Since I became known as someone who bakes a lot, I’ve noticed how people’s faces instantly light up when you talk about cakes. A shared love of making, admiring or enjoying cakes and cookies is a wonderful talking point. Most people have baked something before and many wish they were better, thinking that ‘fancy stuff’ is beyond their reach. I often encourage my friends that baking and cake decorating are accessible skills with great results for anyone prepared to practise a little.

Writing this book, I realized that while most people have baked sponges or biscuits, the majority will not have ventured far into cake decoration. The past three years – since I started writing my blog Maison Cupcake – has seen a huge surge in baking and cake decorating ranges available in high-street stores. I firmly believe that the only barrier to succeeding in your first sugarcraft projects is gathering the right equipment and taking a little time to experiment.

Once bitten by the baking and cake decorating bug, unless you have a big family or a community group to donate to, sharing treats out quicker than you can make them can be tricky. The beauty of small-scale bakes is that everyone can try a few things at once!

Sarah

maisoncupcake.com

Tools and Equipment

Shown in this section is a selection of the baking and cake decorating equipment used in this book. Some items are needed for every project and others for a few specific ones; check the ‘you will need’ list for each project.

GENERAL BAKING EQUIPMENT

• Baking parchment

• Sieve

• Scales – preferably digital

• Rolling pin

• Electric mixer – large stand-alone model or handheld with a large bowl

• Baking beans – for baking pastry cases ‘blind’

• Small palette knife – to lift cookies and spread buttercream

• Wooden spoon and silicone spatula

• Cocktail sticks (toothpicks)

• Wire cooling rack

• Baking sheets

• 20cm (8in) square cake tin (pan)

• 12-hole baking tins (pans) – sized accordingly

• Madeleine or mini-madeleine tin (pan)

• Cannelle mould

• Metal cutters – circular and heart shaped in a variety of sizes

• Paper cupcake cases

• Mini – for bitesize cakes – foil 20 × 32mm (³⁄₄ × 1¹⁄₄in); paper 24 × 30mm (1 × 1¹⁄₈in)

• Standard – used for traditional fairy cakes – 25 × 45mm (1 × 1³⁄₄in)

• Muffin – used for larger American-style cupcakes – 45 × 49mm (1³⁄₄ × 2in)

• Lollipop sticks – for cake pops

• Polystrene or oasis block with holes – to stand cake pops in

(Not pictured: double boiler for making chocolate ganache and marshmallow fluff and/or plastic microwave saucepan for Candy Melts)

CAKE DECORATING EQUIPMENT

• Piping (pastry) bags – disposable, handmade paper or re-usable, with coupler

• Piping tubes (tips) – selection of round, plus large star for piping buttercream swirls and roses or mini meringues, small star for piping mini pavlova nests

• Miniature non-stick rolling pin – for rolling out sugarpaste

• Square acrylic mat – to roll out small quantities of sugarpaste, also to cover cut-out pieces while working

• A4 plastic sleeve cut at base so you can open like a book – for modelling sugarpaste petals

• Pins – to pierce tubes (tips) if icing dries out

• Plunger cutters – to cut out daisy and blossom shapes

• Piping gun with syringe nozzle – for filling choux buns and fingers

• Cocktail sticks (toothpicks) – to add food colouring to icing and sugarpaste

• Zip-lock plastic bags and cling film (plastic wrap) – to wrap and store sugarpaste and stop it drying out

• Sealable plastic tubs – for storing royal icing

• Sticky labels – for identifying icing at a glance

• Gel or paste food colourings

• Lustre liquid, powder and sprays

• Edible glitter

• Cling film (plastic wrap)

• Miscellaneous sugar baubles and sprinkles

• Candy dipping tool

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