5 Must Have Cake Decorating Tools

I want to tell you about some cake decorating tools I’m kicking myself that I didn’t buy sooner.

I guess I am a minimalist when it comes to cake decorating tools.  Well, I am addicted to cake tool shopping as much as the next caker (I feel like a dragon hoarding jewels and treasure sometimes).  But most of the time when I come across a tool that seems like it would make cake decorating easier, quicker or better I tend to talk myself out of buying it.  I convince myself that I don’t need it, I’ve been doing the job without it this long, why waste the money, blah blah blah.

Well I’m here to tell you DON’T WAIT!  I have kicked myself so many times after I break down and finally purchase something after procrastinating. Just thinking of all the time and effort I could have saved makes me cringe.  I mean if there is something that can make your job quicker, easier and better why wait?  I’ve learned my lesson (maybe).

Here are 5 cake decorating tools I really wish I would have gotten a lot sooner.

Can you live without them?  Of course!  But I’m telling you, they are worth the time & effort you save. Seriously!

1. A GOOD cake turntable  

  When I first started cake decorating I didn’t want to spend any money on tools.  It was just a hobby at that point and I was cheap.  I found an old lazy suzan at a thrift store for a dollar and was so proud of myself that I was thinking outside of the box and found a super cheap alternative.  Well I used that for a few months and it SUCKED!  So I broke down and bought a bottom of the line Wilton turntable.  Honestly not much of an upgrade actually.  Don’t get me wrong, it did the job!

But there was always a spot as it turned that it chattered.  And that spot in my frosting always had little ridges.  Well I lived with it for a few years, because a nice turntable was out of my budget at the time.  But once I finally broke down and bought my sweet Ateco turntable I had to smack myself in the forehead for being so thrifty.  It SERIOUSLY makes getting a smooth even frosting such a cinch!   Now I couldn’t live without it.  Her name is Betty.

2. A cake leveler

I know, I know, many of you master cake decorators out there are probably rolling your eyes at me right now.  I watch you all whip out the bread knife and tort those cake layers in a heartbeat by hand and they are perfectly level and even. Every. Time.  Ok maybe I have a cake torting handicap because I just can’t seem to get them all to come out the same.  That is where a cake leveler comes in super handy.  I don’t even have anything fancy like and an Agbay.  When I finally got my Wilton Cake Leveler & Slicer it was a huge sigh of relief.  I love it.  It is my friend.  Fat Daddios even has a multi blade leveler that I have been drooling over.

3. Pasta roller

Even if you don’t make sugar flowers, a pasta roller is really handy gadget to have.  I use it constantly to roll fondant for a ton of different things. Ruffles, cut outs, letters ( I use FMM Tappits letter cutters), stripes, borders, Marvelous Molds onlays, and the list goes on. Of course it is fantastic for sugar flowers as well.  I have the Pasta Roller Attachment for my Kitchenaid which is awesome, but a stand alone model is great too!  I’m telling you they are worth the money.

4. A scraper blade for your mixer

A scraper blade is just one of those little things that makes life easier.  No stopping constantly to scrape your mixer bowl, it does that for you.  When you are making cakes for a living,  saving a little time here and there as you work can make a difference.  Make sure you find the right size to fit your mixer.

Last But Not Least

5. Edible Image Printer

Now this one is a doozy, I know.  It took me 5 years of dreaming to finally bite to bullet and buy an edible image printer.  I had always thought that I wouldn’t really use it that much.  But let me tell you, I have used it for so many awesome projects that I would never have thought of before.  From printing colors and patterns onto wafer paper to custom logos for cookies to book covers to images on frosting sheets.  I use it constantly.  And oh boy does it make some jobs so quick and easy!  It is an awesome tool to have.

I first bought a cheap package deal on Amazon and it was awful.  I couldn’t even use it for the specific job I bought it for.  It printed the colors all wrong and I had to keep cleaning the print heads over and over just to get it to stop printing in stripes.  I used up all of the ink and only got 3 usable images out of it.  So needless to say that one got returned.

Then I buckled down and splurged on an Icing Images package and I am SO glad I did!  It also came with a subscription to their Idesigns pattern library that I have used many times already.  Most definitely worth spending more money for the quality product.

Do yourself a favor, if you have been on the fence about buying an edible image printer, just go for it!  Yes, they are spendy but you won’t be sorry.

I hope this helps motivate some of you to just go ahead and buy that tool you have been waffling about.  I’d love to hear some of your must have tools, tell me in the comments below.  I think I need to do some shopping!

Have A Sweet Day!

You can find more cake tool recommendations along with cake decorating tips & tricks here – Adorable Mini Cakes AND Some of My Favorite Tips & Tricks

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