Cake Decorating for Beginners

I present to you this cake decorating how to for beginners. Think of it as an amateur’s guide to Birthday Cake Decorating.

cake decorating how to

How to start:

-Buy some decorator tips—not a whole set, just a few basic ones to start. Wilton is a great source for that. Find them online or in any craft of party supply store.

-Don’t worry about buying expensive pastry bags. You can use freezer Ziploc bags (because they are a little heavier). It makes for very easy clean-up.

-Find a picture of a cake you like and copy it.

cake decorating how to

-Practice! Make some icing and practice piping on a piece of parchment paper. Get a feel for which tips you like and the pressure you need to have on a bag and the consistency of icing.

-Experiment with different kinds of icings—it’s not all about piping. Not all icing is meant to be piped.

-Look for these icing recipes:
Seven-minute
Cream cheese
Chocolate Fudge
Ganaches
Glazes

-Play around with different types of cakes, too. Experiment with different fillings.

-Be creative! Explore! Personalize your cakes according to your own tastes and interests!

You can TOTALLY do it. It’s fun — like art class. Only you can lick your fingers! And this cake decorating how-to is only the beginning. Pretty soon it will be a “piece of cake.”


Credits: Written by Lindsey Rose Johnson.

83 thoughts on “Cake Decorating for Beginners”

  1. I really liked the advice to use freezer Ziploc bags instead of investing in expensive pastry bags immediately. It makes cleaning up so much easier when you are just learning how to hold the bag correctly. Practicing the icing consistency on parchment paper first also saved me from ruining a few cakes early on. Copying a photo you like seems like a great way to build confidence before trying something original.

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