Baking cakes is plenty of fun, and one of the best parts is decorating them. Cake decorating gives you the chance to get creative, and learn how to make unique designs. If you’re keen to improve your cake decorating skills, these top tips will help you out.

1 . A cake turntable

To improve your cake decorating skills you’ll definitely want to purchase a cake turntable. It’s essentially a rotating platter, allowing you to turn your cake, as you frost and level it. When you can turn your cake easily, the decorating process is a whole lot easier.

Torting your cake means dividing it into layers, this allows you to build height once you’ve applied the filling. You can also use the torting process to make sure that the cake stacks up evenly. With the help of a cake turntable, it’s far easier to slice your different layers.

2. Remember to level your cake

It’s important that you level your cake, the top layer should be flat (or you’ll end up with a leaning or wobbly cake). You might find that once you’ve baked your cake the top resembles a dome shape? If so, you’ll need to cut this flat using a knife. You can start cutting at the edge and then turn your cake around using the turnable. Once you’ve levelled your cake you’ll have the perfect base to start the decoration process.

3. Cake frosting tips

Before you can apply the frosting to your cake you should cover your cake with a crumb coat. What exactly is a crumb coat? It’s essentially a light frosting base that suspends any crumbs. A crumb coat ensures that the final coat of frosting looks neat, (without any crumbs showing through).

When you start applying your final coat, start with a heap of your frosting at the top of the cake, and use a knife to spread the frosting as you turn the cake around. Other cake frosting tips include:

• Use waxed paper: If you line your cake with wax paper the frosting should stay neat when you’re moving it to another tray.
• Chill your cake: It’s incredibly important that you chill your cake before you attempt to frost it. When a cake is chilled it’s far easier to frost than a warm cake.

4. Learn piping techniques

If you want to improve your cake decorating skills you’ve got to learn all about piping techniques. The best way to learn is to walk piping technique tutorial videos. Cake decorating is an artistic practice which is why videos are particularly useful. When you’re learning your piping techniques it’s a good idea to practice. For instance, you could make a batch of chocolate espresso chip cookies, and practice decorating these!

5. Collect inspiration

If you want to get better at cake decorating you’ll want all the inspiration you can get. There are plenty of great blogs and social media accounts which can teach you lots of tips. According to PopSugar, some of the best cake decorating Instagram accounts to follow include ‘The Purple Cupcake’ and ‘KoaliPops’. Be sure to check out the ‘My Kids Lick The Bowl’ blog, to learn how to make a mermaid theme cake.

Once you become more confident it’s easier to start experimenting with your own styles and techniques. Before you know it you’ll be attempting more advanced cake designs.