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Cake Decorating Guide – Tips and Techniques

The title of this page reads as cake decorating guide, but the stuff I have here is definitely useful for cupcakes and cookies too, even cake pops and just about any other decorated treats.

I am very proud to say that this cake decorating guide page is my second most important page on this website (after my cake tutorials page). And that is partly because most of the tips and techniques I showcase here are a direct extension of my cake designs on that page so they kind of relate to one another.

Other than techniques that relate directly to my cake designs, it is here that I share the rest of my more general ‘how-to’ techniques that can be used on cakes, cupcakes and even cookies. My gum paste flowers are all featured here. And while some are directly related to specific cake designs they can generally be used for any cake or cupcake project. 

How This Page is Organized

So let me explain how I have organized this page. The first section is about cake preparation, i.e., some of the basic prep steps that need to be done to a freshly baked and cooled cake before it is frosted or decorated with icing so that we get a flat, sharp-edged cake finishing. 

The next section is on tiered cakes. This is where I explain how I structure and assemble my tiered cakes. And how I transport them so that they get delivered safely.

The rest of the sections are divided into various cake decorating techniques. These range from making gum paste flowers and fondant figurines, chocolate decorations, piping techniques as well as making piped flowers.

I will be adding more tips to this page as and when I have them. So I hope you will find these cake decorating tips and tutorials useful.


Cake Decorating Guide – Cake Preparation

2 tiers of a round cake filled and patched with buttercream in between the layers

Basic Cake Decorating

2 tiers of round cake with perfectly smooth sides and sharp edges

Cake Decorating Basics

A round cake tin line with parchment paper

How to Line Cake Tins

Pointing to the water level in a cake tin filled with water

How to Calculate Cake Recipes

Cake Board Ideas

A 4 tier cake stacked on pillars, decorated with pink roses and a bride and groom topper

Tools & Techniques for Tiered Cakes

A 2 tier cake stacked on pillars

How to Make a Tiered Cake

A 5 tier wedding cake decorated in orange and yellow

How to Transport a Cake

Cutting the top of a cake with a serrated knife

How to Level & Layer Cakes

An oval cake board wrapped in blue paper

Cake Boards DIY


Cake Decorating Guide – Decorating with Fondant

Name 'LISA' on a pink plaque on a white fondant cake

How to Center Cake Lettering

Removing fondant lace from a silicone fondant mold

How to Use Silicone Fondant Molds

Black and white guitar cake topper

Guitar Cake Topper

A heart shaped cookie decorated in pink heart and icing sugar

Puffed Fondant Hearts without Cutters

Stroller baby shower cake topper in yellow and green

Stroller Baby Shower Cake Topper

A set of silver fondant crimping tools

Fondant Crimping Technique

Gum paste butterfly cake decorations on a white cake

Gum Paste Butterflies

3 tier square wedding cake with gold fondant lace

Gold Fondant Lace

A rainbow cake decorated with fondant clouds

Easy Fondant Clouds

A two tier unicorn cake with eyes and golden horn

Fondant Unicorn Horn Tutorial

Rainbow colored fondant letters on a cake

Rainbow Fondant Letters

The bottom tier of a cake decorated with pink and purple flowers, leaves and stems

How to Make Fondant Flowers

3D fondant letters in a cake board, painted in gold

3D Fondant Letters for Cakes

2 tier round cake in light blue fondant and wavy fondant borders

Fondant Ocean Waves

Royal icing soccer ball on a brown backgroud

Soccer Cupcake Toppers

A snowflake fondant cut out with a toothpick attached

Snowflake Cupcake Toppers

3 round fondant pieces embossed with lines, circles and heart pattern

Embossing Technique on Fondant

Brown fondant bow

How to Make Fondant Bow

A two tier white unicorn cake with 2 large fondant eyes on the top tier

Fondant Unicorn Eyes Tutorial

Number 8 cake topper in purple glitter

How to Make Standing Number Cake Toppers

Brown fondant pebbles effect on cake board

How to Create Pebbles Walkway in Fondant

Tappit letter cutters in a heap

How to Use Tappit Letter Cutters

Top of a cake decorated with 3d clouds and rainbow lettering

How to Make Fondant Clouds

Fondant rainbow on the side of a light blue fondant covered cake

How to Make Fondant Rainbow

A two tier beach themed cake in blue, orange and yellow, with orange gum paste hibiscus and fondant surfboards

2D Fondant Waves Tutorial

A violet and brown fondant loop bow on top of a 2 tier square cake

How to Make Fondant Loop Bow

Poster for fondant surfboard tutorial

How to Make Fondant Surfboards and Surfboard Toppers

3D Olaf cake topper with its arms stretched out

How to Make 3D Olaf Cake Topper

Cupcake covered in turquoise with a letter "m" topper in blue, white and turquoise

How to Make Initials Cupcake Toppers

Leopard print on fondant circle

How to Paint Leopard Spots on Fondant


Cake Decorating Guide – Piping Techniques

Basket weave buttercream pattern in white against brown background.

Buttercream Basket Weave Technique

Blue lines piped all around a round cake

How to Pipe Consistent Lines on Cakes

A strip of amber and orange fondant with royal icing lace piping

Lace Motifs for Cake Decorating

Filigree icing on parchment paper

Filigree Icing Technique

Fixing the piping tip into an icing coupler

How to Fit an Icing Coupler

Poster on how to use one icing coupler for many icing colors

How to Use One Coupler for Many Icing Colors

Poster for advanced piping techniques

Advanced Piping Techniques

Piped lace pattern in beige against a grey background

Lace Work on Cakes

Cupcake lace topper in amber

Cupcakes Lace Piping

Piped buttercream patterns in white, green and pink

Basic Piping Techniques

Orange and yellow royal icing butterflies against a grey background

How to Make Royal Icing Butterflies

3 piping bag, one with a tip attached, 2 with orange and yellow icing without any tips

How to Pipe Different Colored Icing with One Piping Tip

Turquoise and blue buttercream flowers arranged in a circular pattern around the top edges of a round cake covered in buttercream

Simple Buttercream Flowers


Cake Decorating Guide – Decorating with Chocolate

A pot on a stove with a bowl of chocolate on top

How to Melt Chocolate

Chocolate cake with wide basket weave pattern and white royal icing daisies

Chocolate Basket Weave Cake


Cake Decorating Guide – Gum Paste Flowers

White gum paste poppy flower with black and green center

Gum Paste Poppies

Purple gum paste roses in a bouquet

How to Color Gum Paste Flowers

Colorful sugar flowers on a cake

Fondant Sugar Flowers

White and purple hydrangea flowers in a group

Gum Paste Hydrangea

A white gum paste hibiscus

Gum Paste Hibiscus

2 pink gum paste roses against a marble background

Gum Paste Roses

Gum paste plumeria with yellow centers grouped together

Gum Paste Plumeria (Frangipani)

2 white gum paste flowers on the corner of a cake

Simple Sugar Flowers


Other techniques

A flower pot cake with purple gum paste roses

How to Attach Flowers to Cakes

A heart shaped cake decorated with pink buttercream rossettes and a gum paste arrow going through it

Gum Paste Arrow Tutorial

A fondant dusting bag made using white cloth

Fondant Dusting Bag

Poster for how to resize templates for cake decorating

How to Resize Templates for Cake Decorating

Cake dummies stacked to form a 2 tier fake cake

Cake Dummies Decorating Guide

Using a small sieve to sift icing sugar

Fondant Dusting Tools

A white cake decorated with gold painted molded fondant and gold dragees

How to Color Dragees

A cupcake on a white plate, cut into half with sprinkles flowing out

How to Color Sprinkles

Poster for fondant glue tutorial with the image of a white gum paste rose

How to Make Fondant Glue

Poster for weekly routine as a cake decorator

The Cake Decorator in Me – My Weekly Routine

DIY cupcake stand in blue and silver

DIY Cupcake Stand

A cupcake in a black and white damask pattern wrapper

How to Make Cupcake Wrapper Templates

A pink buttercream rossette frosted heart shaped cake with a gold paper arrow through it.

Paper Arrows for Cakes – Tutorial

Poster on how to stick fondant deco on cakes

How to Stick Fondant Deco on Cakes

Poster for baking essentials list

Baking Essentials List

A 3 tier cupcake holder in silver and red

How to Make DIY Cupcake Holder

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Hi there!

I'm Priya, and I'm so excited that you dropped by :)

Welcome to DECORATED TREATS, a place where I share all my cake decorating ideas & true and tried recipes for all things sweet.
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