Cake decorating equipment

[dans]

I'm about to dive into cake decorating by taking a course (actually the last course to complete my assocaites in culinary arts). I've heard that ateco is the best of equipment to use. What do you think? Can I get by with something else or is there something better? I'm not afraid to buy the best, but I don't want to waste time or money with inferior equipment.

Next question is where to buy the stuff? I looked at JBPrince and they don't list a manufacturer. Since I want to get the best equipment, I want ot be sure of what I'm getting. Where would you go to get the stuff?

Thanks

Dan

[chefpeon]

What kind of "stuff" are you talking about? Pastry bags? Tips? Spatulas? Turntables?

Buying cake decorating supplies isn't exactly like buying a good set of knives, where

quality and sharpness count. For cake equipment, it's more a matter of personal preference,

and what you intend on doing.

My personal preference is price. For instance, if I'm going to go buy a pastry tip, and I have

a choice between a tip from Wilton that costs $1.00 or a tip from Acme Tip Co. for 49 cents, I'm going for Acme's. Because after all, I'll probably lose the tip in the commercial dishwasher and I'd rather be out 49 cents than a dollar.

Everybody has their favorite tools for the job, and some tools we love aren't even marketed as cake decorating equipment. In fact, my favorite icing smoother is something you find at the paint and hardware store......not the bakery supply shop.

If you're just starting out, you probably need a good turntable (Ateco does make some nice turntables and they're only about $30), a couple of different size pastry bags, an offset spatula, a a straight spatula, some basic pastry tips (straight tips, rose tips, leaf tips, star tips), a few couplers so you can change tips easily, an icing comb, a long serrated knife........but again,

it all depends on what you're doing. If you intend on studying gumpaste work, for instance,

there's a whole lot MORE stuff you can buy just to do that.

I'd suggest asking your instructor to inform you what kind of tools you will need for the curriculum he/she intends on teaching, and you can purchase those things. Then if you decide you want to pursue decorating further, you can go buy other things that you'll know you'll need.

I mean, it would be a shame to go out and buy a bunch of sugarpaste tools and find out later

you really hate working with sugarpaste. Wait and see how it goes......THEN spend the money if you need to.

[ladyyoung98]

in truth i really dont have a personal preference in cake decoratign supplies..for the pastry bags i have pourchased disposable ones...ones u have to clean but i also use a lot of parchmnet paper triangles to make the bags as well..as far as tips..couplers , spatulas and th e like..no real preference there either..but i do have a lot of wiltons tips..they really r no different than any others so far as im concerned....its nto really the tips themsleves that decorate the cake or the cookie or whatever you are decorating...its the person who is literally holding the bag...i odnt generally lose my tips in the dishwaher either since they have a wonderful product on the market..a mesh bag speicificaly for decorating tips that u can use in the dishwasher...just make sure u unclog your tips before putting them in the bag...no amount of hot water in the dishwasher is going to get every bit of decorator icing out of that tip as i foudn out the hard way and it doenst matter if you use the bag or not when it comes to that

above all...even with classes dont be afraid to experiment with the tips to create your own designs

[Wendy DeBord]

I'd reccomend waiting on any purchases other then the basics required for the class, until you get more familar with decorating. I've bought plenty of stuff I've never used and wished I hadn't.

A beginner Wilton tip set won't do you wrong. I like disposable pastry bags only. My spatulas I started with"cake decorators" bent handles and now I prefer straight items I buy from the hardware store and a metal bench scraper.

I like Sugar Craft's online store the best over all for decorating products because they have alot of selection.

[annarborfoodie]

I've gotten some really good deals on eBay. I got a set of 30 Wilton tips in a storage box, plus three bags of varying sizes, and three sets of couplers for about $15. And it was brand new!

[dans]

What kind of "stuff" are you talking about? Pastry bags? Tips? Spatulas? Turntables?

I was trolling for a more general discussion on what equipment is needed versus what is nice to have versus what is not needed.

Thanks for your input. I found it interesting and valuable.

Thanks to all who responded.

Dan

[chefpeon]

I was trolling for a more general discussion on what equipment is needed versus what is nice to have versus what is not needed.

Like, I said, in cake decorating, it all depends on what you're doing. The equipment I need, may not be what somebody else needs. And Wendy made a good point.....a lot of the time, you'll go out and think you need a lot of specialty stuff and find you just never use it. I have so many specialty decorating tips that are just gathering dust!

I personally have never run into "bad equipment"......well, wait, there's a couple of brands of pastry bags that have a tendency to split a lot, but that's about it. I think more of us are interested in finding stuff on the cheap, than paying more than we have to. In my opinion, I think a lot of cake decorating equipment is WAY overpriced in the first place!

I use disposable parchment paper cones whenever possible, but there are times when I need the washable reusable bags because I need a lot of icing and you can get some pretty honkin' huge bags if you go that route. I hate refilling my bag more than I have to!

[Wendy DeBord]

Ah....and I'm just the opposite of Annie. I like an 18" disposible bag for piping on frosting and no larger. I worry about stressing out my wrists with too much weight in my pastry bag and I'm not too bothered by having to refill it often. For detail decorating because my room has been so darn hot I use a small bag of frosting, like a 9" bag. If I held a larger bag my frosting would be liquid before I used 1/2 the bag. So believe it or not, even your room can throw a variable into the equation.

I'd reccomend a brand of disposable bags to you, but I get them from so many different providers I can't even recall which ones I've liked. Some are nice but are a pain to tear off the roll and they rip so there's waste before you even use them, others you have to trim the edges to screw down your cuppler, some always tear on the side, some always stretch out at the tip, some are too thin of plastic, some are rather stiff, etc........ Time and practice will tell you what you prefer.

Whats needed:

a good turn table

a basic set of Wilton tips, cuplars and disposable bags

a frosting nail (to form flowers on)

sissors

food coloring pastes, a variety of colors (the more the merrier)

I think that's it. Everything else is extra.

Brands, well the hot side chefs use ateco tips because they don't need a wide variety of tip shapes. They buy them in sets and they're easy to come across (no special orders or running to a retail store). I own all Wilton brand (I believe) and I don't find them inferior. I do buy them retail and I do search online for unusual tips too. You really can get everything you need at a craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels. What you get in savings buying online thru someone like JBPrince is lost in shipping charges.

And.....I really don't think there are 'more superior' and '''less superior' tips. Some people even like the plastic tips because they don't rust.

Everything else is extra and too often what you buy will be inferior to what you make or use instead of. For instance, you can buy an item that divides your cake so you can figure out where to put your swags. I think it's easier to pick up a round cookie cutter and mark for my swags with that. Sometimes I use tooth picks as markers sometimes I just wing it and work free hand. Another example, they sell press into your cake decorative scrolls. You'd think they would be handy, but instead they are never the right size.

I once bought a crazy cake comb where you could change out the teeth pattern. But I never got it to work in the first place....so it was wasted money.

I used to buy tons and tons of cookie cutters. As I've advanced I'd rather make my own shapes so their exactly what I want and how I plan to decorate my cookie. I can't begin to tell you how many cookie cutters I own that I've never used. Ones that I've never used twice, the majority of them. But the ones I've made I use all the time.

Trying to jump ahead and be prepared is great!!! Unforunately it can leave you with less dollars in your pocket.........and then you come across something you MUST have and you don't have the money.

[simdelish]

Ditto much of what has been said, particularly Wendy's last remarks.

Just two extra comments:

Don't forget good spatulas -- a matter of choice, whether they are off-set or not, and whether you like them wide and short, narrow & long, or combo. Depends on whether you are doing 9" rounds or half or full sheet cakes. It's all in whatever your technique, long smooth strokes or short feathery ones. Some people use just one long spatula, but then just choke up on it when they have to do sides. You want them flexible too, but not so much that they get bent out of shape(not flat). take care of them.

Tips: I have a zillion Wilton tips, you will need several in the common sizes, like 2,3,18, 21, basketweave, leaf, etc. so you don't constantly have to wash them out and can do several colors at once.

But as for specific brands...I DO have a definite preference for PME tips from England for my royal icing work. They are more expensive of course, but stainless steel, very rigid and won't dent as easily, and you can get the very fine tips with perfect openings, like 0 and 00 for stringwork. (This is only if you do royal and stringwork, of course!). I keep an entirely separate box of royal tips, that don't ever cross with my buttercream. It's just easier to keep them clean, and it matters more that they have perfect tips. (sometimes the cheapo tips will spiral out your icing, because they have not been machined correctly -- hence why I pay extra for the PME tips) (The preceding, of course, is all predicated on whether you are doing fine detailed work, or not.)