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I'm going to show you five tools that you already have in your kitchen and how to use them to
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decorate stunning cakes instead of buying fancy expensive cake decorating tools. With one of these
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rubber or silicon spatulas you can make wave frosting by holding it sideways so the top edge
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is pressed into the frosting as you spin the cake and move the spatula up and down to create these
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beautiful waves, giving the frosting lots of movement. What's great about using a spatula
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like this is that if you really struggle with getting your frosting smooth it doesn't matter
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While the spatula creates this wave texture it's also smoothing the frosting within the waves
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doing all of the hard work for you. This effect looks stunning with a few sprinkles scattered
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around the cake or makes an interesting background for an ocean or under the sea or mermaid theme
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To add lots of detail without taking lots of time, use a fork with just two movements
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up and sideways. The prongs of the fork will drag evenly spaced lines across the frosting
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and when the lines have made a square, pull the fork out and change direction and then pull up
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You could pull down but it's easier to see what you're doing this way. Dip your fork into warm
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water and dry it off for the best results because the warm metal will drag much more easily through
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the frosting. Move up for the next row, alternating the movements so that the sideways lines are
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above the up and down lines, creating a simple patchwork design. The fork texture makes the cake
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much more detailed and interesting than just plain smooth frosting. Speaking of smooth frosting, you
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can do that without a cake comb using a ruler instead. Press one of the ends down on the cake
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board against the side of the cake and spin the cake on the turntable, holding the ruler still
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so that it's your other hand that's moving instead of the ruler. Pull the ruler away, wipe the
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buttercream off it into your bowl and then do this again and again to get the frosting smoother
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and smoother. If you don't have a turntable you can do this on a plate instead, choosing a plate
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with enough room to fit your ruler next to the cake before the plates slants upwards. For the
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top edge, swipe sideways with your ruler to push that buttercream that's sticking up over the top
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edge and lift it away on your ruler. This is a pastry brush or a basting brush and it's another
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way to create unusual texture on cakes. Hold the brush at the bottom of the cake and press it
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against the cake and pull it upwards and you'll leave these pretty lines in the frosting. You'll
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get the best results if you dip the brush in water so it will slide more easily through the frosting
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and the frosting should still be soft so do this straight away, not after it sets. Pastry brushes
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are a useful tool for floral cakes because when you use them on green frosting you create the
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effect of stems and you can make a bouquet of flowers on top of the cake. Fresh flowers or
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artificial or pipe them or make them with wafer paper, which I teach how to make in my Layer Up
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program on My Cake School. The link for a free seven day trial is at the top of the screen and
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in the video description. Next up, a spoon? Yes, ditch the textured cake combs and instead hold the
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back of a spoon against the frosting on your cake. Press it gently into it and then drag it in an arc
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to make these curves or swirls in the frosting. You can do this on the sides and also on the top
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of the cake. This is my strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream and the recipe is on
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britishgirlbakes.com. Another way to use a spoon is to create grooves in the cake. Drag the spoon
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slowly upwards to pull the texture all the way up the cake, letting the grooves overlap each other
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so there aren't any gaps. You can do this horizontally as well, holding the spoon sideways and pressing
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against the frosting as you spin the cake, pulling the spoon slowly upwards to pull the texture all
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the way up the sides of the cake. So five ways to decorate cakes using things you already have at
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home. A spoon, a fork, pastry brush or basting brush, a spatula and a ruler. Visit my cake school on
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britishgirlbakes.com for hundreds of cake decorating techniques and designs and start a free
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seven day trial of my All You Can Cake membership, which gives you access to everything on My Cake
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School. The link is at the top of the screen and in the video description or go to britishgirlbakes.com
