Six months ago I decided to try out a new hobby: cake decorating.

Learning to decorate cakes is something that has always interested me. It seemed like a fun, creative outlet, and yummy too–I’m a sucker for anything sweet. Plus, baking is my jam. I’ve shared before that I don’t love to cook, but I could bake cookies (and banana bread) all day, every day.

Last year for my birthday my husband got me the Wilton Ultimate Cake Decorating Tools Set. While ecstatic to receive it, I was so intimidated by it and all its fancy tools that it sat unopened on my kitchen counter for months. I had no idea what to do with it or where to start. I couldn’t decorate a cake. What was I thinking telling my husband it was something I always wanted to learn?

Then in October, I went to a friend’s daughter’s birthday party. One of the guests had made a unicorn cake for the birthday girl and it was so cool. After inquiring where she learned the trade I thought, “ok, if she can do it without any special training, so can I.” 

I spent the next few weeks devouring Youtube, watching nearly every video that exists on beginning cake decorating. And after that, I went to my favorite blogs to learn more, including my friend, Robyn’s blog, Robyn Loves Cake. Robyn’s a pro who owns her own bakery and makes the most amazing. cakes. ever.

A month later was Thanksgiving and I decided to make my first cake, on a whim. While it was scary to start, the cake actually turned out surprisingly pretty & delicious. Since that day, I haven’t purchase one cake for any holiday, including birthdays. Learning to cake decorate hasn’t been easy and I’ve had many “fails” but here are a few of my better cakes:

And here are six things I learned in my first six months of cake decorating:

• The right recipe matters

Several of the cakes I made would have probably turned out great, but the recipe wasn’t. It was either too dense, too dry, didn’t taste good, or fell apart. If you want a pretty cake, you need a recipe you can count on. My favorite recipe right now is a dark chocolate cake from Lovely Little Kitchen. It’s my go-to when I want something moist and chocolatey.

• Crumb coat is essential

I’m embarrassed to admit I had no idea what a “crumb coat” was before I started cake decorating. Every time I went to frost a cake in the past, the cake crumbs would get mixed in with the frosting and ruin any chance of a decoration. Little did I know the pros have a solution for this & it’s actually quite genius: a crumb coat. The crumb coat is a light coating of frosting that goes on the cake first to hold the crumbs in so when you do your final cake decoration there are no messy crumbs to deal with. Who thought of this, really?

• Buttercream is king

The frosting you want to use to decorate a cake in the beginning and probably always? Buttercream. Buttercream is thick and holds its shape like no other frosting. There’s nothing like making a special birthday cake, using a whipped cream frosting, and watching it fall apart before the party even begins. Been there, done that. If I want an elaborat-ish design that wows and keeps its shape forever, I use buttercream.

• Learn from the pros

If you want to decorate like a pro, you need do as they do. I spent hours on Youtube watching real bakers–like, the ones who get paid–bake and decorate cakes. I watched and learned and watched and learned some more. There are so many great free tips and tricks out there. Youtube and blogs are where you need to be.

• The right tools are a must

Your cake is never going to look professional and pretty if you don’t use the proper tools. I’ve learned that short cuts always fail when it comes to baking and decorating a cake. The right pans matter, using a baking strip matters, a cake turn table, offset spatula, icing bags, and icing tips are all must-haves in order to decorate a cake. Skimping on essentials will not allow you to create the cake of your dreams.

• Patience is needed

If you’re not a patient person and can’t imagine having to wait hours (or all day) to bake and decorate a cake, cake decorating probably isn’t for you. I have learned that you must be patient if your goal is a beautiful cake. Cake decorating start-to-finish takes hours, sometimes days. It isn’t like using a boxed cake and frosting from a tub. To decorate a cake like the pros you have to bake the cake, let it cool, whip up the frosting, apply a crumb coat, move the cake to the fridge, apply the final coat of frosting and decoration, etc. And that is for a very simple cake. Elaborate cakes take days when you need to create a fancy design or theme.

Well, those are six things I learned in my first six months of cake decorating. I encourage you to learn a new hobby (maybe cake decorating?) and not be held back by what intimidates you. Jump in and just do it.

Do you decorate your own cakes? What are some of your tips and tricks?