Are you brand new in this rapidly growing cake decorating industry and looking for cake decorating ideas for beginners? Here I am to share my experience with you so that you can get some useful ideas and use them to decorate your cake.
Who doesn’t love cake? And who makes the cake, always try to make something better than the previous one, right?
Most importantly, the cake is something that we usually present on any special occasion, so cake decoration is important to make the event really special. I think everyone loves cake with amazing decoration, and that makes the difference.
However, this article is going to show you some of the best ingredients that you can use for decorating cake easily. Let’s take a look at the list:
Table of Contents
10 Best Cake Decorating Ideas For Beginners
Firstly, in my opinion, you should know that cake decorating is something that you should love and your passion is essential here; otherwise, you won’t be able to make what it calls a masterpiece. So here we go:
1. Written Message
Most common but one of the most effective cake-decorating ideas for beginners that you can use for your cake. You can follow this idea for making someone feel extra special by writing them a message on the cake. You can do it easily by writing icing, and also you can buy edible art pens to write words into the fondant.
Pro tip: If you can’t find any writing icing, you can use buttercream or icing sugar mixing with water. It would be best if you made it thick so that you can write easily.
2. Marshmallows
If you want to make your classic bake into a masterpiece, then you can use marshmallows melted or whole. Meltdown mildly or pile them high on a low heat on the hob and simply pour over the top of your cake- the choice is all yours. The Marshmallows’ price is reasonable in the market that makes an easy option for kid’s birthday cakes or food gifts. So this can be a very useful cake decoration idea for beginners.
Pro tip: It would be easy and good to use a non-stick pan for melting marshmallows. Don’t overcook them; warm them slowly and gently. Otherwise, you will have a sticky mess on your hands.
3. Ready to Roll Fondant
You can find ready to roll fondant in most of the supermarkets in the cake decorating aisle. It’s a great idea for making your cake stand and it is relatively easy to work with. There are lots of options there, you can buy all kinds of colours and also, you can add drops of food colouring to white fondant for using your own colour palette.
Pro tip: Before getting started making fondant, ensure that you have a clean, dry surface to roll the fondant and use a clean rolling pin.
4. Desiccated Coconut
It is a great option; coconut can be baked in a cake or used to decorate the cake too! You can consider using coconut for baking or decorating because it is healthier than sugar sprinkles or sweets. All you need to do is cover your cake in a light buttercream and then press coconut into it. Coconut is so light, and you can use it to any cake from lighter flavours like vanilla and orange and richer cakes like chocolate cake.
Pro tip: You should take a look online before heading to the supermarket to see if you can find any deals there. Desiccated coconut is best bought in bulk, a small pack here and there can really add up.
5. Chocolate Fingers and Cigarellos
This is an excellent method for covering up any mistakes on your cake. If it’s a little toasted around the sides and you’ve had to cut some parts off – or if it didn’t rise as much as you’d like, get the chocolate fingers and cigarellos at the ready. Just cover your cake in buttercream, chocolate or royal icing and squeeze them around the edges of the cake. They will give you a great base for topping your cake with sweets, fruits or flowers too. So this is one of my cake decorating ideas for beginners.
Pro tip: Make sure that you have enough chocolate fingers or cigarellos, because the more you have got, the better. There is nothing worse than getting halfway around the cake and noticing that you haven’t got enough to finish off your cake.
6. Cream
Get your cake even more indulgent by covering it with freshly mixed cream, which is the perfect base for chocolate or fruits. The cream is really easy to use for decorating your cake and it can be spread or piped onto your cake depending on its thickness.
Pro tip: Cream is best kept cold in the fridge, so if you are planning to decorate your cake with cream then you should store it in the fridge or use it at the very last minute.
7. Sprinkles and Shop-bought Decorations
If you are in a hurry, the cake decorating aisle at your local market can help you out. You can find plenty of lovely treats to turn your cake into a masterpiece. One of the wonderful methods is with multicoloured sugar sprinkles- some buttercream and a generous sprinkling will turn your cake a colourful one.
Pro tip: If you want to decorate your cake for certain events like Christmas, mother’s day, you should choose your sprinkles thematically- such as for Christmas, it would be great if you consider using red and green, and for mother’s day, you can use yellow and pink. Also, you can bring different shaped sprinkles like animals, flowers etc.
8. Fruit
In this cake decoration ideas for beginners article, this is the easiest way among others to decorate your cake. If you want something light and refreshing, use different fruits, and even you can use fruits according to the seasons, such as using berries in the summer and clementines and dried fruit in the winter.
Pro tip: While using fresh fruit, make sure you add them at the very last minute. Remember that if you are using wet fruits, it could make the buttercream or cream topping displace or melt slightly.
9. Chocolate
Chocolate is another best and easiest way to decorate your cake. You can use it melted, mixed with cream or simply use cocoa powder for light decoration. You may think that it is not a chocolate cake, but you can use chocolate to cover whatever cake you’d like.
Pro tip: While you are thinking of melting the chocolate, you should keep it on a low heat and melt it gradually; otherwise, it will burn out. One thing you should remember is that white chocolate melts much quicker than milk or dark chocolate.
10. Nuts
Nuts are always good to use for giving your cake a new and delicious flavour. You can cover your cake top to bottom with the nuts, or you can sprinkle some on top of your buttercream. Whatever your cake will look stunning by using nuts.
Pro tip: Consider matching your nuts with the cake that you are making. Means, if you are going to make a carrot cake, then you should use walnuts. Similarly, if you are making a cake with peanut butter, then peanuts would work best. For the chocolate cake, you can consider using sweet pecans are a great combination.
Related:
1. How to Become a Cake Decorator: An Exclusive Beginners’ Guide
2. Baby Birthday Cake Decorations: 7 Tips You Should Follow
Closing Note
So these are my best cake decorating ideas for beginners. I enlisted them following my decade’s experience in this cake decorating industry. If you are one who loves to work in this fantastic sector or just for personal satisfaction, this article can help you decorate something marvellous. Lastly, I recommend each of my students for considering take a comprehensive program so that you can gain an in-depth understanding and apply masterfully. Here is an insightful course for you.
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