Cake Decorating

If you're going to be making fondant or gum paste characters or decorations, it's a good idea to pick up a set of fondant and gum paste tools. These specially shaped implements will make your life SO much easier--from cutting quilting patterns to forming flower petals, they're made to do a very specific job and they do it well! I like this set because it's affordable and has a nice range of tools available.

Piping couplers  aren't the most exciting kitchen tools to talk about, but they're one of the decorating staples that I reach for most often! These simple tools help attach your piping tips to a piping bag, and they make it very easy to switch tips multiple times using the same bag.I like the Ateco brand because the tips of the couplers are simply round--some other brands have notches or cut-outs in the tips that make it hard to use them to pipe by themselves. The Ateco ones can be used plain for piping cupcake swirls, or used as intended as a coupler.

This small star piping tip is #15 from Ateco. Its mini size makes it perfect for piping small flowers and other tiny decorations.

White Pearl Dust adds a gorgeous, subtle shimmer to any candy or fondant accent! This dust is completely edible and FDA approved, so you don't have to worry about serving it to your guests! Brush a little on your chocolate or fondant using a dry brush, and it adds a gorgeous, pearly gleam to any decoration.

White Sugar Pearls are small edible sprinkles that look just like pearls! They add a pretty and classy touch to any dessert.

I often like to make my own homemade fondant, but there are 2 colors I always prefer to buy, whenever possible: black and red. It is really hard to get a true black (or a true red) when making your own fondant at home, and you end up having to use so much food coloring, the taste and texture are both negatively impacted. So I'm a big believer in buying black fondant, both for flavor and simplicity reasons!

This Orange Color Mist is a quick and easy way to add a wash of orange color all over cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more! I love how easy these color mists are to use, and they give a nice airbrush effect without the need to have an actual airbrush machine.

I like to make my own marshmallow fondant, but when I'm in a rush, or need just a small amount, pre-made fondant is the way to go! CK Products is one of the most reliable kitchen brands I know, and their fondant is easy to work with and tastes good, too!

This small leaf tip, Wilton #352, is one of my work horses! I use it for leaves, of course, but I also like using it for feathers, flower petals, and adding all sorts of great texture on cakes and cupcakes. It's the easiest leaf tip to use, in my opinion, and doesn't require a lot of finessing to produce pretty leaves. I have 4 or 5 just because I use it so often!

These Russian Ball Piping Tips are so fun to use! Just one squeeze of the piping bag will give you gorgeous cascades of ruffles on top of your cakes and cupcakes.

This 2D piping tip is a classic closed star tip. It's great for decorating cakes and cupcakes with rosettes, and is especially good at making flower petals and drop flower shapes. It's medium-sized, so it's not great for making big bakery swirls on top of cupcakes, but for mini cupcakes or cake decorating, it's a necessity!

Russian Piping Tips are the hot new way to decorate cakes and cupcakes! And with good reason--you can make whole flowers with just one squeeze of the piping bag! They're fun and easy to use, and can create really stunning designs in a short amount of time. This is a good all-purpose set: it has 7 tips, so you'll get a good variety of designs, along with 10 piping bags and a coupler so you can easily switch tips without making a mess.

This small star piping tip is perfect for making stars, rosettes, and many other frosting designs. It's one of my favorite tools for making mini roses on cupcakes, and is such an all-around useful tip, it's a necessity to have in your toolkit!

This Red Fondant tastes great and is very easy to work with! It is very hard to make a true red color when dying white fondant, so I always recommend to buy red fondant when possible. This brand has a bright red color, is supple and workable, and best of all, it tastes good too!

This Wilton Pink Color Mist is a fast and easy way to decorate desserts! It's a bright pink that's great for Valentine's Day, showers, and birthday parties. It's much more affordable than an airbrushing machine, but gives a similar all-over color effect.

This Wilton Red Color Mist is a fast and easy way to decorate desserts! One quick spray gives your cookies, cupcakes, and cakes an airbrushed effect. I love how easy it is to use, and always keep a few bottles of Color Mist in different colors handy!

Chocolate Curls are an easy way to give your cakes, cupcakes, and other pastries a professional touch! It's fairly easy to make your own curls, but it's hard to make them as uniform and pretty as the store-bought kind, and it also takes a lot of time to make a large number of curls. Save yourself some time and buy them instead!

Gold Dragees are edible gold-colored sugar pearls that add a beautiful touch to any dessert! I like using them on frosted cookies or to give candies a little bit of glitz and glam. Note that some dragees are classified as "decorative" and not meant to be eaten, so be sure to check the labels carefully.

White sparkling sugar gives your desserts a gorgeous snowy, frosty look! Use it on cakes, cupcakes, and more!

This closed star tip is the perfect piping tip for making big, beautiful swirls of frosting on cupcakes! It also makes lovely large rosettes on cake, or use it with whipped cream to decorate the tops of pies, trifles, and tarts.

Copper luster dust is the secret to giving all of your candies and desserts a beautiful burnished copper color! A quick brush of dry luster dust on your chocolates gives them a gorgeous color. You can also mix it with vodka to paint on fondant, or mix it with melted cocoa butter to paint on chocolate.

Orange Sanding Sugar is an easy way to add a fun and festive appearance to your baked goods! Sprinkle a pinch on sugar cookies, roll the tops of cupcakes in it, or use it to cover a cake.

Mellowcreme pumpkins are a wonderful Halloween candy that makes a great cake decoration!

Chocolate rocks are delicious chocolate-flavored candies that look JUST like real rocks! The resemblance is uncanny. But even better than the appearance is the taste. These rocks have a delicious chocolate flavor with a slightly crunchy exterior coating.  They're great for putting on top of cakes, cupcakes, and many other desserts!