The Best Cake Decorating Tools

Find a list of the best cake decorating tools to create bakery-worthy cakes at home! From baking staples to professional-level tools, we’re sharing everything you need to create stunning treats.

chocolate frosting in a piping bag decorating a vanilla cupcake.

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I have tried so many different cake tools, and I must say that some are much better than others. I want to help you learn what tools you really need and which ones are not so important to cake decorators. Take a look at my favorite essential cake decorating tools, and you will be on your way to creating flawless cakes!

Best Cake Decorating Tools for Beginners

If you are just getting started on your journey as a cake artist, these are the basic, beginner tools you need to have on hand. They help you create perfect birthday cakes and beautiful cake decorations for all occasions!

1. Cake Turntable

Every cake baker needs a cake turntable. I love using stainless steel turn tables or aluminum turntables with a cast iron base. The base helps prevent the cake stand from moving around.

Using a turn table to ice a cake will help you crumb coat cakes, making the sides perfectly smooth. Turntables allow you to access the cake from all sides and angles, ensuring that your cake is flawless. Make sure you choose a turn table that has a removable spinning plate so it’s easy to clean!

top down image of an off set spatula frosting a vanilla cake sitting on a round wooden board.

2. Offset Spatula

Having a small and a large offset spatula is essential for decorating cakes. Offset spatulas help add frosting to the outside of your cake. They also fill your layer cakes evenly with frosting, preventing any gaps.

A good offset spatula will have a stainless steel blade and either a wooden handle or a plastic handle. They come in all different sizes, but I like having a small 4.5-inch spatula and a 9-inch spatula. These two sizes are really all you need.

3. Pastry Bags

Pastry bags are one of the best cake decorating tools to have on hand if you want to decorate beautiful cakes! I like disposable pastry bags best. I find the reusable bags to be hard to clean.

Buy small and large piping bags. A small piping bag is great for detailed decorations and writing on cakes since they are easier to hold than large bags. A large piping bag can be used for adding cake borders or filling cakes. There’s nothing you won’t be able to decorate!

4. Piping Tips

Whether you’re a beginner cake decorator or a professional, you need a good set of piping tips to go with your pastry bags! A variety of tips and couplers will help take your cake decorating to the next level.

You can easily make all different kinds of flowers, piping patterns, and decorations. A little pro

Become a Frosting Pro

Watch a few YouTube video tutorials to learn how to pipe frosting using each of the different tips. You may be surprised by what each one does!

5. Bench Scraper

A bench scraper is a great baking tool that has a perfect, 90-degree angled blade. This is great for making smooth sides on your cakes. Spin your cake on a turntable while you hold a bench scraper against the side of the cake. The result will be a perfect-looking layer of frosting!

Many bench scrapers also have ruler marks on the blade. This means you can easily measure your cakes, ensuring they are the correct size. Look for a taller bench scraper that will help frost even the biggest cakes. This is essential when you start making tiered cakes or wedding cakes!

6. Cake Leveler

A great quality cake leveler will help you quickly and easily cut your homemade cakes into perfect layers. Look for a leveler with a serrated blade that is adjustable. I also like a good wide leveler that can cup larger cakes as well as small ones.

Your cake layers will be smooth and level every single time. If you have young kids at home, be sure to get a cake knife with a blade guard. Those sharp edges can be dangerous!

Professional Cake Decorating Tools

If you have been decorating cakes for a while and are looking to upgrade your tools, you may want to consider investing in some of these great cake tools. They can be a real game-changer when it comes to creating professional quality desserts.

slice of rainbow layered cake sitting on a metal cake spatula.

7. Gel Food Coloring

Professional chefs always use gel food coloring rather than liquid food coloring. It blends into frosting much better than liquid. Plus, you only need a drop or two of gel food coloring to get a brilliant, bold color. Once you start using gel colors, you will never use liquid dyes again!

8. Petal Dust

If you want to really take your decorations to the next level, you need luster dust! Petal dust (also called luster dust) is a light powder that can be brushed onto fondant decorations and gum-paste flowers to give a pretty shimmer.

You can also lightly blow some petal dust onto the side of your cake to make the whole thing shine. Petal dusts come in lots of colors, and they are always great to have on hand!

9. Cake Boards

Cake boards and cake drums are so important for an advanced decorator. You don’t want to decorate your cakes on your kitchen dishes anymore!

Cake boards are typically a little thinner and made to hold just one cake. Meanwhile, cake drums are thick and sturdy, designed to support tiered or layered cakes. Both come in different sizes and are a necessity in any cake decorator’s kitchen.

10. Parchment Paper

All pros know that you need parchment paper when baking a cake. Parchment will prevent your cake from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then, you can also use parchment paper to keep your workstation clean as you decorate that same cake.

Make piping cornets out of parchment paper to write on cakes or to decorate. You will find that you use parchment paper quite a bit once you have it on hand in the kitchen!

A slice of double layer pink velvet cake with buttercream frosting.

11. Fondant

Are you ready to move on from the buttercream frosting and start using fondant to decorate cakes? If so, you will need a good, high-quality fondant to work with!

I promise that the cheaper stuff doesn’t work as well. It will make fondant cakes and fondant decorations a whole lot harder. This is one case when spending more money on a high-quality ingredient is well worth it! Use it to make cute little shapes like I do on my red velvet cupcakes.

12. Edible Gold Leaf

While gold leaf may not be the most essential cake tool in the kitchen, it is one of the easiest ways to decorate your favorite cakes. Peel off a few small pieces of gold leaf, and let them adhere to your cake.

It instantly makes all your desserts look fancy and stunning. It may be a little pricey, but your cakes will definitely look like they were made by a pro!

FAQs

What do professionals use to decorate cakes?

All professionals use a rotating cake stand, offset spatulas, cake boards, piping bags, piping tips, gel food coloring, and parchment paper as basic tools for decorating cakes. If you have these few items on hand, you will be ready to decorate cakes like a pro!

What is the best tool for smoothing buttercream?

An offset spatula or bench scraper is the best tool for making buttercream smooth. Using a turntable to spin the cake as you smooth the frosting is also key. Don’t forget to put enough frosting on your cake. You want enough so that you can slowly scrape the outside layer of frosting off as you spin the cake, revealing the smooth frosting underneath! You don’t need so many tools to make buttercream smooth, but you will need good technique!

What are the must-haves for cake makers?

Cake makers all need a good set of baking pans, parchment paper, offset spatulas, rubber spatulas, gel food coloring, piping bags, piping tips, cake turn tables, a stand mixer, and a good set of mixing bowls. With these few items, you can make hundreds of stunning, delicious cakes!