Here Are the Best Cake Decorating Tools for Beginners and Experienced Bakers

Best Overall Kit

Wilton Ultimate Cake Decorating Tools Set

Orig. $208 $170 at Amazon $261 at Walmart

This set gives you tools for both buttercream and fondant cake decorating. A total of 263 pieces are organized in a caddy, which holds everything in translucent bins so you can easily find what you need. Given how many of these you'd have to buy individually (including some you may have trouble finding elsewhere), this is the luxe version of all the cake decorating sets available.

Testing it all was quite the undertaking, but we were up to the challenge. We divided the tools into three different categories: essential tools for cake building and frosting, buttercream decoration tools, and fondant/gum paste decoration tools. There are four metal spatulas—two offset and two straight—which are great for filling and frosting your cake with a smooth or textured finish, as well as a cake comb for a zig-zag or scalloped frosting finish. The cake scraper is plastic, but long enough to scrape tall cakes and feels sturdy enough for years of use.

When it comes to the buttercream tools, you're getting a nice selection of tips, as well as piping bags and some basic piping instructions But during testing, it was actually the additional buttercream tools that really impressed us. The kit includes incredibly workable floral piping sticker guides to use on your flower nails for making 5 different types of flowers. The elastic bag ties were also helpful when securing piping bags, and the dishwasher tip tray is so convenient, that we're not sure how we lived without it to this point. We also like that there's room to grow your piping tip collection as you grow your skills.

The fondant decorating tools are a great selection of beginner tools to help you dip your toes into the fondant world. The plastic rolling pin and smoother are essentials, and the flower cutters are a great place to start learning how to build roses, daisies, and chrysanthemums. The curved leaf trays and flower forming cups are a great step up from egg cartons that many home decorators use. Unfortunately, the thick and thin foam shaping mats arrive bent after being folded into one of the small compartments and are only small enough for modeling one flower at a time. They're okay for starting out but will need an upgrade relatively quickly. We really liked the silicone impression mat, which was easy to use for stunning fondant decorations.

Includes: 263 pieces: plastic storage caddy, 2 angled spatulas, 2 straight spatulas, 18 decorating tips, 6 silicone tip covers, dishwasher tip tray and brush, practice board with stand & patterns, 62 piping bags, 12 bag ties, 4 couplers, flower nail sets, 50 pre-cut icing flower papers, flower lifter, 6 foil squares, icing comb, 2 bake-even strips, dusting pouch, fondant smoother, 3 decorating brushes, 3 circle cutters, decorative and geometric cutters, modeling tools, thick & thin fondant shaping foam, 28 foam decorating wedges, flexible flower impression mat, 2 wave flower formers, 6 flower forming cups, baroque fondant mold, parchment paper

Best Budget Kit

Kootek All-In-One Cake Decorating Kit

Orig. $23 $20 at Amazon

We get it, you're ready to get this cake decorating thing off the ground, but buying a lot of decorating tools can put a real strain on your budget. Sometimes it's better to focus on getting the high-quality ingredients you've got your eye on and invest in the tools that will help you get the job done in the short term. According to our tester, this kit has everything you need to frost a cake except the actual cake and frosting.

This set does include 69 pieces, but 50 of those pieces are disposable piping bags. Otherwise, it's got one turntable, 12 standard size piping tips, a double-sided cake comb, a plastic bowl scraper, a plastic bench scraper, one metal offset spatula, one metal straight spatula, and one coupler. The included plastic cake turntable is a little lighter-duty than the Ateco aluminum cake turntable, but during testing, it performed smoothly and was able to spin completely around in both directions.

Unlike plastic, metal piping tips are stamped and bent into shape. This isn't a deal-breaker, but you'll notice a seam on the side. Our tester noted that the selection of tips is useful for plenty of decorating projects, but it would have been nice to include one or two larger tips. And only one coupler means only one bag worth of frosting. If you're using multiple colors of frosting, you'll probably want to pick up another.

While testing out everything in this kit, we were pleased to find that the metal spatulas were comparable to those offered in the Wilton sets. Everything was easy to clean with warm soapy water, and the spatulas and scrapers were dishwasher safe. In the end, we couldn't be happier with the overall value of everything included.

Includes: 1 plastic cake turntable, 50 disposable pastry bags, 12 decorating tips, 3 icing smoothers, 2 spatulas, 1 coupler

Best Kit for Beginners

Wilton How to Decorate Cakes and Desserts Kit

Orig. $37 $15 at Amazon $30 at Walmart $40 at Newegg.com

This kit is for first-time cake decorators or for anyone who wants to improve their basic techniques. The kit includes a full-color instruction book that shows you all kinds of different decorating techniques to make things super simple as well as a link to a video tutorial library that offers even more instruction.

During testing, we noticed just how useful the instruction book was. Not only does it cover some introductory piping techniques, but it walks you through the process of leveling and building your cake. It offers flavor and coloring suggestions for frostings and fillings, and prepares you to decorate a cake before the first bit of frosting has even been applied.

With a 9-inch angled spatula, three standard couplers, one decorating brush, twelve 16-inch disposable decorating bags, twelve 12-inch disposable decorating bags, 10 decorating tips (Round 2A, 3, 5, 12; Star 1M, 16, 21, 32; Drop Flower 2D; and Specialty Cake Icer Tip 789), along with a recipe for buttercream icing, there’s a lot to look forward to in this kit! Our tester found the techniques in the instruction book to be clear and easy to execute. We thought the addition of the Specialty Cake Icer Tip was a nice tool to have for decorators at any level, and isn't included in any of the other kits we looked at.

Includes: 9-inch offset spatula, 24 plastic piping bags in two sizes, 10 metal piping tips, 3 plastic couplers, 1 decorating brush, a how-to booklet

Best Piping Tip Set

Ateco 55-Piece Cake Decorating Set

$41 at Amazon $41 at Walmart $70 at Williams-Sonoma

You may or may not have a handful of piping tips on hand already, but if you've decided to dedicate some time to learning cake decorating, you may want to invest in a set to help grow your skills without multiple trips to the cake decorating store. This set is ready to take you to the next level, especially if you're interested in buttercream decorations. It's complete with a wide range of tips that will help you create buttercream florals, general piping designs, and tips for writing with frosting. Many of these tips can also be used for other pastry projects, like decorating cupcakes, royal icing on sugar cookies, and even injecting desserts with cream fillings. The tips are sturdy seamless tubes made of stainless steel and stamped with an Ateco-specific style number, so you can remember which size tip you need for any given project.

While we were testing these tips out, we used every tip in the set to see the designs they make. About 20 of the tips are different sizes and styles of round and star tips, which cover a large portion of piping projects. There are also a good variety of flat, floral, and leaf tips in different sizes and styles. All of the small tips are easily interchangeable and fit comfortably on the included coupler. There are also 4 larger tips which are great additions to the collection, but don't fit on the coupler and need their own piping bag.

Our tester was impressed that all of the tips stayed in place after shaking up the case, which made it much easier to find the tip we were looking for than digging through a typical storage box—or worse, a drawer with random piping tips rolling around in it. One caveat is cleaning the tips took a little bit of effort. All of the tips were soaked in hot water to loosen the buttercream, then rinsed in hot water before a quick soak in hot soapy water. After a little agitation by hand, the tips were rinsed and allowed to dry. Unfortunately, the kit doesn't come with a tip cleaning brush, so you'll have to wipe out any residual buildup with a paper towel if you don't have one handy.

Includes: 48 standard piping tips, 4 large piping tips, 1 coupler, 2 flower nails, 1 storage box

Best Budget Piping Tip Set

Kootek 42-Piece Cake Decorating Kit

Orig. $14 $10 at Amazon $14 at Walmart View on Kootek.com

We love the selection of tips included in the Ateco 55-piece decorating kit, but completely understand if you're looking for something more economical for your decorating projects. The Kootek 42-Piece Decorating Kit is our runner-up choice. Like the Ateco set, the Kootek set comes with a box to house all of the included tips, although our tester noted that some assembly is required, and the tips do get a little jostled when the box gets moved. The Kootek kit includes 36 piping tips, all standard size, two flower nails, and two couplers. Unlike the Ateco set, this set also includes two 12-inch silicone piping bags, which we think is a great upgrade.

Our tester whipped up three different batches of frosting, including royal icing, buttercream, and cream cheese frosting, and tested the tips and piping bags on cupcakes, cookies, and cakes. In the process, she noted that while the tip selection is pretty good, it would be nice if it included a few larger piping tips and perhaps a smaller round tip for fine line work. The tips themselves aren't made from a continuous tube but instead stamped and rolled into shape, as evidenced by the seam on the tips. With that said, our tester found the tips to be plenty sturdy and had no doubts about their longevity. All of the pieces were easily washed by hand, although they are listed as dishwasher safe.

Includes: 36 standard piping tips, 2 flower nails, 2 standard couplers, 2 reusable silicone piping bags, 1 storage case

Best Cake Turntable

Ateco 12-Inch Revolving Aluminum Cake Decorating Stand

Orig. $50 $41 at Amazon

Eventually, your friends and family will start calling you for birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, and maybe even weddings. The larger and more elaborate your cakes get, the more substantial your cake-making equipment will get. At this point, you’ll want to consider upgrading to a sturdier cake turntable capable of smoothly handling stacked cakes, sheet cakes, and heavy-duty baking projects.

Ateco is a trusted name in bakeries and professional pastry kitchens everywhere. The 12-inch aluminum turntable provides the same smooth ball-bearing rotation that the higher-end cast iron model offers, at a fraction of the weight and price. During testing, we noticed that the stand and the plate are connected, which is helpful when you're moving it around so you don't accidentally pull the plate off the base, or worse—have the stand base drop on your feet if you're holding it by the plate.

This cake stand includes a nonslip silicone base cover and easily wipes clean after frosting. We also like that the top of the cake plate is grooved like a vinyl record to help keep whatever you're working on from slipping. There are also three round guides, measuring 8, 9, and 10 inches on top of the plate so you can keep an eye on the size of your cake as you're building and decorating it.

Includes: 12-inch aluminum cake turntable

Best Cake Leveler

Wilton Adjustable Cake Leveler

$13 at Amazon $25 at Walmart

Designing a beautiful cake starts long before the frosting goes on. Building a cake with even layers not only looks better but helps keep your cake more stable. Those domes on top of your cake rounds should be cut off for the best results, but sometimes people are understandably nervous about leveling with a knife. The stress of making the wrong cut often leads people to skip this step entirely, which is a big mistake.

Wilton has created an ingenious solution for this. This adjustable cake leveler is a simple tool, consisting of a taut wire stretched over a large frame, not much different than a big cheese wire. Simply set the wire to the notch that fits the height you want to trim your cake down to, and pull the wire through the cake keeping the feet of the leveler flat on the surface of your table.

Our tester found that if the outside of your cake is a little too tough for the wire to easily pull through, just make a little score with a knife in the crust to get the wire started. During testing, we also noticed that the wire can be a little difficult to move between notches. Instead of pulling the wire (which could bend the wire knobs), focus on pushing the frame in to make more space for the wire to move freely. You'll get the hang of it after a few tries. If you're dividing a cake layer into several layers, make sure to level the top off first, then divide the cake layer for best results.

Includes: 12-inch wire and metal cake leveler

Best Offset Spatulas

Ateco Ultra 3-Piece Offset Spatula Set

$23 at Amazon $52 at Walmart

You might be able to get away with making one or two cakes with a butter knife, but after that, you're going to need to invest in some offset spatulas. Offset spatulas are used during every step of the cake-making process, from smoothing cake batter and fillings, to leveling frosting and creating a smooth finish, to moving your cake from the board to a stand. Offset spatulas are basically extensions of your own hands.

This is the ideal set of offset spatulas, used by professionals and home bakers alike. The small 4.25-inch spatula goes where other spatulas can't, and gives you cleaner results than using the back of a spoon or a butter knife. The medium 7.75-inch spatula evens out frosting and crumb coats cakes with ease. During testing, the medium spatula was our tester's go-to spatula for nearly every project. The large 9.75-inch spatula lifts cakes and helps put a smooth finish on the outside of the cake if you don't have a flat cake scraper on-hand.

We found that these spatulas are great for more than just cake decorating. Our tester used the small and medium spatulas to smooth pie fillings, shape pavlovas, lift tarts out of metal tart shells, and even flip salmon fillets in a skillet. Once you get comfortable with the offset spatula, you may find it's one of your favorite kitchen tools. The stainless steel spatulas have hard plastic handles, which can get slippery when greasy, and are dishwasher safe.

Includes: 4.25-inch offset spatula, 7.75-inch offset spatula, 9.75-inch offset spatula

Best Cake Scrapers

Patelai 3-Piece Stainless Steel Cake Scraper Set

$18 at Amazon

Cake scrapers are having a moment, and have come a long way from the simple zig-zag designs on the side of grocery store cakes. Creating a completely smooth finish on the outside of your cake can be difficult to achieve by hand with a spatula, making cake scrapers all the handier. In recent years, cakes have also grown taller and more complex—and cake scrapers have stepped up to the challenge. This set will help you smooth out any cake, and can easily help you create a design.

The first scraper in this set is flat on both sides. During testing, we used this scraper to achieve that perfectly smooth finish on the outside of a buttercream cake. Our tester noted that you should hold the scraper at a slight angle to the cake like you're shaving it, but make sure to keep the bottom of the scraper flat against the turntable to ensure you're scraping the cake perfectly upright instead of at an angle. If your frosting isn't perfectly smooth after the first pass or has some unsightly air bubbles in it, chill the cake for five minutes in the refrigerator, then give it another topical pass with a warmed but dry cake scraper. We run the scraper under hot water and then quickly dry it off to achieve the ultimate smoothness.

The remaining two cake scrapers are double-sided. One has a scalloped edge with the fluted edges bulging from the cake, and the other side has the fluted edges caving into the cake. The other cake scraper has a squared-off pattern that can technically be used as-is but is primarily designed to make striped cakes. To create a striped cake, our tester frosted a cake entirely with the first color of frosting, then used the smaller side of the squared-off scraper to make wells for the second color. After a quick 15-minute chill in the refrigerator, she then filled in the wells with the second color of frosting, Then used the flat scraper to even out the entire pattern.

Includes: 10 x 4-inch flat scraper, 10 x 4-inch squared/stripe scraper, 8.9 x 3.4-inch scalloped scraper

Best Fondant Tools

ScivoKaval Fondant Cake Decorating Hand Tools 12-Piece

$8 at Amazon

Fondant and gum paste cake decorations are entirely different than their buttercream counterparts and require a very different set of tools. While buttercream decorating tools rely primarily on forming designs with piping tips, fondant work takes on a more sculptural approach with a dough made primarily of sugar. Fondant modeling tools bear a striking resemblance to some clay tools, and in many ways function the same.

This set of fondant modeling tools is geared toward beginners who are looking to start building fondant or gum paste figurines, flowers, and decorations. The set includes a fondant rolling pin with two sizes of rubber band guides and a smoother, both important for covering a cake in fondant. Additionally, there are eight double-sided tools that do everything from flare petal edges, add texture, slice, and make decorative puncture marks. Finally, the kit includes a decorating scissor used for lifting and transporting flowers and figurines, plus an embossing and cutting wheel. The embossing and cutting wheel is actually three tools, even though it's listed as one.

During testing, we noticed that the different tool tips could be removed from the handles and reorganized any way you like. This might not have been intentional, but nonetheless, it's a feature for those who want to customize their tools based on the tips they use most often. The three wheels of the embossing and cutting tool are interchangeable, and two of the wheels can be tucked into the small handle of the tool. It's not perfectly designed, but it's clever and works easily. The plastic tools aren't as sturdy as their metal counterparts, so when you get a hang of them and decide which tools you use most, you'll eventually want to upgrade.

Includes: 8 double-sided modeling tools, 1 embossing and cutting tool [with 3 wheels], 1 rolling pin, 1 smoother, 1 decorating scissor

Best for Organizing

Wilton Cake Decorating Bag Holder

Orig. $19 $14 at Amazon $18 at Walmart $25 at JOANN

This cake decorating bag holder from Wilton solves the problem of piles of decorating bags with different colors of icing lying all over the counter causing a mess and a distraction. It has fold-open legs with nonslip silicone feet, that's easy to store when not in use. The stand holds six piping bags and the center has a space with six built-in flower nail grips that hold nails upright for easy one-handed use.

During testing, we noticed that our piping bags (also Wilton brand) sat snugly in the stand, but extended all the way to the table. We'd recommend keeping a piece of parchment or paper towel underneath the stand to keep frosting from smudging onto your counter, but still think this stand is worth it to keep your piping bags and errant frosting from spreading across your entire workspace. We also noticed that the flower nail slots work best with the thicker plastic Wilton nails. While you can use the thinner metal flower nails, they tend to fall all the way through the grip, leaving the nail head flush with the surface of the stand. Lastly, this should be hand washed to maintain the nonstick surface.

Includes: 1 plastic piping bag holder (with 6 bag inserts and 6 flower nail inserts)

Best Plunger-Style Decorator

Wilton Dessert Decorator Plus

Orig. $16 $14 at Amazon $12 at Walmart $12 at Target

Learning to use a pastry bag can be a little intimidating for someone just starting out on their decorating journey, and even more difficult for kids. The Wilton Dessert Decorator Plus helps bridge the gap from decorating novice to piping bag pro with this handy tool. The design looks an awful lot like a cookie press, although our tester notes that it's a lighter construction and isn't built to accommodate heavier cookie doughs, so you won't be able to use this tool for both projects. The plunger-style decorator comes equipped with four decorating tips, including a round, star, ribbon, and leaf tip, as well as one injector tip and two couplers that attach the different tips to the plunger body.

While testing, we noticed that trying to fill the decorator tube with frosting using a small spatula was cumbersome. Instead we opted to fill the canister by using the plunger similarly to a syringe and pulling the frosting into the tube with suction. This method only took a few tries to master and made filling the decorating tool so much easier. Our tester also mentioned that if you've got standard-sized tips on hand, you can also use them in place of the tips provided, which gives you a little more design flexibility.

We ended up washing the entire decorator by hand since not all of the pieces are dishwasher safe. When it comes to storing, you can put all of the small pieces inside the canister body to keep everything all in one place, but our tester notes that this method will mean storing the tool with the plunger extended, which might not be feasible in your space. Otherwise, you can drop all of the pieces back into the box it comes in, or even a resealable plastic bag. Eventually, if you want to start making more complex designs or tackle larger projects, you may want to upgrade to piping bags, but this is a great place to start if you're only making a few cakes a year.

Includes: 1 plunger-style decorator, 4 piping tips, 1 injector tip, 2 couplers