Jevay Baking is such a joy to me! I found baking during a tough year of my life. I would come home and challenge myself to bake dessert just to relieve the stress of the day. Eventually baking became my passion, and my first love. That was about 10 years ago! During that time, Tiktok wasn’t a thing I had to really search the internet for what equipment was best to invest in! In the process I wasted a lot of money on products that didn’t work! Overtime I managed to secure some equipment and tools that have yet to fail me. Here is the list of tools that I invested in when I began baking cakes and you should to!
- Cake Turntable: Decorating cakes requires you to spin the cake as you’re adding icing to it. Without a turntable you’ll have to keep moving your cake board around and that gets exhausting. I purchased this turntable when I started and it’s never let me down. Is it the fancy one here? No, but it gets the job done. If you’d like to make an investment go for the Ateco Turntable.
2. Offset Spatulas: You’ll want a specialized knife when decorating a cake. Offset spatulas don’t lie flat at the base of the knife. Instead, the “blade” sits up and allows you to spread icing without getting icing all over your hands. This is one of my most used tools in the kitchen when decorating cakes.
3. Icing Scraper: In order to level out the icing on your cake, you’ll need to scrape off the excess icing applied to the cake. This will require the use of an icing scraper. You’ll want a sturdy and tall cake scraper. My favorites ones have been acrylic. I think they are sturdier and collect the icing better.
4. Cake Pans: The foundation of your cake is going to begin with solid cake pans. You’re going to want a variety of sizes to bake with. I have 5 8-inch pans, 4 6-inch pans, and 4 4 inch pans. I also own 2 10-inch pans. I chose these sizes because some cake orders call for tiers. The bottom tier needs to be larger than the middle tier. The middle tier needs to be larger than the top tier. However, I would not start off by ordering that many pans because you simply won’t need them in the beginning. I would recommend ordering 3-4 6 inch pans and getting comfortable with baking and decorating that size.
5. Parchment Paper: Lining your baking pans with parchment can really come in handy! Though we’re using quality nonstick pans, I’m still want to create a barrier between the pan and the cake. This ensures an easy removal for not just the sides, but also the bottom of the cake. I cut out rounds that fit into the bottom of the cake. Then, I spray my pans with a nonstick spray so the parchment sticks.
6. Electronic Mixer: I don’t vouch for a lot of gadgets. However, my electronic mixer has saved me time and muscle in the kitchen! There are so many baked goods that require creaming ingredients or mixing for a length of time. You could use a hand mixer for some tasks. However, you’ll still be limited, which compromises the texture of the bake. My sisters purchased my first KitchenAid mixer for me as a gift for Christmas back in 2016. I cried! I had been making icing and cakes by hand and it was exhausting. The mixer sped up my process and increased the quality. KitchenAid mixers are a bit pricey, but well worth the ticket. I purchased my second one about 3 years ago and plan to purchase a third. Not only will they increase your production, but they will also look beautiful on your counter!
These tools (plus practice) are guaranteed to help you create tasty cakes in your kitchen and are worth the investment!
Happy reading. Happy eating.
-jevay