In this baking tips post, I will share with you the best cake baking and decorating supplies for making beautiful and delicious cakes! Plus, I will provide you with links to the exact tools and supplies I use to make cakes at home!
Best Cake Baking and Decorating Supplies
Having the right tools for the job makes life a whole lot easier! If you are looking to elevate your cake baking and decorating game, having a few essential tools and supplies makes the process easy and fun!
In this post, I will be sharing with you some of my favorite cake baking and decorating tools and supplies that will help bring your cakes to the next level!
Plus, I will provide you with direct links to each of the products that I use in my own personal kitchen to make the cakes featured in this blog!
And don’t forget to check out my baking tips blog post on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cakes to learn some of my favorite, simple tips and tricks to baking the best cake layers!
1. Cake pans
A quality set of cake pans is essential for baking cake layers! To bake the best cakes, you need a pan that distributes heat evenly to create the perfect cake crumb.
My favorite cake pans are the Fat Daddio’s cake pans. They are made with anodized aluminum and distribute heat evenly with easy release and easy clean up! They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
On my blog, most of my cakes are made with three 7-inch round cake pans! Depending on how much cake baking you plan on doing or if you plan on making tier-cakes, you may wish to grab a couple different sizes!
Fat Daddio’s cake pans (3-inches deep)
2. Parchment circles
Parchment circles or parchment rounds are time-savers and cake-savers! Before discovering parchment circles, I used to trace my cake pans on parchment paper sheets and cut them out individually…not anymore!
Each baker may have their favorite technique for preparing cake pans, but my favorite is to spray the cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and lining the bottom with a parchment circle.
Parchment circles help to prevent the cake layers from sticking to the bottom of the pan and makes clean up a breeze! If you’ve ever held your breath while inverting a cake pan to remove a cake, you may wish to consider parchment circles!
3. Kitchen scale
A kitchen scale is a helpful tool for baking even cake layers!
I love using a kitchen scale to weigh the cake batter as I am filling the pans. Ensuring that the cake pans contain the same amount of batter helps the cakes to bake evenly.
Simply place the cake pans on the scale, “zero” or “tare” the scale, and fill the pans. Be sure that each pan weighs about the same (it doesn’t have to be perfect).
Kitchen scale – I also use this kitchen scale to weigh out cookie dough and weigh ingredients for recipes written in metric measurements.
4. Wire cooling rack
A wire cooling rack is essential for bakers, not only for cakes, but for cupcakes, cookies, and other baked goods.
My favorite wire cooling racks are ones that have a grid pattern. I find that these racks offer more support for the cake layers than the racks that have just the parallel wires.
Wire cooling racks – These are my absolute favorite wire cooling racks for cakes, cupcakes, and cookies! They are durable, easy to clean, and easy to store!
5. Cake turntable
If you are trying to take your cake decorating to the next level, a cake turntable is essential! Out of all the supplies on this list, this one is my favorite to help amp up your baking game!
A cake turntable makes filling, stacking, and frosting cakes easy (and more fun)! You can easily smooth the sides and tops of cakes by rotating the turntable and using a cake scraper. I find that it makes filling the cakes much easier too!
Cake turntable – This Kootek Aluminum Alloy Revolving Cake Stand is my favorite cake turntable because…
- It is weighted and has a non-slip base, so it doesn’t move around on the countertop.
- The spinning motion is very smooth which helps create perfectly smooth sides.
- It is easy to clean.
6. Cake boards
We need something to build our cakes on – cue, cake boards! A cake board (or cake circle) is just that, round cardboard. One of the sides is typically coated so that it is greaseproof and safe for use with food.
I recommend stacking and decorating a cake on a cake board, rather than a plate because it is easier to access the bottom edges of the cake with an offset spatula or cake scraper.
Cake boards come in many sizes, so you can select the size to fit your needs. I usually recommend going with a cake board that is 1-inch larger in diameter than the diameter of the cake (ex. 7-inch cake layers = 8-inch cake board).
7. Offset spatulas
Offset spatulas make filling and frosting cakes simple! You can easily apply frosting to the cake layers and create even layers of frosting.
I love having a set of three different sizes of offset spatulas to choose from. This way, I can use the correct size for the job!
I recommend sticking with offset spatulas that have plastic handles if you plan on cleaning them in the dishwasher. I have found the offset spatulas with wooden handles do not hold up as well and also cannot be cleaned in the dishwasher.
Offset spatulas – My favorite offset spatulas are from Ateco! They are made with a stainless steel blade and a plastic handle, and they are dishwasher safe!
8. Cake scrapers
Another favorite cake decorating tool in my arsenal is a cake scraper (or bench scraper)! Cake scrapers are used for removing excess frosting from the cake and creating smooth sides.
Some cake scrapers have patterned edges to create cakes with stripes, scalloped patterns, or other textured pattern. I personally prefer to use stainless steel over plastic or acrylic cake scrapers, but every baker has their preference!
I like to use the cake scraper to create a smooth crumb coat (thin layer of frosting) before adding the final layer of frosting to make perfectly smooth sides. Be sure to chill the cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes after applying the crumb coat. Use the cake scraper to made sharp edges on the top of the cake as well!
Cake scrapers – My personal favorite set of cake scrapers is the 3-Piece Stainless Steel 10-inch Cake Scrapers. It comes with six different edges including straight, scalloped, and striped.
9. Large cookie scoop
This may seem like a strange tool to have on a cake supplies list, but a large cookie scoop is a huge help for filling cakes.
I love using a large cookie scoop to portion out buttercream frosting to fill the cake layers. I don’t know about you, but I love having even layers of frosting between each cake layer.
Use a large cookie scoop to portion out cupcake batter into cupcake liners or to scoop cookie dough for uniform cookies!
Large cookie scoop – My favorite cookie scoop is the OXO Good Drips Large Cookie Scoop! It holds 3 tablespoons of frosting, batter, or dough. It has a non-slip handle which makes it easy to grip!
10. Piping bags
If you are looking to do piping on your cake, piping bags are a must! There are options for reusable and disposable piping bags – use what you prefer!
Fill piping bags with buttercream frosting to pipe swirls and designs onto the cake. They can also be used to pipe a border of frosting around the edges of the cake if you are adding a filling. This border prevents the filling from leaking out the sides of the cake.
Piping bags can also be used to apply frosting to the outside of the cake or used to create a drip cake!
Piping bags – I have two favorite go-to brands of piping bags!
11. Piping tips
With the piping bags, we need some piping tips! There are dozens, if not hundreds, of different sized and shaped piping tips.
I have a couple go-to favorites that I tend to use over and over again when making cakes!
12. Squeeze bottle
If you are interested in making drip cakes, a squeeze bottle is a helpful tool to create perfect drips!
Some bakers prefer to use a piping bag to create ganache drips, but I find a squeeze bottle to be a bit easier to use and to control the flow of chocolate ganache or candy melts. If you are a drip cake newbie, I recommend trying a squeeze bottle first for better control and less mess!
Squeeze bottle – My go-to squeeze bottle is the Wilton Regular Melting Decorating Squeeze Bottle which holds 12 fluid ounces of chocolate ganache.
And there you have it! The best cake baking and decorating supplies (in my humble opinion)! If you are working on improving your cake baking game, these tools and supplies will help you to create cakes that not only look great, but taste amazing too!
Comments & Reviews
What type/brand of food coloring do you use?
My favorite brands are Americolor and Chefmaster!