Are you ready to take your cake decorating skills to the next level? Read about these nine easy hacks will help your cakes look beautiful and professional.
Putting together a homemade cake from scratch is a labor of love. From baking the layers to adding the finishing touches, it’s a lot of work. Then, there’s the aspect of cake decorating. When making their creations beautiful, many new bakers feel confused about where to start. With a bit of practice and the right cake decorating tools, your confections will look professional in no time.
9 Easy Cake Decorating Hacks
We have assembled a collection of the best, easy cake decorating hacks to help you take your baking skills to the next level.
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Cool Your Layers
Working with warm cake layers is one of the greatest mistakes you can make as a beginner. Before putting any frosting on your cake, ensure your layers are completely cooled. Putting buttercream or icing on a warm cake is a recipe for disaster, as the warmth from the layers can melt your frosting. After your layers are cooled, you may even pop them in the freezer for a few minutes, giving them a little stability.
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Start With Even Layers
If you are making a multi-layer cake, it’s critical to ensure that your layers are even. Lay out a piece of wax paper and line up the layers. Crouch down, so you are eye-level with the layers and look for inconsistencies. Use a bread knife or cake leveler to shave off any excess cake gently. Taking this step will make your cake even more stable.
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The Crumb Coat
One of the most frustrating things about cake decorating and frosting cakes as a beginner is obnoxious little crumbs dotting your beautiful white frosting. That’s where the crumb coat comes in. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that essentially glues down the crumbs before your final layer of frosting. It helps you get a smooth surface to frost on, which will wow your friends and family when they see your gorgeous creation.
Place your layers in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before frosting to give them more stability and structure, which is especially helpful for tender, moist recipes. After stacking your cake on a cake board or plate, use an offset spatula or knife to gently spread a thin layer of buttercream on the top and sides of your cake. This layer should be as smooth as possible. Use a cake scraper if needed. After adding this layer of frosting, the cake layers and crumbs will still be visible. Put your creation in the freezer for another 10-15 minutes, locking in the crumbs and solidifying the layer. Now, you have a perfectly smooth surface to work on, and you won’t have to worry about crumbs appearing in that silky-smooth final layer.
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Make Your Own Buttercream
Although it may be tempting to use convenient store bought icing when cake decorating, it’s best to make your buttercream. Store Bought frosting tends to be very sticky, making it more likely to pull up your cake’s exterior. Plus, homemade buttercream tastes so much better than canned frosting!
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Try Different Frosting Methods
If you have difficulty getting those gorgeously silky sides and edges, try a new frosting method to decorate your cake! You can use cake decorating tools like an icing spatula to make beautiful designs in your buttercream, like stripes or dots. If you still don’t feel confident with that final layer, you can leave your cake “naked” by only doing the crumb coat. This is a stylish trend for weddings and other special events.
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Experiment With Toppings
There are many easy ways to decorate your cake without diving into advanced, professional techniques. Here are a few ideas:
Fresh Fruit
Fresh fruit adds a delicious and refreshing flavor to your cake. It also looks elegant to arrange them on top of your cake carefully. Try berries, orange slices, lemons, or limes, depending on the flavor of your cake.
Sprinkles or Store Bought Decorations
Sprinkles come in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes, making it easy to add a cute flair to your cake. Papagino Foods carries gorgeous edible cake decorations that will help add personality and beauty to your creation.
Candy
Candy is colorful and delicious. Arranging candy on your cake in a thoughtful pattern can make it look cute and professional, which is perfect for birthday cakes.
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Practice Piping
If you’re ready to try piping with your buttercream, you can do many easy designs to impress your friends and family. If you have the right cake decorating supplies, swirls, stars, dots, rosettes, and leaves are all surprisingly easy to do. You can easily follow tutorials on Youtube or social media if you browse the web. Before piping on your cake, you can practice on wax paper to get down the technique. The buttercream can be reused on your cake. By perfecting a few piping techniques, your cakes will look stunningly professional.
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Take Inspiration From Your Flavor or Event
If you’re unsure how to decorate your cake, think about its flavor. Use colors that will represent and enhance the flavor. You can also get inspiration from the reason you’re making the cake. Who is it for? What does this person like? Is it for an event? By asking these simple questions, you can get ideas for how to decorate your cake.
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Practice Makes Perfect
At the end of the day, the most critical element of your cake is the taste. No matter what it looks like, family and friends will love your creation for its incredible flavor. Remember, as you practice cake decorating, no one expects immediate perfection. Have fun experimenting with different styles and decorations. Browse the internet for inspiration or edible cake decorations.