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Essential Beginner Baking Equipment Every New Baker Needs!
• Lynsey Macdonald
When it comes to building a baking equipment kit, everyone has to start somewhere! So, if you’re a beginner wondering what to invest in, we’re here to help you figure it out. Here are our top tips for baking tools you need to make the start of your baking journey as smooth as your buttercream.
Essential beginner baking equipment
- Set of quality baking tins
- Non-stick rolling pin
- Spatula
- Piping Tips Starter Set
- Piping Bags
- Turntable
- Set of basic shape cookie cutters
- Smoother and a Scraper
- Food Safe Brushes
- Edible Glue
1. A set of quality baking tins
Item: Baking Tin
What it does: A baking tin is what you will bake your cakes, cupcakes or muffins in.
Why do you need it: You literally can’t bake your cakes without baking tins! A good quality baking tin makes all the difference to the sponge, which is the foundation of your cake. Tins made of quality materials help to disperse the heat evenly, and often have a non-stick coating.
Best brands: PME, Loyal, Kitchencraft, Wilton.
Wilton Decorator Preferred Deep Round Cake Pan
Loyal Elite Anodised Square Cake Tin
Wilton 12 Cup Muffin Pan
2. A Non-Stick Rolling Pin
Item: Rolling Pin
What it does: A rolling pin is what you will use to roll out your fondant icing (also known as sugarpaste), modelling or flower paste, cookie dough or marzipan.
Why do you need it: A non-stick rolling pin is a life-saver as it’s designed not to stick to your paste; this can cause rips or tears. Just remember to dust your work surface with a little cornflour or powdered sugar so it doesn’t stick there as you roll it out!
Best brands: PME, Wilton.
Top Tip: Rolling pins come in a range of sizes. Larger rolling pins are perfect for rolling out large amounts of sugarpaste for covering a cake, while smaller ones give you more control when working with small amounts of modelling paste.
PME 6 Inch Non-Stick Polyethylene Rolling Pin
Wilton Wide Glide Rolling Pin 50cm (20")
King Pin Ultimate Professional Rolling Pin
3. A Spatula
Item: Simply Making Spatula
What it does: A spatula is handy for a wide range of baking tasks, including mixing cake batter, scraping down the sides of your bowl, spreading and smoothing buttercream and more.
Why do you need it: We love a multi-purpose tool! Plus, this addition to your baking kit will help you avoid wasting cake batter or buttercream. It gets in close to the side of your bowls, helping you make the most of every drop.
Best brands: Simply Making, Wilton, Loyal.
Simply Making Candy Pink Spatula
Loyal Premium Silicone Spatula
Wilton Versa-Tools Squeeze and Pour Spatula
4. A Piping Tips Starter Set
Shop our collection of piping tips .
Item: Piping Tip
What it does: Piping tips (or nozzles) are what you will use to pipe buttercream, frosting or royal icing onto your cakes and bakes.
Why do you need it: A good starter set of piping tips will give you all the shapes you need for basic piping - a round, a star and a dropflower tip are a great beginner trio. You’ll need these to pipe everything from simple swirls on cupcakes to more detailed borders on larger cakes.
Best brands: Wilton, PME, Colour Mill, Ateco, Loyal.
Top Tip: If you want to make up your own set, you can shop piping nozzles individually. But the pre-made Wilton Starter Set of 9 Piping Tips is great for beginners!
Wilton Starter Decorating Tip Set
Colour Mill Piping Tips Collection
Loyal Decorating Piping Tube Set Of 29
5. Piping Bags
Item: Piping Bags
What it does: Piping bags are what you use to pipe buttercream, frosting or royal icing onto your cakes and bakes.
Why do you need it: You can’t use your piping tips without piping bags! A piping bag can be used alone (snip a tiny amount off the end) to pipe royal icing, or with a piping tip to create specific piped designs on your cakes, cupcakes or traybakes.
Best brands: Simply Making, Wilton, Colour Mill.
Top Tip: Piping bags arrive with the end sealed. You’ll have to snip around an inch off the end in order to pipe with them. They are also available in disposable or reusable materials.
Colour Mill Disposable Piping Bags Packs of 50
Simply Making 12" Disposable Piping Bags - Pack of 100
Wilton 12" Featherweight Reusable Decorating Bag
6. A Turntable
Item: Turntables
What it does: A turntable provides an elevated platform for decorating your cakes.
Why do you need it: A turntable is a must-have for making cake decorating easier. Place your cake on a cake board, and then position the board and cake on a turntable. You can then spin the turntable around as you smooth your icing, rather than having to manoeuvre yourself around the cake! Plus, it’s kinder to your back, you don’t need to hunch over your table or worktop!
Best brands: PME, Wilton, Couture
PME Cake Decorating Turntable (9")
Wilton 12" Turntable
Couture Luxury Professional Aluminium Turntable (12")
7. Cutters
Item: Cutters
What it does: A cookie cutter allows you to cut a perfect shape out of cookie dough, fondant, marzipan - any medium you’re working with.
Why do you need it: Cutting shapes out by hand is not only time-consuming, but it’s not precise! A set of cookie cutters allows you to quickly create uniform cookies, fondant toppers, cake decorations and more. A set of round cutters is particularly handy for cookies and cupcake toppers!
Best brands: Wilton, PME, Ateco.
Top Tip: To start off with, simple round, square, heart and star-shaped cutters are ideal. But Wilton, in particular, has an amazing seasonal range - you can get really creative at Christmas or Easter!
PME Round Cutters - Set of 6
Ateco Set of 24 Geometric Cutters
Wilton Nesting Hearts Cutter Set
8. A Smoother and a Scraper
Item: Smoothers and scrapers
What it does: A cake smoother helps you smooth out sugarpaste, while a scraper helps you even out buttercream.
Why do you need it: Want the perfect, flawless finish on your cakes, whether they’re covered in buttercream or fondant? You need a scraper and a smoother. The scraper will help you crumb coat your cake and create even layers of frosting. While the smoother will help smooth out any bumps, air bubbles or seams on your fondant icing.
Best brands: Ateco, PME and Colour Mill.
Top Tip: If you’re planning to create a lot of buttercream-covered cakes, it might be worth investing in the Pro-Froster - it makes this task so easy!
FMM Smoother
Colour Mill Serial Scraper
The Pro Froster Adjustable Cake Scraper
9. A Set of Food Safe Brushes
Item: Cake Decorating Brushes
What it does: Food-safe brushes are handy for lots of cake decorating tasks, including applying edible glue, edible glitter, dust colourings and edible paints.
Why do you need it: If you’re going to paint on your cakes using edible mediums, you need to apply them with a brush which is also food-safe. Investing in brushes which are designed to be used with food means you can decorate with confidence.
Best brands: Culpitt, PME, Wilton.
Top Tip: Make sure you choose the right shape of brush for each task. If you’re painting delicate designs, go for a more precise, narrow brush. Or if you’re buffing a dust colour into fondant, a fluffier dusting brush will do the trick!
Wilton Decorating Brush Set of 5
Wilton Dusting Brush Set of 2
PME Craft Brushes Set of 5
10. Edible Glue
Item: Edible Glue
What it does: Edible glue is an edible adhesive that helps you stick decorations to your cakes.
Why do you need it: While many decorations will stick to buttercream by themselves, for attaching them to fondant, modelling paste and more, a little extra support is often needed. Edible glue gives your decorations a bit of added security - you can confidently move them knowing they’re being held together by something edible.
Best brands: Sugarflair, Wilton
Additional info: A little usually goes a long way with edible glue. Start with a thin layer and add more in small amounts, if needed.
Wilton Edible Super Glue
Sugarflair Colour Flex Edible Glue with Brush Applicator
Fractal Colors Edible Glue
Beginner Baking Equipment FAQs
What size cake tins should I buy as a beginner baker?
Two of the most common sizes for round or square cakes are the 8” cake tin and 10” cake tin. So, if you’re a beginner, consider investing in 2x 8” and 2x 10” cake tins - buying two of each means you can bake two cake layers at once! A 12-cavity cupcake tin is another good place to start.
Do I need an expensive stand mixer to start baking?
You do not need an expensive stand mixer at the start of your baking journey. A hand mixer works just fine, and, although it involves a bit more elbow grease, there is plenty you can do by hand with whisks and wooden spoons!
Get your baking collection started
That’s it for our guide to baking equipment for beginners! Hopefully, you can see there’s nothing too intimidating there! Build your kit up slowly, investing in the things you know you need first - tins are a must-have! But, for example, if you’re more interested in starting with buttercream than fondant, prioritise piping tips and a scraper over a rolling pin and smoother!
Eventually, you’ll have gathered all the tools you need for your cake-making journey, and they’ll make every step easier than it was before. Ready. Set. Bake!
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