Kootek 42-Piece Cake Decorating Kit Review

We purchased the Kootek 42-Piece Cake Decorating Kit so our reviewer could put it to the test in her kitchen. Keep reading for our full product review.

The Kootek 42-Piece Cake Decorating Kit is a top-rated product at an extremely low price, but is it too good to be true? We wanted to test the kit, so we got to work baking trays of cookies, cupcakes, and cakes—enough to feed the neighborhood.

We mixed up buttercream, royal icing, and cream cheese frosting, and then we pulled out the food coloring, because who doesn’t love a colorful cookie? When we finally came down from our sugar high, we had a pretty clear idea of everything you can do with this kit.

Design: So many options

The 36 piping tips that come in the Kootek Cake Decorating Kit are more than sturdy enough to handle any kind of icing or frosting. We liked the two couplers that came with the set, too—they were easy to use and held tightly. 

The included storage box is certainly handy, but we thought it was a bit odd that it came without its dividers installed. It wasn’t hard to insert them into their slots, and it actually gave us the option to leave out inserts to make room for the couplers and flower nails, along with all of the tips.

It took a little time for us to arrange the tips in pairs with their closest mates—we put smaller and larger round tips together, and larger and smaller star tips together—but once we had them paired up, we liked our arrangement. 

One little quibble is that other storage boxes have spikes that hold the tips upright, but this box has a flat bottom. As a result, the tips can fall over in the box, which means the hole isn’t visible. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it would have been a nice addition.

One thing we really loved in this set was the two reusable pastry bags. Made from silicone, the bags felt soft and cushy as we used them, and they twisted easily, allowing us to seal the top of the bag for easy piping. The couplers worked well with the pastry bags, as well, keeping our tips securely in place while we piped.

While we had fun experimenting with the included tips, we’re fond of using large tips to make frosting rosettes on cupcakes—a really fast way to decorate large numbers of them. Unfortunately, this set doesn’t include any large tips. We still managed to make pretty cupcakes, some with intricate designs, but not as quickly.

One thing to note: Pastry tips have industry-standard numbers for each style, and while the online description says that these tips have numbers on them, none of ours did. This isn’t the end of the world, but it does make finding the right tip harder, especially if you're following specific decorating instructions.

Quality: Good for the price

At the low price point, we didn’t expect these to be the most robust pastry tips on the planet. They do have a seam along the side, but they certainly aren’t delicate. They’re more than sturdy enough for piping frosting, and with normal use, they should last for a long time.

The silicone pastry bags seemed sturdy, as well. If we saw these in a store, we’d buy them on their own, so getting them in this set is a bonus. The flower nails have long stems and a slightly pointed tip so they can be poked into styrofoam, if needed, and they’re more than sturdy enough to handle frosting flowers.

Performance: Good for home use

We have to admit that 36 decorating tips is more than a home baker would ever need for a single cake, but we had a whole lot of fun experimenting with them. We went a little crazy with cupcakes, switching tips back and forth to make different designs, and while our artistic skills won’t win any awards, we certainly enjoyed making small and large flowers, leaves, and fun borders. 

During testing, we pulled out some “Day of the Dead” cookie cutters for more complex decorating, and we found it easy to use the tips to follow the lines on the cookies with royal icing and to add flower flourishes with buttercream.

However, there were moments when we would have appreciated an even smaller round tip for the most intricate spots. We also had a few moments when a tip would get stuck in the coupler, as the bag snagged on the edge of the tip’s seam, but we were able to loosen it easily enough with a little wiggling.

While we liked the tips included with this set, we have to say they’re better suited for small designs. There were moments when we wished for at least one of the extra-large tips that are commonly used to make large rosettes, and a large open tip would have made this kit a bit more useful for chunkier fillings. For instance, while we could pipe a smooth whipped cheese onto bagels with these tips, a savory filling with capers or chopped vegetables would have been less than successful.

We also have a small complaint about the documentation that came with the kit. While there is an illustration of the tips, as well as the patterns they make, many of the images looked like smears, and in some cases, it was hard to see which tips were being illustrated, since they were shown from the side rather than the top. This isn’t a dealbreaker, though, as it’s simple enough to try different tips on a plate or sheet of parchment paper before using them for decorating.

Cleaning: Dishwasher safe, but easy by hand

The tips, couplers, flower nails, and pastry bags in the Kootek kit are all dishwasher safe, but we preferred washing them by hand. When we cleaned them right after use, it was simple to rinse the frosting out of the tips, then use a brush and dish soap to scrub them clean. The silicone bags were just as easy to clean by hand.

Price: Unbeatable

There’s no other way to say it—at $13.99, this is a super affordable and versatile set that’s well worth the price, even if it’s only used a few times a year. Plus, it’s easy to clean and even easier to store.

Kootek 42-Piece Decorating Kit vs. Wilton Master Decorating Tip Set

Wilton is a well-known name in cake decorating, and they offer a similar product: the Wilton Master Decorating Tip Set. This set includes 55 tips as opposed to Kootek’s 36, but the Wilton Set doesn’t include pastry bags—and it’s more than double the price. We do like the Wilton storage case better, as it keeps the tips upright, but that may not be enough to sway your decision.