Easy Cake Decorating Techniques and Baking Tips

Watch how-to videos and get ideas and advice for baking, frosting, and decorating beautiful cakes.

Cake How-To's

How To: Prepare Cake Pans
Preparing your cake pans the right way is crucial to the success of your cake. Learn how to prep them properly to ensure your cakes come out of the pans cleanly every time.

Baking Advice

Cake-Baking Problem-Solvers
Nick Malgieri, the award-winning author of How to Bake, offers these tips.

How Do You Bake the Perfect Cake at High Altitudes?
Real Simple answers your questions.

Cake Baking and Decorating Supplies Checklist

With the right tools, creating a beautiful and professional-looking dessert is a piece of, well, cake.

• Bowls. You’ll need at least two mixing bowls for the cake—one for wet and one for dry ingredients. Smaller bowls can hold frosting and cake toppings.
• Measuring cups and spoons. When baking, it’s important to be precise. Don’t scoop your flour directly from the bag with a measuring cup—the flour will become compacted, and you’ll get more than you need for the recipe. Instead, spoon it into the cup, then sweep off the excess with a knife.
• Electric mixer. When making the cake, beat your butter and sugar until fluffy, then use a lower speed when adding your dry ingredients. You’ll probably need a mixer to make your frosting, too.

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