All The Basic Tools You Need To Decorate A Minimalist Cake

The trendy minimalist cake is a simple and easy cake to make. It's commonly a small cake that is simply frosted, sometimes with a decorative border on top with a personal message on top, too. 

Decorating a minimalist cake is easy, especially if you have the right tools to do it. You can start off with the bare minimum of tools and just use a spoon to cover your cake in frosting and a makeshift bag to pipe your message. 

However, if you're set on investing in cake decorating tools, you can. Plus, the tools are affordable, too! Here are the basic tools you'll need to decorate a minimalist cake:   

Photo by Shopee, Lazada

Rotating cake stand

Also known as a cake turntable, this cake stand is unique in the sense that it rotates. This might not seem like a big deal but when it comes to decorating cakes and smoothening out the sides and tops of your cake, you will find this cake decorating tool indispensable. It's easy to use! Simply place your cake on the stand and instead of you moving or picking up the cake to position it as you need, use the turntable to smoothly turn the cake to your desired position. 

You will find this extremely useful when smoothening the sides of your cake! Grab a flat edge or a bench scraper. Hold this against the side of the cake and if you have enough frosting, you can scrape off frosting to a smooth finish. This will serve as your base surface to begin your decorating. 

Plastic rotating cake stand, P98, Shopee  

Metal rotating cake stand, P825, Shopee

Icing bags

Disposable piping bags like these are important since you'll need a few of these, especially if you want to display your piping prowess with more than one color of icing. You can use the reusable silicone bags but remember to always clean these kinds thoroughly as any oily residue can transfer to your next piping project. 

Disposable icing bags, available in medium, P15 for 10 pieces, Shopee

Disposable icing bags, large, P40 for 10 pieces, Lazada 

Photo by Lazada

Bench scraper

You might have one of these if you have been making dough and baking bread. This tool is pretty versatile in the kitchen and doesn't limit itself to what it was made for: scraping the bench of a baker's table and cutting up the big batches of dough. 

This is also super useful for ensuring that the sides of your cake are even and smooth. Combined with the cake turntable, this tool can give your cake straight edges top to bottom with ease.      

Stainless steel dough scraper, P55, Lazada 

Photo by Ateco

Offset spatulas

Spatulas for decorating come in a few shapes and sizes. We highly recommend that you invest in a small offset spatula. While the bigger ones cover more area, especially if you are decorating a small cake and can easily apply frosting on a cake, the smaller size of this spatula gives you control that you do not have with a longer and bigger tool. 

Ateco offset spatula, 4.25 inch, wood handle, P195, Lazada

Ateco offset spatula, 5 inch, tapered, wood handle, P195, Shopee 

Photo by Shopee

Bowls

You may not need it but if you want to use more than one color of frosting, you will need bowls. In fact, if you are more ambitious, you'll need several bowls to make the colors for the flower petals, another for the leaves, another for the flower accents, another for the cake border, and another for the rest of the cake. Use as many bowls as you need colors and you'll find that it's easy to switch from one color to the next without needing to make another batch of colored icing every time.  

Small bowls, available in 4-, 4.5-, 5-, 6-, and 7-inch sizes, starting at P35, Shopee

Photo by Shopee

Parchment or wax paper (optional)

This may be one of the rare times that wax paper is suitable for baking projects. Parchment paper is usually the preferred paper for baking since it's both nonstick and the surface will not melt in the oven or even lightly heated. This is an optional tool but very useful when decorating cakes. 

You'll need strips of these to line your cake stand so any icing that isn't on the cake isn't on your cake board or cake stand either. 

Baking paper, 5 meters, P48, Lazada 

Baking paper, available in 5 and 10 meters, starting at P39, Shopee

Photo by Lazada

Piping tips (optional)  

Another set of tools that you may find useful in decorating your cake are piping tips or icing tips. These cake decorating tips can make piping letters, roses, mounds, fluted dots, and other designs easier since you do not have to do any of those fancy designs by hand.    

12-piece decorating set silicone pastry bags with 10 nozzles, P59, Lazada

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