If you’re new to cake decorating, you’re probably discovering how many small decisions go into making a cake look beautiful. This guide to cake decorating for beginners is packed with 10 simple tips that would have saved me so much time, money and frustration when I was starting out. These beginner cake decorating tips will help you avoid common pitfalls, work more efficiently, and even enjoy the process more! Some of these tips might really surprise you, from how to stop your buttercream from melting to how to store fully decorated cakes.

1. Choosing the right cake board

This might seem like a minor detail but it’s actually one of the most common cake decorating mistakes beginners make. Your cake board should be at least 2 inches wider than your cake. That means if your cake is six inches across, you’ll want to use an eight inch board. This may seem exaggerated but after adding your crumb coat and frosting, the cake will be wider than you expect.

If your cake goes right up to the edge of the board, it’ll look cramped and messy. Moving it onto another board is tricky to do without damaging it. So if you’re ever in doubt, always choose the larger board. It gives your cake space to breathe and makes the final presentation look much neater.

2. Using the freezer

One of the best tricks in cake decorating for beginners is learning how to use your freezer properly. If you frost a cake when it’s at room temperature, the soft layers will slide around on the cake board. They'll also shed crumbs into your frosting. Here’s how to fix that.

After baking and cooling your layers, spread a small blob of buttercream in the middle of your cake board. Press your first cake layer down onto it, which helps anchor the cake. Once the cake is stacked, pop it into the freezer for 15 minutes. This firms up the cake and the blob of buttercream so it stays in place while you frost it. It also means your buttercream will glide on much more smoothly without dragging crumbs. Check out this tutorial for more ways to use your freezer for cake decorating.

3. Understanding room temperature in cake decorating for beginners

Here’s something I learned the hard way: room temperature really matters when you’re decorating cakes. When I moved to Texas I experienced freezing cold winters and 110°F summer days in an uninsulated garage studio. My buttercream couldn’t handle the extreme temperatures. In winter, the frosting was too stiff to smooth and in summer it melted off the cake.

When your buttercream doesn't behave even though you followed the recipe, it’s probably the temperature of your room. If it’s too cold, the buttercream in your bowl will feel stiff when you stir it. Your frosting smoother will leave texture behind as you scrape around the cake. It will tear the buttercream and you'll see small, shallow holes in the surface. Microwave the bowl of buttercream for 10 seconds, give it a stir, and repeat if needed.

If it’s too warm, the frosting will slide down the sides of your cake. Stick the bowl of buttercream in the freezer for a few minutes to firm it up. Getting the temperature (and therefore the buttercream consistency) right makes your decorating so much easier.

4. Quick tricks for bringing ingredients to room temperature

Recipes often call for room temperature butter and eggs, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait around all afternoon. Here’s how to get there quickly.

Microwave your butter for 10 seconds, flip it over, then another 10 seconds. Now your spatula should slice easily through each bar or stick of butter. For eggs, pop them in a bowl of lukewarm (not hot) water for five minutes. They’ll be ready to use and mix much more evenly into your batter. These little shortcuts will save you time and improve your baking results.

5. Do you really need fancy tools for cake decorating for beginners?

I used to think that the more cake decorating tools I had, the better my cakes would be. But you absolutely do not need a drawer full of gadgets to make beautiful cakes. In fact, you probably already own plenty of things that work just as well as “proper” tools.

For example, you can cut stencils out of parchment paper or create textured buttercream finishes with a spoon. I’ve decorated entire cakes using only everyday kitchen tools and the results looked as polished as when using professional tools. If you’re just getting started, don’t let a lack of tools hold you back. Focus on your technique instead – it matters so much more.

6. Mix colours in a cupcake tray to save time and washing up

If you’re using several different colours of buttercream, here’s a simple trick that will save you time in the kitchen. Use a cupcake tray to mix small amounts of coloured buttercream instead of separate bowls.

Now all your colours are in one place, they're quicker to use, and you only have one tray to clean at the end. When you’re working on more complex cake designs, little time-savers like this make a big difference.

7. Break the process into stages for easier cake decorating

When you’re new to cake decorating it’s tempting to try and do everything in one day. But one of the most helpful beginner cake decorating tips is to break your cake process into stages.

You can:

• Bake the layers and make your fillings or buttercream while they're in the oven
• Make decorations or toppers ahead of time
• Chill everything and decorate when it’s convenient

This works especially well if you have a busy schedule or little ones at home. It’s much more manageable and you won't waste time waiting in between stages. You’ll end up spending less total time on the cake without feeling rushed.

8. Freezing finished cakes – yes, you can do that!

This tip blew my mind the first time I tried it: you can freeze fully decorated cakes. Once your cake is finished, put it in the freezer unwrapped for 30 minutes. This firms up the frosting and decorations. Then wrap it in two layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to two months.

To thaw, move the cake to the fridge the day before serving. On the day, take it out of the fridge two hours before you serve it and unwrap it straight away so the wrap doesn't damage your decorations. This will save you if events are rescheduled after you've already made the cake! It's also useful if you have scheduling conflicts and can't make the cake in the days just before an event. It’s an absolute game-changer.

And don’t worry – I’ve done blind taste tests and couldn’t tell the difference between a freshly baked cake and one that had been frozen for a week. As long as it’s stored and thawed properly, freezing doesn’t affect the taste.

9. Price your work properly

If you’re selling cakes, this one’s important. Custom decorations take time, materials, and creative energy. If you don’t charge for them, you’re doing extra work for free. Whether it’s hand-piped flowers or fondant figures, make sure your pricing reflects the extras.

This might not feel like a decorating tip, but it’s part of valuing your work. My full tutorial on how to price cakes breaks this down so you can make a profit.

10. Don’t forget to charge for deliveries

Here’s another common mistake: forgetting to include delivery in your pricing. It’s not just the drive – it’s the time spent planning, coordinating, getting the cake to the venue safely, and then getting yourself back home again. There’s also petrol or gas, wear and tear on your car, and the stress of transporting a cake.

It’s completely fair – and necessary – to charge for this. If you’re taking cake decorating beyond a hobby, make sure you treat it like a business.

Final thoughts on cake decorating for beginners

There’s a lot to learn when you’re starting out, but hopefully these tips help you avoid some of the common cake decorating mistakes that I had to figure out the hard way.

If any of these tips were helpful, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment to let me know which one you’re going to try first, or share your own favourite tip for beginners. And if you want to keep learning, visit my cake school to learn hundreds of cake decorating techniques and designs.

You can also watch a video of this tutorial on cake decorating for beginners:

https://youtu.be/DD3isr2W0V8

After 13 years of cake decorating, I can confidently say that temperature can make or break your buttercream. You're probably reading this because you're wondering how to stop buttercream melting in hot weather. If your decorations have drooped, colours have run, or your cake has started to slide off the board, it’s almost always down to temperature, not your technique.

In this post I’m sharing my top buttercream melting tips so you can decorate beautiful cakes even on hot days, without the drama of melting buttercream.

1. Understand How Room Temperature Affects Your Cake

If your cake goes from the fridge into a warm room, you’ll likely see tiny droplets of condensation appear on the surface of your buttercream. This is often called “cake sweat” and it’s frustratingly common. It happens because the inside of your cake is still cold, while the outside warms up faster.

The good news? It’s easy to fix. Just dab the droplets gently with a paper towel and the condensation will stop as the inside temperature of the cake catches up with the outside.

How to Prevent Condensation

If you want to avoid this altogether, try these steps:

• Work in a cool room, so the temperature difference between the fridge and the room is minimal
• If you don’t have a cool space, chill your cake between decorating stages
• As soon as you see condensation forming, pop the cake back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Repeat this as many times as necessary while decorating. Just a few minutes in the fridge between steps makes a big difference!

2. How to Stop Buttercream Melting with Warm Hands

Ever noticed your piping loses definition and starts to look a bit blobby? If it's not the room temperature or the temperature of your cake, it could be your hands warming the buttercream through the piping bag.

Here's a quick hack to fix it. Pop the piping bag in the freezer for just one minute and set a timer. This cools the buttercream enough to firm it up again, without freezing it solid. After a quick chill, your piping will be clean, neat and defined once more.

3. How to Stop Buttercream Melting When Cakes Are on Display

Even if you’ve decorated the perfect cake, all your hard work can melt away if the cake is displayed in a hot environment. This is one of the most common causes of buttercream disasters at summer events or outdoor parties. Here’s how to stop buttercream melting when it’s hot out:

Buttercream Recipe Tip

Use half butter and half shortening (like Trex or Crisco). Shortening is much more stable in heat than butter, but still allows you to get smooth finishes and neat piping.

If you're familiar with the flavour of all-butter buttercream, you might notice a difference in the taste of this. To improve it, add half a teaspoon of clear vanilla extract to bring back the buttery flavour without the bite of shortening.

This half-and-half version of buttercream holds up much better in the sun. It's perfect for summer cakes or outdoor events. Look at the difference between these two cakes, sitting outside on the same day. The top cake is frosted with my 4 Minute Buttercream recipe for all-butter buttercream. The bottom cake is frosted with buttercream using the same recipe but with half of the butter replaced with shortening.

Display Tips for Hot Weather

• Always display cakes in the coolest place possible
• Avoid direct sunlight – shade is much cooler!
• A breeze or a small fan can help reduce the temperature around the cake

How to Stop Buttercream Melting for Good

Whether you’re dealing with condensation, soft piping, or heatwave disasters, now you’ve got a toolkit of buttercream melting tips to protect your cakes. Knowing how to stop buttercream melting is all about preparation, awareness, and a few clever hacks and once you’ve got these down, warm weather won’t ruin your cakes.

Want to take your decorating skills even further? Check out my online cake school for detailed courses on hundreds of cake decorating techniques and designs.

Watch a video of this tutorial on how to stop buttercream melting:

https://youtu.be/_GBlIFRZ0hU

Sprinkles are fun, nostalgic, and instantly make anything feel like a celebration. In this sprinkle cake tutorial I'll show you how to bake sprinkles into your cake and swirl them through your frosting for a colourful effect. Whether you call it a sprinkle cake or a funfetti cake, this one’s guaranteed to get smiles.

This step-by-step guide is perfect for beginner to intermediate bakers, so if you’ve ever wondered how to make a sprinkle cake that actually looks as good as it tastes, keep reading – you’re in exactly the right place.

Baking the Sprinkle Cake Layers

Start with your favourite vanilla cake batter and rainbow sprinkles. I like to use rods or jimmies instead of tiny nonpareils for the biggest bursts of colour. I'm using Supernatural sprinkles with no artificial dyes 🙂 And although I love chocolate cake, using a pale batter will make the sprinkles really pop. Try my favourite buttery 8 inch Very Vanilla Cake or the 6 inch version at the bottom of this sprinkle cake tutorial!

Once your batter is mixed, it’s time to add the sprinkles. About a quarter cup is perfect for a 6 or 8 inch cake. Fold them in gently with a spatula – don’t stir too hard or you’ll over-mix the batter which can make the cake taste dense.

Now divide your batter evenly between two or three cake pans and bake according to your recipe instructions.

Once the cakes are out of the oven, leave them in the pans for around 10 minutes – just until you can handle them without burning your fingers. Then turn them out and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

If your cake layers have domed while baking, level them first for a neater and more stable cake. Use a serrated knife to slice back and forth in a sawing motion across each cake.

Filling and Stacking the Cake

Time to make your filling and frosting! I’m using my 4 Minute Buttercream – it’s sweet and creamy and it smooths and pipes like a dream. It also takes food colouring really well, so you can tint it whatever shade you like.

To assemble the cake, choose a cake board that’s at least 2 inches wider than your cake. I’m using an 8 inch board for my 6 inch cake. Dab a bit of buttercream onto the middle of the board to hold your cake in place like edible glue. Place your first cake layer on top and spread a layer of buttercream over it using an offset spatula. If you’ve got a turntable, now’s the time to use it – it makes this part so much easier.

Stack the rest of your layers, adding buttercream in between. Then put your cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or 15 minutes in the freezer) so it firms up. This makes frosting much easier and neater.

Crumb Coating the Cake

While your cake is chilling, tint your remaining buttercream any colour you like. I chose a soft yellow to match my nails!

To check if your cake is ready for the crumb coat, take it out of the fridge and hold the cake board at an angle - almost sideways! If the cake stays in position on the cake board, the buttercream has set and it's ready to frost.

Once your cake is cold and firm, you'll need your frosting tools. An offset spatula or angled palette knife is ideal for spreading buttercream onto the cake, preferably a large offset spatula that's about 13 inches long (including the handle). You'll need a cake comb (also called a frosting smoother or icing scraper) and a turntable. You'll find a list of all of my favourite tools here!

What is a crumb coat? It's a base layer of frosting that traps crumbs and gives your cake a smooth outline. Start by spreading buttercream over the top, pushing it over the edges to completely cover the top. Then hold your offset spatula at a 45 degree angle as you spin the cake to flatten the top.

Next, work your way down the sides. I like to spread the frosting up past the top edge of the cake slightly to form a lip – this helps you get sharp corners later on.

Use a cake comb or frosting scraped to smooth the sides of the cake. It doesn’t have to be perfect because it's about to be covered up with another layer. Use your offset spatula to swipe sideways across the top to level the frosting there. Chill the cake again for 30 minutes so the crumb coat sets.

Decorating with Sprinkle Buttercream

Here’s where the real fun begins. This is the part sometimes called funfetti cake decorating. First, scoop out about half a cup of buttercream and set it aside. You’ll use that later for piping and it needs to stay sprinkle-free or it’ll clog the piping tip.

Now fold sprinkles into the rest of your buttercream, stirring until the they're mixed through evenly. Then spread this sprinkle frosting over the crumb coat – top first, then down the sides. Use a slightly thicker layer than the crumb coat so you’ve got enough to smooth and shape.

Scrape around it with your cake comb again, smoothing it out and filling in any gaps. Your cake comb might drag sprinkled around the cake, leaving a trail behind in the frosting, but as you scrape again and again those trails will disappear.

For the top edge, use your offset spatula to swipe inwards from the outer edge to the middle. Clean your spatula between swipes so that you don't drag smears of buttercream back onto the neat top edge. Chill the cake again for 15 to 30 minutes to set the buttercream before piping onto it.

Piping the Finishing Touches

Now it’s time for the finishing touches. Drop a star shaped tip into a piping bag and spoon in the buttercream you set aside without sprinkles. I'm using a 4B piping tip. Choose the front of your cake – where the sprinkle frosting looks its best – and start piping your border a quarter of the way around the cake to the left or right. This way, the join of the beginning and end of the border will be tucked away at the side.

Hold the piping bag just above the cake and squeeze while pushing away slightly, then pull back and away to form a wave. Repeat all the way around the cake, overlapping the 'tail' of each wave with the next one. The last one won't look quite the same because there's no room for a tail and nothing to overlap it. That's why you started the border in the least visible place on the cake! Use a toothpick to neaten the last wave and gently press the end into the first wave.

If you’ve got leftover buttercream, you can pipe a border around the base too. Or store leftover buttercream in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a month!

How to Store Your Sprinkle Cake

Your finished sprinkle cake can be stored in the fridge for two to three days without drying out. The buttercream frosting seal in the moisture and keeps it tasting fresh. But don't serve this cake cold! Take it out of the fridge about 2 hours before serving so the buttercream and cake warm up and soften. That's when they'll taste the best!

This cake is perfect for birthdays, celebrations, or honestly just a Tuesday that needs a bit of sparkle. I hope this sprinkle cake tutorial has given you all the information you need to create a colourful, joyful sprinkle cake!

Watch a video of this sprinkle cake tutorial:

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Travel with a cake can be nerve-wracking. Will it melt? Slide around? Get ruined before it even arrives? Whether you're heading to a party, an event, or any trip with a homemade creation, these cake travel hacks will help you deliver your cake safely and stress-free.

From car trips to international flights, here are 10 clever tips for how to travel with cake so it arrives looking as good as it tastes!

Keep Cakes Cold When Travelling by Car

For how to travel with cake in a car, the most important thing is to keep the cake cold. Buttercream firms up in the fridge, acting like glue to hold the cake together. A cold cake is sturdier and far less likely to shift, smudge, or collapse on the journey.

For long distances or driving in hot weather, keep your cake in the fridge for several hours or overnight before you drive. You can even place it in a cooler to keep it cold on the road. I once drove a cake 150 miles to Yosemite National Park on a scorching 110°F day and thanks to the cooler and a chilled cake, it arrived absolutely perfect!

How to Travel with Cake Using an Upside-Down Tupperware

If you don’t have a cake box, don’t panic. A Tupperware container works surprisingly well! Instead of lowering your cake into the container (and risking squashing a side or poking a finger into it), try this: turn the lid upside down and place your cake on that. Then lower the container down over the top and press it into the lid to seal it.

This trick keeps the cake secure and is super easy to carry. Because it’s airtight, it helps the cake stay fresh and moist during your journey. Check out this tutorial for tips on how to make min cakes.

How to Travel with Cake without It Sliding Around

When a cake is in a box that’s too big for the cake board, it can slide around and bash into the sides. Especially when braking or turning in the car. To stop that from happening, make sure the cake board fits the box snugly.

If your cake is on a smaller board, you can place it on a larger board and use either a piece of non-slip mat or some tape to hold it in place. That way, it won’t budge, even with sudden movements.

Cake Box Hack to Fit Tall Cakes

Have a tall cake without enough room in the box? Here's a clever hack! Cut two short diagonal slits into one side of the box lid, then repeat on the opposite side. When you put the lid on the box, push the middle section of the lid down into the box. The slits will allow the sides of the lid to lift up, raising the height just enough to fit your tall cake without squashing it.

This is perfect for cakes that are just a few inches too tall for the box. The hack will allow you to use the boxes you already have, avoiding having to buy custom packaging.

How to Travel with Cake without a Box: Tray Bake Cakes

If you don’t have cake pans or a cake box, you can still travel with a cake! Just pour your cake batter into a casserole dish or any oven-safe baking dish and bake it right in that instead. It will take a little longer to bake since ceramic heats more slowly than metal.

Once it’s cooled you can decorate it directly in the dish. Spread or pipe frosting on top, add some sprinkles or decorations, and the cake is ready! You can carry it by hand to your destination and serve it straight from the dish!

How to Travel with Cakes in the Car

When figuring out how to travel with cake in a car, where you place the cake makes a big difference. The boot (or trunk) of the car is usually the safest place because it’s flat and often lined with a non-slip surface. The passenger footwell is another great spot because it's flat and easy to access.

Avoid putting cakes on car seats, which are usually slanted. If you absolutely have to, level the seat with something like a blanket or towel so the cake doesn’t slide off the incline while you drive.

Use a Cake Safe for Tiered, Tall or Sculpted Cakes

Travelling with a tall, tiered, or sculpted cake? A Cake Safe is a total game changer. It’s a sturdy box with thick walls, metal rods that lock everything in place, and a central dowel that goes through the cake to hold it steady.

The panels lock together securely so nothing shifts around and you can transport even the most fragile designs without worry. This is one of the best investments if you deliver cakes regularly. Here's my tutorial for this Pokemon Bulbasaur Cake.

Now let’s talk about flying with cakes! Whether you're packing a cake in your hand luggage or in a suitcase, these next three hacks will help you travel by plane with your cake looking and tasting perfect.

How to Travel with Cake in a Suitcase

For my 10th wedding anniversary I took a chocolate cake on three flights from the US to Peru and it still tasted amazing! Here’s how I did it:

Bake two cake layers and wash the pans you used. Trim the tops flat and cut around the edges so there’s space around them for frosting. I used around cookie cutter an inch smaller than the cake. Stack and fill the cake and then frost it and put it in the freezer for an hour.

Once it’s fully chilled and firm, line one cake pan with cling film and place the cake inside. Wrap the whole cake in cling film and lower another cake pan down over the top. Now the cake is protected and won’t move around! Freeze it until you travel and carry it in a lunchbox or cooler.

I packed my cake (within the cake pans) inside a large ziplock bag to prevent condensation. I flex with it in my checked luggage from Austin to Atlanta to Lima to Cusco - no problem!

How to Travel with a Naked Cake

If you want something simpler, stack and fill your cake but skip the outer frosting. Wrap the cake in cling film and place it inside a cake pan (or two, for extra protection). You can pipe decorations later if you bring buttercream in a piping bag.

Freeze the cake before your trip and pack it in a cooler with an ice pack. It will thaw gradually and be ready to decorate or serve when you arrive. This option is great if you’re short on time or packing space but still want a homemade cake at your destination.

Travel with Frozen Cake Layers to Assemble Later

If you’ll have time to assemble the cake after you arrive, travel with the layers only. Wrap and freeze each one and pack them in a cooler in your luggage.

This saves time on your trip compared to baking the cakes layers when you get there. It lets you frost the cake however you like, without worrying about how well the decorations will travel. That’s exactly what I did for the cake I drove to Yosemite. I made the layers in advance, froze them, and then flew to my in-laws' and decorated the cake there before driving to my destination.

Those are my 10 hacks for how to travel with cake, whether by car, by plane, or even in your suitcase! I hope these tricks give you the confidence to take your cakes anywhere without stress or damage.

Which of these cake travel hacks will you try next? Let me know in the comments! And if you want to learn even more cake decorating techniques, check out the online classes and memberships on my cake school. See you there!

You can also watch a video of this tutorial on How to Travel with Cake:

What are your biggest cake problems or cake FAQ? Broken cake layers, trying to undo a decorating mistake, air bubbles in your icing or frosting, leaning cakes, sloping cakes, bulges? In this tutorial I’ll share why these things happen AND how to fix them!

Cake FAQ #1: How can I fix broken cake layers?

If a cake falls apart when you turn it out of the pan, don’t throw it away! Wrap it in cling film or Saran Wrap and put it into the fridge. As it chills, it gets less crumbly. Then when you put your cake together, use buttercream as glue to attach the broken pieces together. When this buttercream sets it will hold the layer firmly together. It's best to use the broken cake as a middle layer with the intact layers above and below it. That will keep the cake stable.

After frosting or icing the cake, and decorating it, you’d never know it was at one point broken! The buttercream will even hold the slices together when you serve the cake.

How to remove piping from a cake

If you’re intimidated by piping you’ll love this next quick fix! Before piping onto a cake, always chill it in the fridge to set the frosting. This way, if you don’t like your piping you can scrape it off without damaging the frosting on the cake, since that buttercream is cold and firm and will hold its shape. Now you can pipe again, practicing the same technique again or try something different. Check out my tutorial on 15 Piping Hacks for more tips and tricks!

How to scrape off a cake design

You can scrape decorations off the sides of a cake, too. By chilling the frosted cake before decorating it, the frosting will be cold and firm and will hold its shape. If you decide you don’t like your decorations you can scrape them off straight away, while they’re still soft, without damaging the cold, firm buttercream frosting underneath. For the easiest scraping, dip a metal cake comb into hot water or warm it with a blowtorch or hair dryer. The warm metal will scrape the soft buttercream off effortlessly!

How to get rid of air bubbles in buttercream

Next, here are three ways to get rid of air bubbles in your buttercream. I'm using my 4 Minute Buttercream here and that's what I use for all of my cakes.

The first way to remove air bubbles is to stir buttercream quite aggressively in the bowl. Knock your spatula against the sides of the bowl to push any air out of the buttercream.

Next, the second way is to scoop out about a third of the buttercream and microwave it for 10 seconds. Stir this melted buttercream back into the main bowl of frosting. As it mixes with the room temperature buttercream it will create the perfect consistency for spreading and smoothing it onto a cake. AND it will get rid of any stubborn air bubbles!

If you notice air bubbles appear as you smooth the frosting on your cake, use this third way to get rid of them. Heat the edge of your cake comb with a blowtorch or hair dryer or hot water. Rub it with a towel or paper towel and pinch it to check it’s warm, not hot. Then scrape around your cake. The warm metal will glide over the surface of the buttercream, dragging it around the cake to fill in any air bubbles or shallow indents or imperfections. The result will be impossibly smooth buttercream! This tutorial on smooth frosting has more tips on the technique for smooth frosting.

Cake FAQ #5: How can I fix a leaning cake?

Leaning cake? Here’s a quick hack to straighten it. Wrap the cake in cling film or Saran Wrap and then push against the lean to center all of the cake layers on the cake board. Now put the cake into the fridge to set the filling and frosting. Once chilled, the buttercream will hold the cake in its new, straight, position. When the frosting is cold it will be firm, not sticky, so now you can peel the plastic off without pulling the buttercream with it! 

Cake FAQ #6: Why are there bulges in my cake?

If you can see a cake’s filling bulging out through the frosting it’s because the filling is too runny and the weight of the upper layers of cake is pushing it out.

For runny fillings like jam or caramel or lemon curd you need what’s called a buttercream dam. This is simply a ring of buttercream piped around the edge of each cake layer. It acts as a wall to hold the runny filling in, so it doesn’t ooze out.

After you’ve assembled your cake, put it in the fridge to set the buttercream dams. When they get firm they'll secure the cake layers in place. Now you can frost the cake and as you spread and smooth the frosting, the filling will stay where it’s supposed to and you shouldn’t see any bulges in the sides of the cake.

Help! I poked my finger into my cake!

After taking all the time and effort to smooth your frosting, this has probably happened to all of us - poking a finger into the frosting or knocking the cake against something else. Don’t panic, this is easy to fix whether the frosting has set or not. Just spread a bit more buttercream over the wound and instead of smoothing it with your spatula or a cake comb, use a little piece of acetate. This is flexible plastic that will curve around the cake to match the curve of the frosting. It will smooth this new buttercream without damaging the frosting that’s already on the cake.

Cake FAQ #8: How can I fix a sloped cake?

After filling and layering your cake, if you notice the top is sloping it’s not too late to fix it! A spirit level is useful to show you if it really is sloping. Use a serrated knife like a bread knife to trim off the top and then check with a spirit level if you’ve corrected the slope. If the bubble is in the middle, the cake is level! Now you can frost and decorate your straight, level cake! This is my Oreo Chocolate Cake - yum!

I hope these hacks have answered your cake FAQ and will help you fix these common cake challenges. To learns hundreds more cake decorating techniques and designs and practical tips and tricks visit my cake school and join my All You Can Cake membership for access to EVERYTHING on my cake school! Start a free 7 day trial to try it out - I'm that confident you’ll love it!

Watch a video of this tutorial on 8 Cake FAQ:

Planning ahead for a big event, bake sale, or client order? Learn how to make and package cake slices to keep them delicious and beautiful! Not only does it save time on the day, your cake slices will look professional and irresistible. Use this tutorial when you make cake slices for a school celebration, a brunch, or a wedding tasting!

In this tutorial I’ll walk you through everything from baking and assembling your cake, to cutting it neatly, wrapping each slice beautifully, storing them so they stay fresh, and transporting them without a single smudge. It’s all beginner-friendly, and you don’t need any fancy tools to get started!

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What Kind of Cake Works Best?

You can make cake slices out of round or rectangular (sheet) cakes. But if you’re just starting out, a sheet cake is probably the easiest to handle. Bake at least two layers so that you can add filling and your slices will be tall and flavourful.

If your sheet cake is on the larger side, removing it from the pan without it breaking can be a bit nerve-wracking. Here’s a trick: place a wire rack on top of the pan while the cake is still inside. Then flip the whole thing upside down so the cake lands neatly on the rack. Lift the pan away and ta-da! A perfectly intact cake, ready for decorating.

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Filling and Assembling the Cake

I’m making a cookies and cream cake here, so I’m stirring crushed Oreos into my quick, four-minute buttercream. The finer you crush the cookies, the easier the frosting will be to spread.

Assemble the cake layers directly on a cutting board to make things simple later on. Start with your first layer, spread your buttercream evenly with an offset spatula (or even the back of a spoon), and stack the next layer on top. I like to add frosting on top too — it gives the best cake-to-frosting ratio — but you can skip that if you prefer.

Want to add height without baking more layers? Slice each layer in half horizontally to double the number of layers. You can do this with a serrated knife or a wire cake leveler. Carefully saw back and forth until you’ve split the cake cleanly — this gives you extra layers of filling, and adds both flavour and height to your finished slices.

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Chill Before You Slice

Before we move on to how to cut and package cake slices, there’s a step you can't skip: chilling the cake. Pop it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes or the freezer for about 15. This firms up the cake and frosting so when you cut it, you get clean, sharp edges.

Cutting a cake while it’s still soft will drag the filling through the cake and smear frosting everywhere, so don’t rush this part!

While the cake chills, use the time to clean your workspace. It’s also the perfect moment to prep your flavour labels. These little details add professionalism and if you’re packaging cake slices for sale, they’re important for allergens and presentation.

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How to Make and Package Cake Slices

Once your cake is fully chilled, you'll need a serrated knife and a ruler to cut it.

I like to started by scoring lines along the long side of the cake, which will determine how wide each slice is. Use your ruler to lightly score the top of the cake where you’ll cut, then slice slowly with a bread knife.

For the thickness of each slice, use the width of your ruler as a handy guide. Clean your knife in between slices and you'll notice how easy the slices are to handle since they're cold!

When it comes to wrapping your cake slices, cellophane is your best bet for rectangular slices. It gives crisp edges and a professional, glossy finish. If you don’t have any on hand, cling film (plastic wrap) will do, though it won’t look quite as sharp.

Place your cake slice onto the middle of a piece of cellophane. Fold each long side over the cake until they overlap slightly, but don’t seal it just yet. Keeping your finger pressed gently on the fold, tuck in each end like you’re wrapping a present: make two triangles on each side, then fold those up and over the front of the slice.

Seal the wrap with a sticker or flavour label — this adds a sweet finishing touch and keeps everything in place. Make sure the label direction is consistent on each slice. I like the text to flow the same way as the frosting, with all slices facing the same way when displayed.

You’ll need to adjust the size of your cellophane depending on the height of your slices. Taller cakes need bigger wraps so you have enough room to fold and seal neatly.

If you’re using cling film, wrap in the same way. It won’t give those crisp triangle edges, but it will still protect your slice well.

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Working with Round Cakes

If you’ve baked a round cake, you’ve got two options.

The first is to cut it into traditional wedges. These make big, indulgent servings that look beautiful at events. Slice your cake and place the slices on a tray lines with parchment paper or wax paper. Put it into the freezer for 10 minutes to chill the slices so you don't damage the buttercream. Then wWrap each wedge with cling film, letting the ends meet under the base of the slice so the top stays neat. Cellophane doesn’t work well here because it won’t sit flat against the curved edges.

Use this second method if you want rectangular slices from your round cake. Cut about an inch or two in from the edge of the cake, on four sides to leave a square. You can use the outer curved pieces for cake pops or tasters. Then slice the centre square just like you would with a sheet cake, and wrap them the same way.

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How to Store Cake Slices

If you’re not serving your slices right away, proper storage is essential. Once wrapped, place the slices in an airtight container — like a sealed Tupperware, zip-top bag, or a cling-film-wrapped tray. This prevents them from drying out or absorbing flavours from the freezer.

Yes, you can absolutely freeze them! In fact, it’s a brilliant way to prep ahead for busy weeks. Slices will keep for a month in the freezer if wrapped and stored properly. Just move them to the fridge the day before you need them, and they’ll be perfect to go.

This is the exact method I used for Teacher Appreciation Week at both of my kids’ schools — there’s no way I could have done it all in one day!

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Transporting and Serving

Here’s the final stage: transport and serve your slices with care.

Always move them while cold, straight from the fridge. The buttercream will be firm, so they’ll hold their shape as you transfer them from storage to display.

When you arrive at your event or drop-off, arrange them on trays, stands, or dessert tables. Leave them at room temperature for about an hour before serving — this softens the buttercream and sponge for the best flavour and texture. Cold cake can taste dry, but room temp? It’s creamy, fresh, and tastes like you made it that day.

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Ready to Try It?

Now you know how to make and package cake slices for any occasion — and exactly how to cut, wrap, store, and serve them like a pro. Whether you’re gifting them, selling them, or prepping ahead for a big day, this method saves time and gives your cakes that polished, professional touch.

Watch a video of this tutorial on how to make and package cake slices:

https://youtu.be/S237QBiyGkc

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Looking for cake decorating ideas for beginners that are fun, achievable, and don’t require special tools? These 10 easy techniques are perfect for birthdays, parties, or whenever you're in the mood to create something beautiful. Use them to hide a not-so-smooth frosting job or to try something new and fun. I'm sure's you’ll find a decorating idea here to fall in love with. Let’s dive in!

1. Add Texture to Avoid Smooth Frosting

If you find it tricky to get frosting smooth, here’s a clever trick: don’t even try! Instead, embrace texture. Use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Press it gently against the side of the cake while spinning it on a turntable. This creates subtle grooves in the frosting. My 4 Minute Buttercream works beautifully for textured finishes!

You can also pull upwards to make vertical grooves. That’s a great option if you don’t have a turntable, since the cake doesn’t need to be spinning smoothly. Or use random arcs for a rustic look. These textures not only disguise any uneven frosting but also create a gorgeous base for adding flowers or other decorations.

2. Cake Decorating Ideas for Beginners Using Cookie Cutter Stencils

Here’s one of my favourite cake decorating ideas for beginners: use a cookie cutter to make a buttercream stencil! Pick a simple shape like a star. Trace around it onto parchment paper, cut it out, and throw away the shape so the parchment becomes your stencil.

Press the stencil onto a cold cake — that part’s key! This cake has been chilled for at least an hour. Spread buttercream over the stencil and scrape off the excess. When you peel it off, you’ll be left with a perfect buttercream shape. You can leave it as is, or decorate the outline with piped dots or sprinkles.

3. Swipe on a Contrast Colour

After frosting your cake, try adding a burst of colour around the base. Pipe or spread a small amount of a second colour (or flavour!) around the bottom. Use the tip of a palette knife or offset spatula to swipe it upwards at a diagonal.

Use light pressure — too much and you’ll scrape through the base frosting. If that happens, just go over it again with more buttercream. This is a quick and easy way to create a colour contrast and a rustic decorated effect.

4. Mix Sprinkles Into Your Buttercream

Take your sprinkle game to the next level with this one! After you crumb coat your cake with a thin layer of frosting to trap crumbs, stir sprinkles into your bowl of buttercream. Use tiny non-pareils (hundreds and thousands in the UK) or jimmies or rods. Then frost the cake with this sprinkle-studded buttercream.

As you smooth the sides with a cake comb, some sprinkles might drag through the buttercream and leave trails behind. Don't panic! Just spread more frosting over those and also over any gaps. Then smooth again until the surface is even. This is an eye-catching effect that adds loads of personality to your cake!

5. Pipe a Fun Buttercream Border

Borders are a quick way to add height and style to your cake. Spoon some buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip like a 4B. Decide which part of your cake is the front — where it looks best — and start piping just to the side of that spot. That way, your border starts and ends at the least visible place on the cake!

Hold the bag just above the cake, squeeze, push slightly away from you, then pull back to fold the frosting over itself. This makes a wave. Pipe waves all around the cake, overlapping the tail of each previous wave with the next one. If the last wave looks awkward, tidy it with a toothpick. This border makes the cake look fun and fancy!

6. Cake Decorating Ideas for Beginners With Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers are a quick and beautiful addition to cakes. If possible, decorate on the day you're serving so the flowers don’t wilt. Group small bunches together and wrap the stems in cling film to stop any juices from leaking out.

Pop the stems into wide straws like boba straws. Trim the straws to the same length as the stems, about an inch or two. Then push the straws into the cake. Tadaa!

7. Easy Cake Toppers

For one of the easiest cake decorating ideas for beginners, skip handmade toppers and use toys or figurines instead. Just dab a bit of fresh buttercream underneath to help them stick. You can also use premade message toppers or artificial flowers. Push them gently into the cake to keep them upright.

8. Pipe Pretty Swirls to Divide Slices

Using a 1M star tip, you can create elegant swirls that look beautiful and help guide your cake slices. Chill the cake for at least an hour first — that way, the weight of the piping won’t sink into the frosting underneath.

Then pipe a two-loop spiral, swiping away at the end for a tidy finish. These swirls are perfect for dividing your cake into even portions: if you need 10 servings, just pipe 10 swirls and slice between each one!

9. Decorate with Chocolates

This might be the easiest technique of all. After frosting your cake, while the buttercream is still soft and sticky, press chocolates gently into the top. I’m using Ferrero Rocher here on a chocolate Nutella cake.

They stick beautifully and instant decoration with almost no effort.

10. Combine Cake Toppers and Piping

Let’s combine two of the most fun cake decorating ideas for beginners: cookies and piping swirls. Arrange macarons or cookies around the top edge of your cake, standing them upright. Space them evenly by placing four first — at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock — then filling in the gaps.

Now, pipe swirls between the cookies, bringing the swirls right up to the edges. The cookies act as a guide so every swirl ends up the same size. It’s a showstopper finish that’s surprisingly easy!

Easy cake decorating ideas for beginners

You can store decorated cakes in the fridge for 2–3 days. Before serving, bring the cake out 2 to 4 hours early. That way, the buttercream and sponge come to room temperature and taste their best!

If you liked these cake decorating ideas for beginners, you’ll love with what’s inside my cake school! I’ve got hundreds of techniques to show you step by step, even if you’ve never made a cake before. See you there!

You can also watch a video of this tutorial on 10 easy cake decorating ideas for beginners:

https://youtu.be/31ToVMsamlg

Want to make your summer cakes stand out? These summer cake ideas are fresh, fun, and full of colour. In this tutorial I’m sharing ten buttercream cake designs that are perfect for warm-weather celebrations. There's even one that you can travel with! These summer cake designs are simple to recreate — no fancy tools needed!t

Mosaic Flamingo Cake Design

This eye-catching design uses frozen buttercream to create a mosaic effect that’s both modern and fun. Start by spreading different shades of pink and coral buttercream onto a piece of parchment paper and placing it in the freezer until the buttercream becomes hard. Then, use a sharp knife to cut the buttercream into small triangles. For the flamingo’s beak and eye, do the same with black buttercream.

To assemble the design, lightly outline the shape of a flamingo on your cake using a toothpick. Press the frozen triangles into the outline to form the shape, fitting them together like a puzzle. If the frosting on your cake is still soft and sticky, the tiles will stick to it easily. If the frosting has set you can brush your shape with a damp paintbrush first and the tiles will stick to that.

It’s important to keep the buttercream pieces cold while you work so prepare two trays and rotate them between the freezer and your decorating station. This way you’re always working with cold, firm buttercream that holds its shape. The result is a colourful, artistic cake featuring whatever theme you choose!

Ice Cream Cone Cake

Nothing says summer like ice cream and this ice cream cone cake design is a playful twist. Begin by cutting a triangle out of parchment paper to use as a stencil for your cone. Press the stencil against your cake after chilling it for at least an hour in the fridge. The frosting should be cold and firm. Spread cone-coloured buttercream over the stencil and scrape over it with a cake comb to leave a thin, smooth layer behind. Peel the stencil off and use the edge of a cake comb to gently score diagonal lines across it, creating the look of a waffle cone.

To create the scoop of ice cream, scoop up buttercream with an ice cream scoop and lower it on top of the cone. For a realistic touch, pipe a few buttercream drips just beneath the scoop to mimic melting ice cream. You can finish it off with a cherry on top or a handful of sprinkles to make it look extra tempting.

Wave Frosting - Summer Cake Ideas for Beach or Pool Parties

This water-textured cake is ideal for beach or pool parties. Frost your cake as usual but only use a frosting smoother or cake comb once or twice because the frosting doesn't need to be super smooth. Then turn it sideways so that the short edge is against the cake. Hold it at a slight angle, pressing the bottom edge into the frosting while letting the top lean gently outward. As you spin the cake, wiggle the comb up and down to create the look of soft, rippling waves rising up the sides.

While the frosting is still soft, toss tiny white nonpareils or hundreds and thousands against it to look like bubbles. To turn this design into a mermaid cake, add buttercream mermaid tails. These are part of my tutorial on 10 DIY cake toppers and are easy to make in advance.

Number Cake - Summer Cake Ideas for Birthdays

Number cakes are easily personalized summer birthday cakes. They look stunning with very little effort! Simply cut the number you want out of a sheet cake, twice. Spread or pipe buttercream onto the first number-shaped layer and then gently place the second cake layer on top. Decorate with more buttercream piping and finish with your favourite toppings: macarons, chocolate, cookies, candy, fresh flowers or whatever matches your party theme. To learn more about how to get the perfect shape and decoration check out my number cake tutorial with lots of helpful tips and design ideas.

Grocery Store Cake Makeover

If you’re short on time or just not in the mood to bake, try a cake makeover instead. Buy a cake from a grocery store or supermarket and remove the decorations. Garnishes can be picked off the top and scraped off from the sides using a cake comb. The re-decorate it to make it your own.

For a fun, cheerful effect, press sprinkles all over the frosting. It's best to put the cake on a tray while you do this, to catch all of the falling sprinkles.

Another easy option is to pipe melted chocolate onto a piece of parchment or wax paper that's long enough to wrap around your cake. If the frosting on the cake is textured, you'll need to smooth it first by scraping around it a few times with a cake comb. Then lift the parchment up and wrap it around the cake. After chilling it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, peel off the paper to reveal a beautiful chocolate collar or cage.

Buttercream Mosaic Wrap Cake

One of the more intricate but rewarding summer cake designs is a wrapped buttercream mosaic. This technique involves drawing a summery design on parchment or wax paper, optionally placing acetate on top. Pipe tiny, random buttercream shapes to fill in your design. You can use piping bags without piping tips or with small round piping tips. Even a ziplock bag will work, with one of the bottom corners snipped off to pipe through.

Once the design is complete, freeze the paper or acetate until the buttercream is firm. Spread a background colour over the design and then carefully wrap the design around a cake, pressing it gently against the frosting.

After chilling the cake to set the buttercream, gently peel away the acetate or paper to reveal a smooth, colourful mosaic pattern. The result looks jaw-dropping!

How to Travel with a Cake

Need a cake for a celebration while you're on vacation? You can travel with this one! Bake your cake layers in advance and layer them with buttercream filling or your favourite jam or jelly. Wrap the cake in cling film and lower it into the cake pan you used to bake the cake. Put it into the freezer for up to a month, until your travel day. You'll also need to freeze some buttercream in a ziplock bag or a piping bag.

On the day you travel, move the cake in the pan and the buttercream into a cooler. Add an ice pack so that they'll thaw very gradually while you travel. When you get to your destination, slide the cake out of the pan and unwrap it. Put it onto a plate and add some piping on top. Now you have a homemade celebratory dessert without wasting your vacation time stuck in the kitchen!

Half-and-Half Cake

Offer two flavours in one cake with a fun half-and-half design. Bake two flavours of cake, dividing the recipes in half to make just one or two layers of each flavour. Cut the cake layers in half to make semi-circles of cake.

To assemble a half-and-half cake, place a semi-circle of one cake flavour onto a cake board and pipe or spread a neutral flavoured buttercream across the flat edge. I use my 4 minute buttercream for this. Press a semi-circle of the other flavour of cake against this to make a circle of cake.

Add your fillings to each half and then repeat to layer the rest of your cake, remembering to attach each pair of cake semi-circles with buttercream so that the cake doesn't fall apart.

To frost a half-and-half cake, cover one half of the cake with parchment or wax paper while you frost the other side. Peel off the paper and the frosting will stop neatly along the join of the two flavours. Before you frost the other half, it’s important to chill the cake before covering up this frosting with paper so the buttercream doesn’t smudge.

Repeat the same process for the final coat and use piping along the dividing line to decorate and blend the two sides.

This way you can offer two different flavours in one cake. It's a fun option for a joint birthday party where each person has a different favourite flavour, or just to give your guests more options!

Seasonal Summer Cake Ideas

Summer is all about fresh, fruity flavours. To make the most of seasonal ingredients, try my strawberry cake recipe. It uses both fresh and freeze-dried strawberries in the cake layers, with a filling and frosting made from freeze-dried strawberries so it's bursting with flavour.

If you’re looking for something tropical, try my piña colada cake. It’s made with coconut milk cake layers and a pineapple frosting and filling, using freeze-dried pineapple for a bold flavour without watering down the buttercream. Decorate with shredded coconut and some dried pineapple for a beachy vibe.

Whipped Cream Frosting for Summer Cake Ideas

If you’re looking for something a bit lighter than buttercream, especially in the summer heat, try my stable whipped cream frosting. It holds its shape beautifully without drooping or weeping, even on warmer days. You can pipe it onto cupcakes, frost a full cake with it, and use it for detailed borders and swirls. It pairs beautifully with fresh summer fruit and makes cakes taste refreshing and delicate.

Summer Cake Designs in Hot Weather

Condensation can ruin your beautiful cake designs and it can be especially challenging in summer. If you're in a hot of humid climate or want to serve a cake outdoors in summer, check out my tutorial on how to prevent and fix condensation.

These summer cake ideas are all easy to customize and most importantly, they’re fun! Whether you're baking for a beach party, summer birthday party cake, picnic, or just enjoying the sunshine at home, there’s a design here to inspire your next cake.

You can also watch a video of this tutorial on 10 summer cake ideas:

https://youtu.be/Eodn6BJzIE4

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Whether you're decorating a birthday cake or creating a showstopper for a special occasion, DIY cake toppers are the perfect way to add height, colour and detail. And the best part? You don’t need to buy them! In this tutorial, I’m sharing 10 edible DIY cake toppers that are not only eye-catching but also surprisingly easy (and fun!) to make.

From quick chocolate shapes to dazzling rice paper sails, there’s something here for every skill level and time frame. These toppers use everyday ingredients like chocolate, candy, buttercream, rice paper and even ice cream cones. Let’s jump in!

1. Sprinkled Chocolate Number DIY Cake Toppers

This is a brilliant cake topper for birthdays, especially if you want to personalize your cake with a name or age. All you need are chocolate chips, sprinkles, and a few toothpicks.

Start by melting your chocolate—either white or dark—in the microwave. To do this without burning, use 50% power and heat it for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval until the chocolate is smooth and fully melted. Then transfer it into a Ziploc bag and push it down into one corner. Snip off just the tip of the bag to create a tiny piping hole.

Now for the fun bit. Pour your sprinkles onto a plate and use a spoon or your fingers to level them into a flat layer. Pipe your letter, number or shape directly onto the sprinkles. You’ll need to do this in mirror image because you’re working from the back and will flip the chocolate once it sets. Start with a thin outline and then trace over it a few times to build it up. You want the chocolate thick enough to hold its shape without snapping.

Before it sets, press a toothpick gently into the base of the chocolate shape—this is how you’ll attach it to your cake. Let the topper sit at room temperature for an hour or chill it in the fridge or freezer for 15–30 minutes until it’s firm. Once set, gently pick it up and you’ve got a sprinkle-covered edible DIY cake topper ready to go!

2. Melted Hard Candy Shards

This is one of the quickest edible toppers you can make and the result is colourful and shiny. You’ll need some boiled sweets or hard candy—choose colours that match your cake or theme.

Place the sweets on a metal baking tray that’s lined with baking paper or a silicone mat. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and pop the tray in for about 2 minutes. Keep a close eye on them—you want them to melt into little puddles but not spread too thin. If they cook too long they’ll become brittle and crack easily.

After about 15 minutes of cooling, the melted sugar will have settled into beautiful translucent discs or shards. You can snap them into abstract shapes or leave them whole. Push them firmly into your buttercream—don’t be shy here! Pressing them in properly is what will keep them upright.

They’re easy, inexpensive, and surprisingly impressive for something that takes one ingredient and just a few minutes to make.

3. Metallic Buttercream Accents

These metallic toppers look fancy but are simple to create. They're a fun way to turn your regular buttercream into glamorous accents that really pop against a cake.

Start by piping your chosen shapes—hearts, stars, zigzags, pumpkins, or anything you like—onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. The buttercream needs to be stiff enough to hold its shape, so make sure to use the full amount of icing sugar in the recipe and add the milk or cream a spoonful at a time until the consistency is storable but not runny.

Once your shapes are piped, pop the parchment into the freezer for about 15 minutes. This makes the shapes firm up and makes them much easier to paint.

To make the buttercream metallic, use edible gold paint. You can buy this pre-mixed or create your own by combining a small amount of edible lustre dust with a few drops of clear alcohol like vodka or a clear extract such as vanilla or almond. Use a small paintbrush to lightly brush the gold over your frozen shapes. Dabbing works best! Work quickly and gently because as the shapes warm up they’ll begin to soften.

When the paint is dry, carefully peel the decorations off the parchment. If the shapes have softened, put them back into the freezer for 5 minutes first. If your cake frosting has already crusted over or firmed up, pipe a small dot of fresh buttercream to attach each metallic piece.

4. Buttercream Molds for DIY Cake Toppers

This is a brilliant way to add colour and texture to your cake with something softer than fondant and more colorful than chocolate. You’ll need some silicone molds in whatever shape you like.

Spoon buttercream into the molds, pressing it down with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to make sure it fills every detail. Smooth the surface so the back of your topper will be flat and even. Then freeze the molds for at least 30 minutes.

When they’re completely firm, gently peel back the silicone to release the shapes. Handle them quickly and carefully—they’ll start to soften fast. Press them onto the cake’s buttercream. If a piece snaps, just press the broken parts gently back together. As the buttercream softens slightly, it’ll stick back to itself. You can press these onto the top of a cake or against the sides.

5. Ice Cream Cone DIY Cake Toppers

Ice cream cones are incredibly versatile for cake decorating. You can turn them into party hats, trees, or anything else with a conical shape.

For Christmas tree-style toppers, use green buttercream and a small round piping tip like a Wilton #8. Pipe little dots around the cone and pull your piping bag away after each one to leave a peak. These look like a pine tree's branches. While the buttercream is still sticky, add sprinkles for ornaments or dust with icing sugar for a snowy look. A touch of edible glitter looks magical dusted over them with a powder brush, too!

For party hats, cover the cone smoothly with buttercream. It can be tricky to get an even finish so here’s a trick: once it’s frosted, roll the cone in granulated sugar. This hides any imperfections and gives the hat a lovely sparkle.

Pipe a ring of buttercream onto the bottom of the cone and press it down onto your cake. This make a festive party hat for a character cake!

6. Cookie Cutter Chocolate Shapes

This method is ideal for clean, bold shapes. You’ll need cookie cutters, chocolate, sprinkles, and a toothpick.

Melt your chocolate and lay a piece of baking paper on a tray, placing your cookie cutter on top. Spoon the chocolate into the cutter and push it into the edges and corners.

While the chocolate is still melted, pour some sprinkles on the top and press them down gently. Then place the tray in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Once it’s fully set, carefully push the chocolate out of the cutter.

To turn your shape into a DIY cake topper, reheat the leftover chocolate and spoon or pipe a little bit onto the back of your shape. Press in a toothpick and let it set before pushing it into your cake.

7. Rice Paper Sails

These are dramatic and delicate and they add colourful flair to any cake.

Mix warm water with a few drops of food colouring in a bowl or tray. Soak your rice paper sheet for about a minute until it softens. Then lift it out and shape it by draping it over scrunched up parchment or wax paper or baking paper.

Wrap the bottom of the paper around a toothpick or skewer—this makes it easy to anchor into the cake.

Leave it to dry overnight. Once it’s dry and firm, press the toothpick into the cake. You’ll be amazed at how much impact this light, fluttery topper can have!

8. Buttercream Roses

These take a little practice but are absolutely worth mastering. You’ll need stiff buttercream, parchment squares and a flower nail. You'll also need a piping bag and a petal shaped piping tip like a #125 or a #104.

Pipe a small dot of buttercream onto your flower nail and then press a parchment square on top. Use a petal tip to pipe a central cone and then begin layering petals around it. Each petal should overlap the previous one by about a third.

Continue until your rose is the desired size. Transfer the parchment to a tray and freeze for at least 30 minutes. To add the flower to your cake, peel it off the parchment and attach with a dot of buttercream. Or pipe a larger blob of buttercream to angle the rose upwards for a more natural look and pipe extra petals at the base to blend them in.

10. Chocolate in Silicone Molds

Just like with the buttercream DIY cake toppers in #4, silicone molds make polished, professional-looking toppers using chocolate. I used this geometric heart shaped mold.

Fill your mold with melted chocolate and tap it gently to release air bubbles. Let it set at room temperature or in the fridge or freezer. If you’re making 3D shapes like spheres, fill both halves and let them set. Then warm a plate with hot water, dry it, and press the flat edge of each half against it for a few seconds. This melts them slightly so you can stick the halves together.

To finish, drizzle more melted chocolate over the top and sprinkle with edible glitter, sugar pearls or sprinkles. These toppers look store-bought but are easily homemade!

Why Make Your Own DIY Cake Toppers?

DIY cake toppers give you complete creative freedom to customize your cake. They’re often more budget-friendly than buying pre-made decorations and they taste better, too! From simple, quick designs to more intricate toppers, there’s something here for every skill level and style.

Plus, there’s something so satisfying about people asking, “Where did you get that?” and being able to say, “I made it!”

For more cake decorating techniques and designs visit my cake school, where you'll find online courses and memberships and my FREE course on 10 Frosting Techniques!

You can also watch a video of this tutorial on 10 edible DIY cake toppers:

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Welcome to this mini cake tutorial! Mini cakes might be small, but they pack in just as much flavour and fun as their full-sized counterparts. Whether you’re baking for a birthday, a tea party, or just fancy a cute treat, these bite-sized beauties are surprisingly easy to make at home. In this guide, I’ll walk you through every step – from baking the layers to choosing fillings, decorating, and even storing and serving.

If you’ve been wondering how to make a mini cake, you’re in the right place!

Start With Cake or Cupcakes

There are two easy ways to make mini cake layers: use cupcakes or bake thin cake layers.

If you’re starting with cupcakes (my one-egg recipes make about six), simply peel off the wrappers and slice the cupcakes in half across the middle. You’ll get wider and narrower layers, perfect for stacking into bigger or smaller mini cakes.

The uneven edges are covered up when you frost the cake, but you can also use a serrated knife to trim them down if you want your cake to look neat and even from the start.

You can freeze leftover cupcakes in an airtight container like a Tupperware or ziplock bag for up to a month. Handy for when you want to whip up a mini cake without baking from scratch!

If your cupcakes have overflowed a little in the oven, just trim the domed tops and use the flat bottoms:

Prefer using cake layers? Bake thin 6-inch rounds (again, my one-egg recipes work beautifully), and use a 6cm or 2.5 inch cookie cutter to cut out perfect mini cake layers. Level them by trimming the top before or after cutting for neat, flat layers.

The cookie cutter method gives really tidy, even layers. But again, don’t worry if you see a difference now between these and the cupcake-based layers – once frosted, they’ll look practically identical.

How to Make a Mini Cake Filling and Frosting

To fill and frost a mini cake I use my 4 Minute Buttercream. In the recipe card below you'll find my small-batch recipe using just one stick (or 1/2 cup) of butter and icing sugar or powdered sugar. I actually prefer using a hand mixer for this, as stand mixers often struggle with such a small amount of ingredients.

The consistency of your buttercream is key: it can’t be too stiff or it’ll be tricky to spread on such a small cake. Here’s my microwave hack: scoop out a third of the buttercream, microwave it for 10 seconds, then stir it back in. You’ll notice the buttercream becomes much easier to work with – smoother, softer, and less stiff.

If your buttercream looks yellow you can correct that with a tiny dab of violet food colouring. Use a toothpick to add the smallest amount – it neutralizes the yellow and brightens your buttercream to a crisp white.

To add flavour to buttercream you have lots of options: crushed freeze-dried strawberries, dulce de leche, jam, lemon curd, or melted chocolate. Anything thick enough not to make the buttercream runny works well.

Mini Cake Tutorial: Layering and Filling

Choose a cake board at least two inches wider than your mini cake layers. Spread or pipe a dot of buttercream in the middle to act as glue, keeping your mini cake firmly in place. Without this, your cake may slide around as you decorate it, especially since it’s so light. That buttercream dot will firm up as it chills, making the cake even more secure.

If you’re using buttercream as the filling, you can simply spread it or pipe it onto each layer. But if you’re using a softer filling like jam, lemon curd or dulce de leche, you’ll need to pipe a buttercream dam around the edge of each layer first. This prevents your filling from oozing out under the pressure of the cake layers and ruining the outer frosting.

To make a dam, fill a piping bag (folded over a glass to make it easier) with buttercream, then snip off the end to create a hole about the width of your finger. Pipe a ring around the edge of each layer, spoon the filling into the centre, and stack the next layer on top. Repeat until your mini cake is assembled.

Chill the cake for 30 minutes in the fridge or 15 minutes in the freezer before you start frosting. This is essential to stop the cake from sliding around or bulging.

Crumb Coating: A Crucial Step!

The crumb coat is your first layer of frosting and its job is to trap any crumbs that come off the cake. This step gives you a smooth, crumb-free surface for your final layer.

For mini cakes, I prefer to pipe the crumb coat on. It reduces friction from your spatula and makes it easier to apply the frosting without moving the cake.

Spread the buttercream onto your chilled mini cake using an offset spatula or palette knife. Have a small bowl on hand to wipe off crumb-filled frosting so you don’t mix it back into your main bowl. Press gently down on the cake board with one hand while you spread with the other to keep everything steady.

Next, use a cake comb or icing scraper, pressing the bottom edge onto the cake board for a straight finish. If your mini cake is made from cookie cutter layers, you’ll notice the neat sides straight away. Cupcake layers may look a little more rustic, but once they’re covered in frosting, it won’t matter!

Finish by tidying the top with your offset spatula, scraping sideways to pull in any excess frosting and create a clean edge.

Final Coat: Smooth Buttercream Perfection

After crumb coating, pop the cake back into the fridge or freezer until the frosting is firm and no longer sticky. This will make applying your final coat so much easier.

Check your buttercream consistency again – it should be soft and easy to spread. Start by frosting the top of the mini cake: spoon on a generous amount, spread it across, and let it spill over the edges to help form neat corners later. Hold your offset spatula at a 45-degree angle and gently spin the cake to level it.

Next, apply buttercream to the sides. Push the frosting up around the top to build a lip that helps you create a sharp edge. Use a cake comb to smooth everything out. Keep pressure light and stop often to clean your comb – excess build-up can drag and pull the cake, which might dislodge it from the buttercream glue.

To fill any gaps or indents, apply more buttercream and repeat the smoothing process. A metal cake comb works brilliantly for the final passes – and warming it slightly (with hot water, a blowtorch or hairdryer) can give you an ultra-smooth finish.

Tidy up the top by swiping sideways with a clean offset spatula. By starting with a generous layer and building that top lip, you’ll have a nice sharp edge once everything’s smoothed out.

Decorating Ideas for Your Mini Cake

Chill your mini cake again before decorating to firm up the frosting. I recommend using all of the following techniques on cold, firm mini cakes to prevent the frosting sagging or bulging.

Piping: Use small piping tips (like a #16 star) to keep your designs in proportion. You only need a little buttercream for piping, but fill your bag at least a third full to make squeezing easier. Add borders around the top and bottom, or pipe directly onto the sides.

Stencils: Use stencils to create intricate patterns. Make these yourself by drawing designs onto parchment paper or wax paper and cutting the shapes out. The surrounding paper will be your stencil! Make sure the buttercream frosting on the mini cake is cold and firm so the stencil doesn't damage it. Spread colored buttercream over the stencil and scrape off the excess to leave a thin, smooth layer behind. Peel the stencil off and voila! If you're using several stencils, chill the cake in between each so that you don't damage any previously stenciled details.

Lettering: To add a message, try Sweet Stamp letters. The cupcake-size sets are perfect for mini cakes. Chill the cake for an hour, then let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before stamping. You can paint over the impressions with edible paints or mix lustre dust with vodka or clear extract.

Buttercream transfers: These are another fun option. Pipe designs onto wax or parchment paper or microwave buttercream for 5 seconds to soften it and then paint the design on. Press the design gently against the cake, leaving the paper attached for now. Chill the cake for at least an hour before peeling the paper away. The details will transfer cleanly onto your chilled frosting.

How to Store and Serve Your Mini Cake

Mini cakes are easy to store and transport. Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. For travelling, move them straight from the fridge to your car so they’re firm and won’t wobble en route.

Want to move your cake from its board to a stand or plate? Do it while it's cold to avoid damaging the frosting.

Let mini cakes sit out at room temperature for an hour or two before serving – they taste best when the cake, filling and frosting are soft. You can slice them into tiny wedges or use a fork because they’re just the right size for an individual serving or for two people to share.

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Here's a video of this mini cake tutorial:

https://youtu.be/DPZAiB0M5cs

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