Have you ever wanted to work with cakes? I know it was my dream when I went to culinary school. I don’t get to so often now because I love creating content for you and working on my books and teaching classes, but I still love working with my hands to create the best tasting and fun looking cakes possible. There is honestly a lot to baking and decorating, and should almost be treated like two very different things. Not everyone can bake and not everyone can cake decorate. Sounds crazy and if you are in the field you should know how to do both, but in all reality it is not as common.
Since you are working from your home kitchen, and aren’t a professional, at least not yet. I want to help you get started on your journey. It is never a bad thing to practice. I always talk about how cooking and baking covers all subjects from ELA, to Geography, to Math, Art, History and more, well Cake decorating does hit them a little bit. Mostly in science (based on what method you do), math and art, there still is history and geography on specific techniques and where they come from.
I hope one day you can go from this to that, or well that to this in the picture below.
@Nailed It Cake Fail
I will be doing a whole series on how to help you get going, but first you need the right supplies to get started.
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Baking Supplies
A starter Pack which comes with
- 115 PCS CAKE DECORATING TOOLS: 3 different size cake baking pans, 6 big cake decorating tips, 1 extra-big cake frosting nozzle, 30 disposable piping bags, 1 big coupler, icing spatula, 1 cake server, 1 cake leveler, 3 cake icing smoother tools and much more baking tools and baking supplies
- 6 PCS CAKE DECORATING TIPS: 6 large piping tips for more convenient use, includes open stars, close stars round cake and leaf nozzles. 1 extra-large piping tip Ideally for fast coating your entire cake with icing. Comes with a printed decorating guide with nozzles pattern chart – helps to choose nozzles style easy
- 3 PCS BAKING PANS: 4″ 7″ and 9″ BAKING PANS non-stick pans with removable bottom. Easy to use and easy to clean
- CAKE CUTTING TOOLS: CAKE SERVER to cut and serve cakes. CAKE KNIFE for more tiny and careful cuts. CAKE ICING SMOOTHER TOOLS: stainless steel angled and strait ICING SPATULAS – ideally for making layered cakes and spreading icing on cakes. 3 CAKE COMBS – great for creating perfect designs or smooth surfaces on the side or top of the cakes. CAKE LEVELER with stainless steel cutting wire – slice cake layers easily
- BAKING TOOLS AND BAKING SUPPLIES: 50 pcs baking parchment, silicone spatula, silicone brush, flour sifter, measure spoons and cups, egg beater and egg separator
8 inch round pans to start with a basic size, it is easier to for with 2-3 pans of the same size for layers.
- Layer cake pans are constructed by premium-grade and heavy gauge stainless steel to avoid deformation, Rust resistant and sturdy for a long-lasting service life, Prevent leaking, Not as the springform, Easy to clean up and dishwasher safe & pot safe
- CRAFTED: Mirror finished surface for an easy and clean release, Straight-sided design for making stacked cakes easily, Rolled edge helps with comfortable holding, Evenly heated stainless steel provides your cake with a perfect browning
- MULTI-PURPOSE: This metal bakeware set is great for baking cake, quiche, deep dish pizza, fruit cobblers, flan and gelatin molded desserts, or broiling steaks and ribs in the oven, also as a good choice for serving fruits and vegetables
- SET OF 3: Inner size: 8 x 2”, Outer size: 8½” x 2”, These round baking pans are handy and versatile to meet most of your baking needs, Ideal for making all kinds of your favorite cakes, including impressive wedding and celebration cakes
If you are wanting to go with various sizes here is a good set.
- There are 9 sizes of cake pan set (2.4″, 4.5″, 5″, 6″, 7″, 8″, 9″, 10″ and 12″), and you can freely choose the size of the mold to make the right number of cakes and different size layer cakes.
- 【Durable Material】Made of high quality and durable food-grade anodized aluminum alloy which heats faster and cools quicker, even heat distribution and lasting durability. This aluminum cake pan set is an environmentally-friendly process, the anodized aluminum alloy finish which prevents corrosion and discoloration, plus protects the flavor of your baked goods.
- 【Removable Bottom】The removable bottom is easy to release and clean which can keep the cake intact and beautiful. The bottom is completely fit which will not leak. And the crimping design makes the cake trays safe to use without hurting your hands.
- 【Widely Application】This round cake pan set is great for baking cake, quiche, deep dish pizza, fruit cobblers, flan and gelatin molded desserts, Perfect for making a layered cake, or broiling steaks and ribs in the oven, also as a good choice for serving fruits and vegetables.
For smaller sheet cakes, easier to take with you.
- Attached 2 plastic lids can fit snugly on the pans, Make food storage and transport easy, Keeping dust away and freezer safe, Designed raised lids won’t stick to the icing, Press the edge of the pan and alternately pull out the next two corners of the plastic bulge on the lid
- MULTI USE – 2 Pans with 2 LIDS, Oblong cake pans measures 12⅓x 9¼ x 2 Inch, A must have bakeware to meet your various baking needs such as making delicious cakes, brownies, casseroles, meatloaf and lasagnas for birthday, picnic or various celebrations occasions
- EASY CLEAN – Smooth brushed surface help easy clean up, Dishwasher safe save your time and less trouble, Round corner design for no dead ends, Simply wipe with mild soap and gentle scrub brush or sponge, Make cleaning a breeze, Dishwasher safe (Hand washing recommended for the lids)
For an easy to use number and letter cake pan.
- Dimension: 6.7×11.6 x2.0″, small squares size:1.7×2.5″
- The cake mold is designed for baking beginners.Simply pour your cake mix around the square modules, plop the pan into the oven, and bake savory cakes into your unique shape.
- The cake pan set is easy to make 0-9 numbers and A-Z letter design cakes.
- Easy to clean and reusable. Can be used for wedding, birthday, Christmas, anniversary to make cakes as we want. Let the party be more memorable.
- Please note that the edges cannot be round because of the square cake tins.
- Complete Mixing Bowls Set Ideal for meal prep, or making pancakes, our 5-piece nesting mixing bowls add convenience and versatility to your kitchen.
- Stainless-Steel Craftsmanship These deep mixing bowls are BPA free, food-grade safe, rust and corrosion resistant, and feature a smooth steel design easy on utensils.
- Nested Storage When not in use, these bowls nest inside one another to save cabinet space.
- Dishwasher Safe and Easy to Clean The perfect choice for your healthy meal prep plans or regular daily dinners, simply put them in the dishwasher when your done.
So keeping it simple, if there are pans or supplies needed otherwise I will let you know in each recipe but this is a good starter pack.
- Mix ingredients for a variety of recipes from slowly stirring in chunky ingredients, like nuts or chocolate chips, at speed one to whipping egg whites or heavy cream at speed five. Cord length : 36 Inches
- 60 watts
- 60 Hz
or stand Mixer, personally I find having both is best based on what exactly your doing.
- Over 10 colors available
- Multipurpose attachment hub, over 15 optional attachments
- 6-Qt. Stainless Steel Bowl with Comfortable Handle
- 67-Point Planetary Mixing Action. Electrical -Volts – 120
- Includes burnished Powerknead spiral dough hook, burnished flat beater, wire whip, and 1 piece pouring shield, 1-year warranty
- Over 10 Colors Available
- Multipurpose Attachment Hub
If there is anything else to add I will add within recipes, this is just to get you started. Everyone’s budget is different, which is completely understandable. I am giving you tried and trued products I have used both in a professional kitchen and at home. These products last a very long time. If you had to choose between stand mixer and hand mixer, I would choose hand mixer.
Cake Stacking Supplies
- Made of heavy-duty aluminum alloy material offers the spinning cake stand with pleasant stability, the non-slip surface and rubber feet make it almost no chance to slide away while decorating.
- Ergonomics Design: The heavy rotating cake turntable with a flexible axis can rotate smoothly in both directions and with very little painful friction sounds. Perfect for either left-handed or right-handed.
- Cake Decorating Tool: The revolving cake stand helps you access to all sides of the cake easily for frosting. Perfect for beginners who want to add some drama to icing jobs.
- Easy to Use: The revolving cake stand is easy to clean, and it also can work with decorating tips and Icing spatula (NOT INCLUDED) to help you to create perfect cakes, cupcakes and desserts.
- Features 8” blades and 6” blades. Use for frosting cake, desserts, cupcakes, biscuits, cheese, pancakes, pies, etc.. 3 icing scrapers for decorating cakes, one of them has “teeth” which would be great to use to make wavy or straight line designs on icing.
- 🎂【For Better Use – Offset Spatulas】Angled spatula is great for releasing the edges and applying frosting to the sides too! The handle is comfortable, with a bit of a neck to make it easier to roll these between your thumb and forefinger.
- 🧀【Lightweight & Flexible & Durable】Forc icing cake spatulas with balance between stiffness & flexibility, enough to move easier when frosting cake. The straight spatula makes a world of difference when spreading the crumb coat on the sides of the cake.
- 🎂【For Health – Premium Stainless】The blades of frosting spatula are stiffer and wide, made of high quality, flexible stainless steel. Handle is made of BPA-free plastic. Sturdy and durable. Dishwasher safe. Also wash by hand conveniently.
It is important to have cake boards of the right size on hand, use two at the bottom using glue to keep it together, it can be exact size or slightly larger but will be the end result. I will cover that in another article.
- SET OF 18 – 6 OF EACH SIZE premium cardboard Cake Boards – Cake Circles used for creating professional pastry chef Tier Cakes. People pay hundreds of dollars for fancy cakes like these. You can have fun making them yourself and impressing your friends and family
- 3 GRADUATING SIZES including 6 inch, 8 inch, and 10 inch cake boards. You get 6 of each size for a grand total of 18 professional culinary grade boards. Enough to make 6 beautiful 3 tier cakes and even more 2 tier cakes.
- FULLY DISPOSABLE, RECYCLABLE, ECO-FRIENDLY thanks to the high grade paper cardboard used. This is the preferred material used by pro pastry experts. Nothing to wash later. Simply throw these in the recycling bin after use.
- STURDY, CAN HOLD LOTS OF WEIGHT for fancy, frosting laden tiers with fancy ornamentation. These are made with non-toxic cardboard with no harsh chemicals or additives. Appropriate for use with food preparation.
Cake Decorating Supplies
- Cake decorating supplies kits: 36 stainless steel numbered icing tips, 2 reusable silicone pastry bag, 2 reusable plastic couplers, 2 flower nails, with which you can create all types of patterns on cake, cupcakes.
- Numbered decorating patterns: 11 open star tips, 7 closed star tips, 3 french tips, 3 round tips, 2 plain tips, 4 leaf tips, 3 rose petal tips, 3 special tips. 0.7 inch in diameter, 1.26 inch tall.
- Two 12 inch pastry bags: Reusable silicone icing bags are support different color icing while decorating cakes or cupcakes.
- Premium baking supplies: Strong, durable, stainless steel, corrosion resistant, reusable, non-stick, tasteless, food grade materials, easy to clean and dishwasher safe.
- Frosting tools: 2 Reusable plastic couplers are easy to switch quickly from one tip to another tip; 2 flower nails used as a decorative bottom bracket to decorate icing flower.
- Package contents: you will receive 4 pieces of sugar stir needles, 8 pieces of cake decorating modeling tools, 10 pieces of cookie decoration brushes, 1 pair of elbow tweezers and 1 pair of straight tweezers, sufficient quantity and nice combination can fit your cooking and baking needs
- Serviceable material: the cookie decorating tools set is made of plastic and metal, beautiful appearance, durable, not easy to break, and the bright colors are not easy to fade or rust, which you can apply them for a long time
- Nice combination: the fondant decorating modeling tools can create different shapes or patterns as you like, cake brushes for removing fingerprint on surface impurities, scriber needles for stirring the syrup and drawing the outline of cake shape, and tweezers for picking up different small items and decorating
- Proper size: the whole length of stir needle is 13.2 cm/ 5.2 inches, and the plastic handle measures 8.1 cm/ 3.2 inches, the plastic craft modeling tool is 16.5 cm/ 6.5 inches in length, the decoration brush is about 18.5 cm/ 7.3 inches long and the tweezers are approx. 11 cm/ 4.3 inches, the proper sizes for you applied in daily life
- Wide applications: these fondant cake decorating tools can be applied to making cakes, sugar pastes, candies, fondants, cupcakes and other handmade desserts on various occasions, such as parties, home, weddings, or other holiday parties
- 6inch piping bags with each side, suitable for use with any nozzle, just trim the end to fit. This pastry bags is the perfect tool for beginner, baker or spring decorators.
- ✅【Extra Thick】16*9inch, 0.12mm thicker than mainstream piping bags and stronger. No-bursting. You could apply as many pressure as you need without worrying pop.
- ✅【Work well】Ideal for cheese, cupcakes, butter, muffin and any other soft food for baking and frosting, fit for any standard piping tips.
- ✅【Easy to use】No messy clean-up, just use then toss. This disposable piping bags are cleaned up quick and not be broken. And Non-slip plastic, easy to grip in hand.
- ✅【100% Money Back】Our piping bags is covered with 12 months warranty from the date of its original purchase. If the set fails due to a manufacturing defect. And any problems in use, please contact our free time and we can change a new or full money back.
- MADE in The USA – Liqua-Gel Colors are highly concentrated edible cake decorating colors in a wide range of bright vivid intense colors
- Colors are easy to mix and disperse instantly. Gels come in queeze bottles with flip-top lids, so you can add “drops” for easy-to-repeat colors every time.
- Gels are freeze tolerant, fade and bleed resistant and will not break down icings
- Formulated for use with whipped toppings, buttercreme icings, fondant, cake batter, cookie dough and more
- All the colors are made in the USA with high quality ingredients, and are Certified Kosher
Again this is a just to get started list. I will post much more as we cover this topic in greater detail. to stay tuned, please join our newsletter below.