips and couplers. As a beginner, start with two styles of tips, a star one and a round tip. Experiment with these two, and get more designs as you master your cake decorating skills.
A round piping tip allows you to create dots on your border and is ideal for those not interested in too much detail on their dessert. You can use the large round tips to create a mound of buttercream on your cakes.
The star tip is useful when you need to create a shell border because the result looks like seashells. You can also use it to make rose-inspired designs on your cupcakes and cakes. Opt for metallic piping tips as they’re more durable and do not crack easily.
You’ll need a way to spread fondant on your cake. Unique fondant spreaders enable you to spread the fondant in an even layer. The right spreader has a flat bottom that extends to the base of the cake and gives you an excellent grip.
A chocolate melter is a simple and easy way to melt chocolate for cake toppings. It melts and holds chocolate without the fear of it splitting to give the perfect finish to your cakes or cupcakes.
Final thoughts
Investing in the above cake decorating tools will make your work simpler. Moreover, you can experiment with making different styles of cakes at the convenience of your kitchen. Remember that this list is only a starter pack. Begin with the basics to master the skill, and expand your tool collection as you gain new decorating skills.