Home Cake Decorating Kit

Your cakes deserve to look as good as they taste.

The experts at America's Test Kitchen have assembled the must-have tools for home cake decorating. Cue the ooohs and aaahs.

Winco Revolving Cake Decorating Stand

WINNER - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

HEIGHT ★★★

WEIGHT ★★★

SURFACE ★★★

ROTATION ★★★

STABILITY ★★★

Reviewed December 2015

We rated each stand on height, weight, stability, surface, and rotation. This stand was tall, providing excellent visibility and comfort. It was solid but light, and its surface and base were attached. This made it easy to carry but also meant it couldn’t be submerged in water (although we did just to see what would happen; it still spun perfectly). It rotated quickly and smoothly yet stopped precisely where we asked it to, and it had three shallow circles etched onto its surface for easy centering.

Height: 5.3"

Weight: 4.8 lbs

Surface Diameter: 11.5"

OXO Good Grips Bent Icing Knife

WINNER - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

BLADE ★★★

HANDLE ★★★

EASE OF USE ★★★

Reviewed September 2015

We tested six offset spatulas by slathering dozens of jelly rolls and layer cakes with heavy cream cheese frosting, glossy meringue, thick caramel, and smooth buttercream. From handle to tip, this spatula was sized right. The 6.5-inch blade was sturdy but nimble, and testers made quick work of icing cakes with all types of frosting. It also felt exceptionally comfortable in hand, thanks to an easy-to-grip rubber-coated handle.

Angle: 28"

Blade Length: 7.75" Total, 6.75" Flat

Blade Thickness: 0.81 mm

Test Kitchen Self-Assembled à La Carte Decorating Set

12 Wilton 16-inch pastry bags

2 small plastic couplers

2 large plastic couplers

Wilton Tips: #4 round, #12 round, #70 leaf, #103 petal, #2D large closed star and #1M open star

Reviewed February 2016

This set has all the essentials: six core tips in the right sizes, twelve 16-inch disposable pastry bags, and a set of four reusable couplers. The six tips make topping cupcakes, decorating cakes, piping pâte à choux, and filling savory foods effortless.

A Test Kitchen Self-Assembled à La Carte Decorating Set

Digital Download: America’s Test Kitchen Cake Decorating Tips & Tricks

Free with the purchase of The Ultimate Cake Decorating Kit
Link to download will be included in your order confirmation email

The cover of America’s Test Kitchen Cake Decorating Tips & Tricks

Details

Includes:
Winco Revolving Cake Decorating Stand
OXO Good Grips Bent Icing Knife
Test Kitchen Self-Assembled à La Carte Decorating Set
Digital Download: America’s Test Kitchen Cake Decorating Tips & Tricks
Item Number: ATKCAKE
Item Weight: 7.45 pounds

Shipping

5 Simple Decorating Ideas to Elevate Your Cake

Softened apple slices make the best roses: You can make beautiful roses to sit atop your cake by rolling up thinly sliced apples. Before rolling them up, make sure you let them sit for about five minutes in a mixture of sugar and lemon juice. This prevents browning and makes them flexible enough to work with.
Create an abstract look: Dipping a paint brush in gel food coloring and then dragging it across the top of the cake adds a whimsical pop of color to your cake.
Two steps to the perfect drizzle: You can easily create that classic chocolate drizzle look that is irresistible. Take the chocolate mixture and pour some of it on top of the cake and spread. Then take a ¼-cup of the remaining chocolate and drizzle it along the top edge to create the desired effect.
The key to easy chocolate curls: You can easily make multi-colored chocolate curls to put on top of your cake. All you need is a vegetable peeler.
Tint your way to an awesome ombré: You can achieve a beautiful ombré look by tinting your frosting with increasing amounts of coloring. Spread the frosting on the cake in thirds, starting with the darkest frosting on the bottom. Running a spatula along the sides with a rotating cake stand allows you to blend the frostings together.