Turntables for cake decorating

[Catherine Iino]

Does anyone have a recommendation on a brand and make of turntable? I have been an amateur cake baker and decorator for years, but I have always made do with lazy susans of various kinds. Now my daughter is getting married and I'm finally going to get a true cake-decorating turntable. Thanks for any advice you can give.

[Lisa Shock]

Don't go cheap, don't get plastic, don't get one with a lip. A nice heavy base is useful. There are several good brands out there, I have mostly used Ateco 612 and 613 and prefer the 613.

 

 

Those just stay level, and are good workhorses. The plastic high end Wilton does tilt, and I own one, but tilting cause the cake to slip off, so it sits unused at the back of a cupboard. I think the tilt is too gimmicky overall. I'd rather have a work table with adjusting height.

 

Oh yeah, don't get the rectangular one unless you do a lot of rectangular cakes. I worked at a place where that was the only turntable and it was really difficult to use for round cakes.

[Chelseabun]

I use the glass turntable from an old microwave oven.  Not a professional solution but it does rotate very smoothly, can carry a reasonably heavy cake and was cheap (free)!

[Catherine Iino]

Thank you both. Chelseabun--that's brilliant! Might just do the trick.

[haresfur]

I know nothing about cake decorating but potters use some really heavy duty (duh) banding wheels and turntables that may interest

[Norm Matthews]

That looks like a turntable that potters use for hand building/decoration.  Oop. I see someone beat me to it.

[andiesenji]

Somewhere in my stuff I have one of these that I bought at a restaurant supply place about 20+ years ago.

 

It has a cast iron base which is heavy enough to support a cake larger than 12 inches (I think 14 inches was the size I mostly used) on a round tray topped with a patty board.  I used museum wax to stick the tray to the turntable.

 

This is just tall enough to make it easy for someone my height (5'6") to work on a cake on a  baker's bench that is lower than regular kitchen counters - mine is 31 inches  while the kitchen counters are 36".

 

I looked for it but it seems to be too well stored for immediate access.  I did find a multi-tiered cake stand that I had totally forgetten about and which I never used...  Will have to dust off the box and put it on eBay as I will never have a use for it now - just have to find a large enough box in which to ship it...

[richichi]

I forget exactly which one mine is but when I was in school I asked my chef if she had any recommendations. She said that the single most important thing to remember is having a really nice and heavy base. If you can move it around while working on a cake you are in for a world of trouble. You want the cake put on there and for it to stay in place. A couple of my friends went out and got ones meant for potters and a couple got Wilton ones. If you take just one thing away from this, don't buy Wilton.

[cakewalk]

I think it depends on what level you're at and what you're baking. Sounds like you'll be making a wedding cake and that you have a lot of experience under your belt. So I agree with the others, you want a heavy duty turntable, one that won't shift around while you're working and that you will continue to use forever. I have a Wilton. It is a piece of plastic and it is very lightweight, for sure. But it works fine for a plain old layer cake. I've used it for cakes of four layers and not had a problem. But I make 8-inch cakes, sometimes 9-inch, and usually just 2 sometimes 3 layers. So depending on the frequency of use and also the size of the cakes you're making, in some cases the Wilton can be a good option. It's also quite cheap, so for anyone who is just starting to learn about cake decorating (and I am still a beginnner), I think it's a worthwhile purchase.

[Catherine Iino]

As usual, you egulleters came through with in-depth and creative advice. Thanks so much. I'll let you know what I get.

[Catherine Iino]

I ended up getting the Ateco 613 revolving cake stand, and it was just fine. Heavy, steady. There were some complaints on Amazon about rough edges underneath, but I did not find that to be a problem. The wedding cake had three tiers--14", 10", and 6"--and the turntable was fine with all of them.

 

Thanks again for your help.