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Whatever your cake struggles are, from
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smooth frosting to bulges, piping
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disasters or dull colors, good news. All
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of these are fixable. Use these 10
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practical ways to improve your cake
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decorating skills in 2026. First,
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although piping onto cakes can add
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height and texture, it can also push
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down and cause bulges. Either the
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filling bulging out between the cake
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layers or on this cake when I spin it,
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you'll see the frosting bulging out
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around the top under the weight of this
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piping. To avoid this, chill the cake in
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the fridge for 30 minutes before piping
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so that the frosting firms up and holds
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its shape when you add the weight of
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piping on top. This keeps the sides of
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the cake straight and smooth. If piping
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is a challenge for you, instead of
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piping straight onto the cake and then
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needing to scrape it off, trace around
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your cake pan onto parchment or wax
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paper and pipe into that ring instead.
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And then put your piping in the freezer
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for 10 minutes to chill and set. Now you
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can lift up your favorite piping and
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press it onto your cake and choose only
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your favorite pipe details to use and
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you'll have no regrets about the
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results. Number three, try some new
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flavors. I love my chocolate and vanilla
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cakes, but try chocolate chip cookie
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dough or coconut milk cake or just add a
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different ingredient to flavor your
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buttercream like lemon curd,
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freeze-dried strawberries, caramel,
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crushed Oreo cookies. You'll find all of
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these recipes on britishgirlbakes.com.
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Smooth frosting is one of the most
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common cake struggles people ask me
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about. Get rid of air bubbles and make
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your frosting insanely smooth using a
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hair dryer, a blowtorrch, or hot water
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on your cake scraper. Or perfect the
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consistency of your buttercream with a
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microwave. And improve your technique by
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switching the angle you're holding your
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cake comb or the material of your cake
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comb or how high you spread the frosting
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onto your cakes. Join my YouTube cake
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studio membership to get exclusive
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access to my perfectly smooth frosting
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course for all of my tips and tricks.
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For neat messages on your cakes, outline
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the letters with a toothpick first to
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make sure that the message is centered
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and that it fits on your cake. And chill
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your cake before piping so that you can
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touch up any mistakes with a toothpick
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without damaging the frosting
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underneath. If you find yourself running
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out of time to bake and frost and
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decorate cakes, great news, you can
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freeze them in between steps so that you
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can spread out the work between
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different days or even weeks. After
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baking cakes and letting them cool, wrap
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them twice in cling film or saran wrap
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and then move them to the freezer. Or
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you can assemble and even frost cakes
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before freezing. Put them into the
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freezer uncovered first for about an
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hour to set the frosting and then wrap
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in two layers of plastic wrap and put
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the cake back into the freezer for up to
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2 months. Move it to the fridge the
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night before you'll be ready to work on
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it so that it thaws gradually. And then
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you can spend all of your time
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decorating without rushing. And I can
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assure you, I've done taste tests, and
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previously frozen cake and buttercream
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will taste just as good as when they
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were freshly made, as long as you've
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wrapped and thawed them properly. Always
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let cakes come to room temperature
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before serving for the best texture and
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flavor. Now, let's talk about coloring
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buttercream. If you're trying to get a
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deep, vibrant color like red or navy,
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you don't need to use a whole bottle of
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food coloring. Start by tinting your
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buttercream lighter than the color you
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want, and then microwave it. 5 seconds
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for a small bowl or 10 seconds for a
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larger one. Melting the butter in the
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buttercream deepens the color instantly,
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but of course, melted buttercream is not
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great for frosting or piping. So, pop it
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into the freezer for 5 minutes, and the
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cold will bring it back to the right
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consistency and make the color even
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darker. If you rest it for an hour or
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two, you'll see it develop even more.
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This is a great way to get bold colors
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without the nasty taste of too much food
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coloring. Look how much brighter this
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red buttercream has become. It's
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perfect. For any cake decorating skills
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that use a piping bag, dotted designs,
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piped borders, messages, flowers, if
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your piping starts out neat but starts
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to lose its shape and look blobby, the
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warmth of your hands is melting your
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buttercream. Put the piping bag in the
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freezer, set a timer for 1 minute, and
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then continue, and your colder
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buttercream will be stiffer and hold its
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shape much better as you pipe. Lots of
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cake decorating techniques need
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buttercream frosting to be cold and
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firm, like stenciling, for example. And
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I recommend chilling cakes before
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piping, too. For these techniques, work
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in a cold room to prevent condensation.
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Condensation droplets can cause colors
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to run and stain the cake's frosting.
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Condensation happens with a big
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difference in temperature. For example,
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when you move a cake from the fridge to
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a warm room. The presentation of your
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cakes is usually the first impression,
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so make it a good one. You can buy boxes
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in packets of 10 really affordably. I
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get mine on Amazon. And for taller
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cakes, use the same boxes, but make them
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taller using this hack. Cut two diagonal
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slits into the side of the lid. The
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shorter the better. And do the same on
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the opposite side. Now, push the middle
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flap inside the box and leave the rest
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on the outside of the box on both sides.
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And this will raise the lid up high
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enough to fit over your tall cakes and
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tear cakes. These 10 simple hacks will
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improve your cake decorating skills and
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help you avoid some of the most common
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mistakes. To dive deeper and learn
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hundreds of cake decorating tips and
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techniques, visit my cake school on
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britishgirlbakes.com. I'll see you
