Decorate cakes like a pro
Real picks for piping tips, turntables, fondant tools, food colors, and everything for cake decorating
- 1
Bake
Bake and fully cool the layers; leveling makes stacking easier.
Pans & Baking → - 2
Fill
Pipe a buttercream dam around the edge, then add filling inside it.
Piping & Buttercream → - 3
Crumb coat
Spread a thin coat to trap crumbs, then chill until firm.
Tools & Display → - 4
Pipe
Finish with a final coat and piped borders or flowers.
Piping & Buttercream →
Top picks right now
Piping tips worth knowing
- #1M open star: cupcake swirls, rosettes
- #2D closed star: drop flowers, ridged swirls
- #104 petal: ruffles, roses
- #12 round: dots, beads, outlines
- #233 grass: grass, fur, hair
Numbers follow the Wilton system; other brands may number tips differently.
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Start Here: Cake Decorating for Beginners
7 short steps in the order a beginner needs them, with the guides and tools for each one.
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Piping & Buttercream
Piping tips, bags, couplers, flower nails, and smoothers.
Browse 10 guides →Fondant & Gum Paste
Fondant, molds, cutters, embossers, and modeling tools.
Browse 10 guides →Colors & Flavors
Gel colors, edible paints, luster dust, and flavorings.
Browse 9 guides →Pans & Baking
Cake pans, levelers, strips, boards, and release sprays.
Browse 10 guides →Toppers & Sprinkles
Sprinkles, edible decorations, toppers, and candles.
Browse 12 guides →Tools & Display
Turntables, airbrush, stands, boxes, and storage.
Browse 10 guides →Best buying guides
Best Cookie Cutters for Sugar Cookies, Fondant, and Dough
The best cookie cutters for decorated sugar cookies and fondant: graduated rounds, comfort-grip sets, minis, plunger stamps, and big shape assortments.
Best Fondant Cutters for Shapes, Flowers, and Decorations
The best fondant cutter sets for clean shapes and flowers. Sharp edges, plunger ejectors, size ranges, and durability for home cake decorators.
Best Cake Decorating Kits for Beginners and Beyond
The best cake decorating kits compared, from starter sets to full 100-piece collections, judged on tip quality, useful extras, and real-world value.
Best Buttercream Combs for Textured Cake Sides
Find the best buttercream combs for striped and textured cakes. Compare pattern depth, blade rigidity, double-sided designs, and comb heights.
Best Piping Tip Sets for Cake Decorating
Compare the best piping tip sets for home cake decorators. What to look for in tip variety, stainless steel quality, storage cases, and coupler fit.
Best Piping Bags for Buttercream and Icing
Find the best piping bags for cake decorating, from disposable rolls to reusable silicone. Compare thickness, grip, sizes, and burst resistance.
Packing tips
All tips →How Do You Make the Color Orange? Mixing Orange Frosting and Icing
Orange is yellow plus red. Learn the starting ratio, how to get pumpkin, peach and burnt orange, and how to keep the color from turning pink or bitter.
How to Make Fondant Icing at Home (Marshmallow Method)
How to make fondant icing at home with marshmallows and powdered sugar: ratios, kneading, resting, coloring, rolling, and fixes for dry or sticky dough.
How to Make Buttercream Frosting From Scratch
How to make buttercream frosting with butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla: exact ratios, mixing times, how to thin or stiffen it, and fixes.
How to Decorate Holiday Cookies With Royal Icing
Decorate Christmas and winter cookies with royal icing. How to mix outline and flood consistencies, prevent craters and bleeding, and make simple festive designs.