The 10 Best Cake Decorating Sets
Special Honors
Matfer Bourgeat Interchangeable The transparent polycarbonate material allows bakers to spot air bubbles and deal with them before they have a chance to mess up their work. The tips also have a unique design that allows users to switch between them without emptying the piping bag, which can be helpful for making intricate designs more efficiently. matferbourgeatusa.com
Editor's Notes
April 15, 2021:
In this update, we removed the Mcirco Stainless Steel due to availability issues and replaced it with the Vorcay Supplies. While the supplies may not be professional quality, this is a great comprehensive set for beginners who want to try a little of everything. It includes several helpful tools that aren't found in other options, like a cake leveller and a rubber spatula. The aluminum turntable can help with the decorating process and looks good enough to be used for displaying your creation as well.
Reviewing our selections, we found that most of the options already on the list continue to represent the best sets on the market. We lowered the position of the Baker’s Dozen Premium due to issues with the quality of the case, but kept it on the list because it's an affordable option that can be a good choice for those who are looking to make a cake for a special event, but don't bake often enough for investing in a higher-quality kit to be worth it.
We also added the Matfer Bourgeat Interchangeable as a special honor. While it isn't as comprehensive as other decorating sets, it does have a unique design that makes it worth considering: the tips can be interchanged without emptying the piping bag. There aren't any piping bags included in this set, just tips, but they should work with any nylon or disposable bags.
March 03, 2020:
Each of these cake decorating sets is sure to come in handy for both aspiring and experienced bakers alike. Many come with a wide array of stainless steel tips that are great for birthday cakes and holiday baking, and you’ll probably have fun experimenting with any new shapes you’ve never owned before. Today we added the Wilton Ultimate to the list, which comes from a company that has been selling baking tools for nearly 90 years. The all-inclusive caddy comes packed with tools and accessories, including four spatulas, 18 decorating tips, couplers, a cleaning brush, templates, an icing comb, a fondant smoother, decorating brushes, and lots more. As for the caddy itself, it provides four drawers on its front for the accessories, as well as compartments on top for the tips, and slots on the sides for the spatulas. While it’s more expensive than most of the others on our list, it’s actually a good value, given all that comes with it.
We also added an airbrush kit to the list, which is incredibly easy to use and can produce results like those you’d get from a bakery. The Master Airbrush Cool Runner II comes with an air compressor, three powerful airbrushes, and 12 bottles of vibrant food color that include rainbow colors as well as metallic gold and silver.
If you prefer Russian piping tips for their ease of use, look to the K&S Artisan Deluxe, which comes with 33 nozzles that will give you beautiful, intricate decorations with just a flick of the rest. It’s equipped with leaf, ruffle, and spherical tips, along with a PDF with instructions, recipes, and links to online video tutorials.
Faster Than The Speed Of Cake
The icing is how you feel emotionally knowing you were the first one to do it.
On October 14, 1947, when test pilot Chuck Yager flew his plane, the Glamorous Glannis past the point of Mach 1, his heart had to have been pounding, his excitement barely containable. There would have been two aspects to this joy, however: both the excitement of flying faster than the speed of sound, and the thrill of being the first person to do so. This is largely how I feel about cake and icing.
Allow me to clarify: The cake is how you feel physically as you break the sound barrier. The icing is how you feel emotionally knowing you were the first one to do it. The icing is getting married. The cake is being married. Both are wonderful experiences that are inseparable, but one is clearly superior to the other.
While any culinary expert will tell you that presentation provides a majority of our positive flavor associations in many foods, icing, I believe, has the power to stand on its own. I often whip up a small bowl of the sugary stuff and eat it with nothing more than a glass of milk. I, however, may be an exception.
In most cases, a good cake deserves icing that not only tastes even more delicious that the cake itself, but that complements the cake visually. This applies to everything from sheet and Bundt cakes to cupcakes. No one will know how delicious your cake is if it doesn’t look good enough to eat.
Acquiring a high-quality cake decorating set is the easiest way to significantly up your cake game in as few steps as possible. You’ll immediately notice how much more evenly iced every slice is, how clean all of the lines are between colors and layers of frosting, and how excited everyone is to eat it when it comes time.
Whether or not you’re a professional baker, cake decorating sets give you the opportunity to personalize any cake by adding an artistic flair to it. You can create someone’s name or a special message in any font your hands can manage, and you can even draw exciting or adorable pictures to commemorate any of life’s milestones.
Perhaps most importantly, owning a cake decorating set will prevent you from ever buying store-bought icing again. I know it wouldn’t’ be terribly difficult to scoop out some Pillsbury slush and drop it into your icing bag, but going to the trouble to make a custom design on a cake should inspire you to put as much thought and love into the more natural flavors of the icing itself. The creamy goodness is bad enough for you as is, so making your own will avoid a whole host of preservatives and chemicals, and I’ll raise a glass of milk to that.
The Best Cake Decorating Set For You
The art of cake decorating starts with the application of icing, but it doesn’t have to end there. The cake decorating sets on our list can provide you with the tools you can use to make some truly award-worthy treats. Knowing how much you want to experiment will go a long way toward finding the right set for you.
More, smaller teeth will provide more ridges and a busier look, while larger teeth will create a smoother appearance.
If you’re just starting out in decorating, you might not need much more than a set that comes with a few icing bags and a small handful of tips. Keep an eye out to see whether or not the bags are reusable. Reusable bags can save you a little money in the long term, and they’re definitely more eco-friendly, but they require cleaning that you might not be willing to endure.
Icing tips can vary in both style and size, sometimes with teeth at the opening that will add a professional ridging to your icing. These teeth add just the right amount of texture to cupcake icing or the ring of off-color icing you use to frame the cake after its main icing has been applied and set. More, smaller teeth will provide more ridges and a busier look, while larger teeth will create a smoother appearance. Tips without teeth include options for cake writing, and if you know you want to include messages on your creations, then make sure your set comes with these.
Many decorating sets also include books and tips on decorating, as well as molds specific to larger shapes — like flowers or stars — that you can easily apply to the design.
The last to things to look out for are materials and storage. Less expensive set come with exclusively plastic instruments, which may not be as food-safe and certainly are not as durable as the steel of their more expensive counterparts. Whatever they’re made of, there are usually a lot of pieces to store, so look for a set that comes with some form of dedicated storage to protect the implements and to make your life easier.
Extra Accessories For The Perfect Cake
A perfect cake may rely heavily on a high-quality decorating set, but there are several other tools that you’re going to need if you really want to play with the pros. These purchases will allow you to make and decorate your cake with the most effectiveness, and to transport it in safety.
These allow you to stack, decorate, and display your cakes without ever having to transfer the treat after the work has commenced.
A revolving cake stand is one of the most important investments a baker can make if they have aspirations of greatness. These allow you to stack, decorate, and display your cakes without ever having to transfer the treat after the work has commenced. Nothing can ruing a cake faster than smashing it into the ground, so having a way to safely decorate from any angle and transport your creation is a must.
You might also want to invest in a cake carrier. These are especially useful if you aren’t making a cake that you can easily transport on a stand. They often have covers and handles to them, as well, so if you’re toting the dessert solo, you’re going to want a carrier.
The number of techniques and gadgets on the market that can help you make better cakes is nearly endless. These sets are a great place to start, but feel free to go crazy loading up on whatever you want to try.