Homeschooling in the Kitchen: Cake Decorating Tools For Beginners

Mistakes are proof that you are trying.

– Unknown

My kids never ease into a hobby. The dive in. Quietly.

Meaning, I never hear what they might be interested in until they have researched it to death and come to me with a list of cake decorating tools they are saving up for.

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Homeschool Kids Following Their Interests

A few months ago my daughter said she’d like to try cake decorating.

Her love affair started with Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube. She had found Rosanna Pansino and fallen in love with the idea of creating decorated cupcakes and cakes.

I can see why this would appeal to her. She is my artist and loves to draw, craft, and create.

As a mom, part of our job is to support our kids and encourage them to follow their dreams. The great thing about this day and age is we can find them the help they need especially when we don’t have a clue.

We made it work when she entered the artist phrase which you can read here. I was confident we could do it for baking and cake decorating.

First, Ask Great Questions:

Before you start hunting down resources and cake decorating tools make sure you know what your child wants to do.

For example, in cake decorating there are a ton of options, but mostly it comes down to working with frosting, glazes, and icing OR working with Fondant. At least that is what I’ve found.

After we talked she decided that she wasn’t ready to try fondant…yet. So we knew that she wouldn’t not be purchasing or saving up to buy cake decorating tools used for fondant. Now we knew what to focus on!

It’s really important to make sure you are supporting your kids in a way they need to you.

Do they need information, access to the right tools, instructors? Ask them what they need then make a plan together to get them there!

Getting Her Comfortable In The Kitchen

We started getting our kids comfortable in the kitchen by teaching them how to cook.

We started with small basic steps then invested in an online E-course to get comfortable with knives, reading recipes, using different tools, etc.

Next, we created a list of cake decorating tools that she would need in order to reach her dream of decorating cakes. The list I am sharing is perfect for a child if they are just learning to decorate cakes.

Cake Decorating Tools For Beginners:

We picked up a couple of things at a time. We had fun hunting for sales, comparing prices, and making a list of what we had, wanted, and needed for the next project.

We also limit her to one baking project a week. This allows her to plan, research, and create a list of any special ingredients she needs in order to make the cake.

Our deal is we pay for the baking food supplies, she buys the special cake decorating tools. This is a great lesson in budgeting, saving for what you want, and researching before you buy.

Since we’ve created this list, we have used it to show family members and friends what she wants. She has 99% of this list now and I am looking for more ideas.

Fun fact- after I wrote this I realized it looks like we are sponsored by Wilton. We are NOT. lol! I just really love how affordable and easy to find their products are. Use whatever brand you like and works. 

We’ve created a list on Amazon, CLICK HERE to see it.

Baking Pans:

We started with what we had but there are a few she really wanted such as the 6” cake pan. When picking out your cake pan make sure the sides are straight and not slanted.

A straight pan is key for stacking cake layers because it helps eliminate the need to carve down the edges to get perfectly even sides. You don’t want your cakes falling over 😉

We found this 6″ x 3″ cake pan by Wilton.

For cupcakes, there are a few sizes to consider from mini cupcake pans or super large ones. We only have one size at the moment but I have my eye on a couple of other sizes.

⇒Hint: Use cupcake liners for easy cleanup. They come in all kinds of colors, sizes, and fun designs.

Mixers:

We have a stand mixer that I am in love with and can’t imagine my life without. My KitchenAid mixer is getting a workout.

Stand mixers make it easy for young bakers to create the batter and in making the frosting.

We also invested in a hand mixer for smaller amounts of frosting and for making things such as meringues. Ours was a gift and it is very similar to this one found at Amazon.

Mixing Bowls:

We had most of these which was nice. We love to use glass bowls in many sizes for hand mixing.

Our stand mixer came with a bowl.

When making different colors of frosting or cakes you will be using a lot of bowls.

Parchment Paper:

I love this stuff. You can use parchment paper for many things such as cutting into circles and use in the bottom of cake pans. It is also great for placing below cakes you are going to level to catch the mess.

You can buy it in precut sheets or rolls. We like the PaperChef Natural Non-Stick  Parchment Paper because it is oven safe up to 450 F.

⇒Please note that parchment paper is NOT wax paper. If you put wax paper in your oven it will smoke and melt. Don’t do it.

Sharp Knives:

Knives are handy for creating fun details and designs in your cake decorating.

You can also use a knife to help release your cake from the pan by running the blade around the edge. This will help it pop right out of the pan.

Make sure your children know how to use a knife properly.

We used this knife course.

Good for slicing up pies, cakes and brownies.

Piping Tips And Bags:

In order to create cake decorations such as flowers, rosettes, edges etc. you will need piping tips and bags.

I was going to pick up one or two which you can but decided on a kit instead. We got the Wilton kit that included 55 decorating tips, 2 couplers, 2 flower nails and a tip organizer, and a case!

⇒Note: The piping tip goes inside the bag. Cut a small corner off, drop in the tip and then fill with frosting.

A coupler makes it easy to swap the tips when you are using a few different sizes in the same colors. In this instance, the tip does not go inside the bag, part of the coupler does instead.

Food coloring Gel/liquid:

Gel food coloring is the most recommended to me by those who decorate cakes. They are thicker and a little goes a long way. But they are messy and hard to use. As you can see from the photo below, the smaller ones are these.  

My daughter prefers to use the Color Performance System by Wilton. Again we invested in the kit because it came with a color chart for easy mixing and came with all the colors she wanted.

Cake Turntable:

Can I just say cake turntables reduce a ton of frustration for your bakers?

Having a turntable makes it so much easier for them to decorate the cake because it allows the cake to turn as you decorate or smooth out the sides while you frost.

It also helps with control and posture as the cake will be elevated when you set it on top of a table or counter.

Ours shown in the photo above has her Pineapple cake created at her brother’s request is Wilton Trim-N-Turn Ultra Cake Decorating Turntable. 

I’m including the product photo so you can see it without a cake as well.

 Cake Boards:

I used to think these were unnecessary. WRONG! Every cake needs its own board.

Not only do they make clean up easier but they hold the cake steady. She is using a cake board on a drinking glass to create the Galaxy Mirror Cake. (Click here to see on Instagram)

They also make it easier to transfer the cake from the turntable to whatever you are displaying the cake on.

Offset Spatulas:

These tools come in different sizes and are used for smoothing leveling or smoothing down frosting on the sides and top of the cake.

 I did not get the set above but wish I did. I picked up the single one like this.

Cake Leveler:

I picked up this little cake leveler as a surprise after hearing and watching her frustration of trying to level cakes with a serrated knife.

I got this one in the pictures but wish I had purchased the one with a serrated blade. The one I got is a bit hard to use and doesn’t cut through the cake very easily. Now I know 😉

You need to level the cake in order to stack them and get a nice clean top for decorating.

Say YES to MESS:

The last thing you need is not something you can buy but something you can give. ♥

In order for your kids to follow their dreams, you have to let them go. Give them the go-ahead to get messy, make mistakes and learn.

My husband surprised my kiddo with the Nerdy Nummies Cookbook, you should have seen her face!

It’s incredible book filled with step-by-step instructions for fun recipes, downloads, templates, and more. It encourages your child to get creative and have fun.

But. That’s not the best part. 

My favorite part is this:

Just remember, your creations don’t need to look exactly like the ones in the photos. As my gramma always used to say: “Mistakes are delicious!”

-Rosanna Pansino, Nerdy Nummies

Anything that lets my kid know mistakes are not only okay but awesome is good in my eyes.

Remember, in order to help our kids follow their dreams we need to talk to them and find out how we can best support them. Do they need supplies and tools? Do they need courses, hands-on training, or textbooks? Or do they just need you to say “yes, you can do it?”

How do you help your kids follow their dreams?

Take care,

Jen

PS. Don’t forget the best way you can help your kids follow their dreams is by following your own. If you aren’t sure how you can do that read: What will it take to follow your dreams?

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