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My recommendations for essential tools to get started baking, frosting and decorating cakes, with my tips on which tools you can buy cheaply and where it’s worth splurging for better quality. After the bare essentials, I share my suggestions on the next tools you might want to buy to be able to expand your baking repertoire and to do more elaborate cake decorating.
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For a list of these tools (with links to my favourite products!) click here: http://www.britishgirlbakes.com/essential-tools-for-cake-decorating/
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To buy my favourite extra tall acetate roll click here: https://amzn.to/2H1oKHp
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0:00
When you first start baking and cake decorating it seems like there are a lot of things to buy
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and it can be difficult to decide where to start buying things. In this tutorial I'm going to show
0:09
you the essential tools you'll need to get started baking, frosting and very basic decorating
0:14
with my recommendations on which tools you can buy cheaply and where it's worth splurging for
0:19
better quality. After the bare essentials I'll share my suggestions on the next tools you might
0:24
want to buy to be able to expand your baking repertoire and to do more elaborate cake decorating
0:31
A mixer is definitely worth investing in unless you have extreme patience and arm strength to mix
0:36
with a spoon. You'll use a mixer to mix cake batters and to make frosting. It can be a stand
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mixer like this or a hand mixer will work too, although it's a bit messier and harder work to use
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If you're planning on baking often a stand mixer will save you time and if you're a multitasker
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like me it's a dream because you can leave it to mix your ingredients while you take out the
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other ingredients for your next recipe or wash other tools or start prepping your cake decorations
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This is probably going to be your biggest single investment so take your time to research and
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choose your mixer. I've had my current KitchenAid for six years and I had a smaller one for six
1:13
years before that and I've loved both of them. Whether you choose a handheld mixer or a stand
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mixer what's important is that it has a beater or paddler attachment so that you don't incorporate
1:23
too much air into your cake or frosting. If it has a whisk attachment, great! You can use that to
1:28
make meringue pops, macarons or ganache. You might already have lots of the other tools you'll need
1:34
for baking like measuring cups, spatulas and mixing bowls. If you have any type of these things I'd
1:40
suggest working with what you've got and investing in the things you don't have but if you are going
1:45
to buy them here are my favourites. I've listed the specific tools I use on britishgirlbakes.com
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and I've put the link to my list in the video description. For measuring cups and spoons I like
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to have two sets of each so that when I'm baking I can use one set for dry ingredients and one for
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wet ingredients instead of having to wash and dry them between different ingredients. It's useful to
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have measuring spoons all the way down to an eighth of a teaspoon for small batches but you can always
2:11
just use a quarter of a teaspoon and fill half of it. Some recipes list ingredients in weights so
2:16
you'll need a scale and I also like to weigh my cake batters so that I can divide the batter
2:21
equally between my cake pans. If you're baking anything bigger than a six inch cake, if you want
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to weigh the batters make sure the scale is big enough so that you can see the weight because for
2:31
these little scales a big cake pan covers the screen that shows the weight. For mixing bowls
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some people prefer sturdy bowls but I like lightweight plastic ones that I can move around
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easily and stack on a drying rack without worrying about them falling and breaking. I like to have
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several sizes to choose between depending on how much of an ingredient I need to mix or how much
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buttercream I want to add colour to. It's helpful to have a bowl with a lid so you can store your
2:56
prepared dry ingredients or a batch of buttercream in that same bowl. Rubber or silicon spatulas are
3:02
great for getting all of your cake batter or frosting out of your mixing bowl and for adding
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colour to buttercream. The advantage of silicon over rubber is that it's heat proof so you can use
3:12
it to stir very hot simple syrup or leave it in the pan for several minutes if you're cooking
3:16
fillings like fruit purees. If you have to choose one size of cake pan I'd choose a six inch pan
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and I'd buy two of them or three if you can. A six inch cake will serve 12 to 20 people so it's big
3:28
enough for small gatherings and celebrations but if you're practicing baking or decorating you're not
3:34
using a huge amount of batter and frosting to practice with. I divide my cake batters between
3:39
two pans and when the cakes are cool I cut them in half horizontally to make two layers each
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so I end up with four layers in total. If you don't want to cut your layers in half you could
3:48
buy three or even four pans and divide your batter between them so you can use the layers as they are
3:54
I don't recommend reusing the same pan to bake your cakes one after the other because you'll
3:59
waste a lot of time waiting for the cake and pan to cool before washing and drying and reusing it
4:05
and if you leave some of your batter to sit out that long before baking it you might notice a
4:09
change in the texture on the top of the cake and a difference in how it rises. As far as the types
4:15
of pans you buy, make sure the sides of the pans are straight, not angled, and the thicker the pans
4:20
are the less likely they are to dent or bend which will make your cakes stick to the pan and difficult
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to turn out of the pan after baking. I go into this in much more detail in my online course on
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the basics of cake as well as how to mix, bake, assemble, frost, decorate, store, transport and
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serve cakes and I've put the link for that course in the video description along with a discount
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code exclusive to this video. I spray my pans with oil before adding the batter and you don't need
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special baking oil, any oil is fine or you can grease the pans with butter if you prefer. For a
4:54
cooling rack, anything with a mesh design will allow an airflow for the cakes to cool but make
4:59
sure the rack is big enough for your cakes. For example if you're planning on baking 8 inch cakes
5:04
of two layers each you'll either need a rack big enough to fit both layers side by side or you'll
5:09
need two racks. If you're enjoying this tutorial please click the thumbs up button and subscribe
5:14
to my channel for a new cake decorating tutorial every week! Okay now for the tools you'll need to
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frost a cake. The most important tool for frosting a cake is a turntable and this is where I definitely
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recommend paying a little bit more for a metal turntable over a plastic one. They're about double
5:30
the price but the smoothness of the spin is far superior to the jerky movements of a plastic
5:35
turntable which will be reflected in the smoothness of your frosting. You can get smooth frosting with
5:41
a plastic turntable but it takes a lot more work. To stop your cake board from sliding around on
5:47
your turntable a non-slip mat is really useful. You can buy a roll of a non-slip draw liner very
5:53
cheaply or use rings of masking tape. You'll need a cake board for your cake and I like to use a
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board two inches bigger than my cake so if you're baking six inch cakes you'll need eight inch cake
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boards. I like thin cardboard rounds with a greaseproof lining which prevents ugly grease
6:11
stains from spreading out across the board. You can buy much thicker boards called cake drums for
6:17
larger heavier cakes but for six inch or eight inch cakes thin cardboard cake boards will be
6:22
fine. To apply your filling and frosting to the cake you'll need an offset spatula. I have a small
6:28
one for four inch mini cakes and sometimes six inch cakes and a larger one for eight inch cakes
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or bigger. I use the small offset spatula for lots of decorating techniques like stenciling
6:39
Then you'll need a frosting smoother and these come in plastic, metal or acrylic. I've used every
6:44
material and I like them all but my favourite is this acrylic smoother because it's thick and heavy
6:49
which helps to line it up straight against the cake and it has a slanted sharp edge for really
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smooth sides and sharp edges at the top of the cake. I've put the link for the one I use in the
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video description. I think it's worth investing in one of these good quality smoothers which is about
7:05
twice the price of a cheap plastic or metal scraper because the edges of the plastic ones get easily
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dented which leaves grooves in your frosting. I like this plastic one for crumb coats of frosting
7:16
because it's so flexible and lightweight and quick to clean off between scrapes but it's not ideal
7:22
for the final coat. Whatever frosting smoother you choose make sure it's at least as tall as your
7:27
cakes otherwise you'll have to go around the cake twice as many times to cover both the bottom and
7:32
the top of the sides of the cake. Practice makes perfect for smooth frosting so if you don't love
7:38
your results the first time you use a frosting smoother I'd suggest giving it another chance with
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another cake before buying a different one. Okay to tint your frosting different colours you can
7:48
use liquid colours, the kind you buy in the supermarket or grocery store, but you have to
7:52
use a lot to get a bright colour and you'll water down your buttercream by adding so much liquid
7:58
Gel colours are better because they're much more concentrated so they'll make a really bold
8:02
bright colour without affecting the consistency of your buttercream. Those are the tools you need to
8:07
mix, bake, assemble and frost a cake. Next I'll show you around my cake decorating cupboard to
8:12
share my go-to tools for simple decorations on cakes. Piping bags and piping tips are cheap to
8:18
buy but very versatile. With a few piping bags and piping tips you can do all sorts of things
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like piping lace flowers, piping pretty petals or other shapes as filling between layers on a naked
8:29
cake, creating buttercream dams for fillings like caramel or fruit purees or piping intricate
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flowers. My favourite tip is a star tip, this one made by Wilton called a 1M tip and with just this
8:42
one tip you can pipe swells on cupcakes or on top of cakes or ruffles or rosettes or make this
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textured frosting or this rope style border or pipe meringues for meringue pops. If you're going
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to buy just a few tips I recommend a 1M star tip, a petal tip like a number 125, an open star tip
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like a 4B or 8B or 199 and a large round tip like a number 1A. I have a tutorial on 8 ways to use
9:12
a 1M piping tip and another one on 8 ways to use a petal tip if you're looking for ideas of techniques
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to try with them. If you're feeling adventurous, Russian tips are really fun to play around with as
9:23
well. I'm a huge fan of texture on cakes and you can buy all sorts of textured cake combs to easily
9:29
create patterns in your frosting. I like the double-sided combs so you get two textures out
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of every comb you buy. Just as with frosting smoothers, any material will work as long as
9:39
the comb is at least as tall as your cake. I use condiment bottles to drizzle my cake layers with
9:45
simple syrup to keep them moist and also to apply drips, which you can do with a spoon but I like
9:50
the control and speed of a bottle. With stencils you can create all sorts of designs on cakes and
9:56
cake toppers. I have probably close to 100 stencils, mostly very cheap ones from Amazon that
10:02
work fantastically, just as well as fancy expensive ones. With stencils you can do much more than just
10:08
covering frosting and to help you get the most out of your stencils I have a tutorial on 16 ways to
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use stencils on cakes. Cookie cutters are another versatile tool and, you guessed it, I have a
10:20
tutorial on 6 ways to decorate cakes with cookie cutters! I love repurposing tools for different
10:25
techniques instead of having to invest in new tools that you can only use for one thing
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I think sprinkles can be overused and I don't love the crunch they add to frosting but they're an
10:36
interesting way to add colour to your cake layers for a fun surprise when you cut into the cake
10:41
and for a piñata or sprinkle explosion cake. Sprinkles are great if you're looking for a quick
10:47
and easy way to decorate cakes. I like the detail they add to techniques like stenciling and piping
10:53
I love decorating with acetate to create unique designs like transferring a design from wrapping
10:58
paper onto a cake or creating vertical stripes. If you can find it, buy it in a roll so it curves
11:04
naturally and that makes it much easier to apply the design onto the curved sides of a round cake
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Look for a roll that's taller than the height of your cake so you can cover the whole cake with
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just one transfer. I've put the link for the extra tall roll I use in the video description
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If you're interested in buttercream carving, these carving tools are a very cheap investment
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with huge potential for experimenting with different techniques to carve designs into
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buttercream. Cake stands are nice to have if you want to take pretty photos of your cakes
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or display them for events or gatherings. If you can buy more than one, choose a few different sizes
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and colours and materials so that you have one to fit your cake's theme. If you're going to transport
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your cakes you'll need a cake caddy that's wide and tall enough for your cakes or you can buy
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cardboard boxes for a more professional appearance. I always have a stash of paper plates and candles
11:56
since I try to give my cakes away to anyone who comes over so that I don't eat them all myself
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and I also make sure I keep cards to give away with my cakes when someone asks me to make a
12:06
cake for a party so that they know the cake was a gift. If you want to write on your cakes
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Sweet Stamp makes beautiful lettering sets in different fonts and also fun themed sets of shapes
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for occasions like baby showers or Christmas. You can get good quality edible paints by Sweet Sticks
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in every colour to paint your letters and you'll need some very fine paint brushes too
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I have a discount code for Sweet Stamp and I've put the code below in the video description
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There are endless baking and cake decorating supplies that you can buy but I think these
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are the most versatile and useful ones. If you choose to sell your cakes you can buy these as
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you need them and your orders will end up paying for the tools and materials with time
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As a side note, if you do start selling your cakes you'll probably need to invest in a separate cake
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fridge to fit all of your cakes. I recommend getting one with a freezer section too so you
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can bake your cake layers in bulk in advance and freeze them and it's also useful if you need to
13:00
chill cake decorations quickly like chocolate sails or piped buttercream flowers or buttercream cutouts
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Anyway, selling your cakes is a whole separate topic for a different tutorial. I hope this video has been useful in outlining some useful tools for baking and frosting cakes
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and some useful tools for cake decorating. When you're ready to take your cake decorating to the
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next level, check out my online course on 10 Cake Decorating Techniques and I've put the link in the
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video description. Remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel for lots of recipes
13:29
cake designs and techniques and a new cake decorating tutorial every week
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