My suggestions for basic materials and equipment would be:
Baking Tins which are essential, preferably good quality, and made to last. Why not start with a few round and square - 6", 8", 10" and 12" are the most commonly used! You can generally hire tins in other shapes from good sugarcraft or bakeware shops, to save money initially.
A useful tool to own is a Long Cake knife / leveller. Cakes will often need levelling and splitting after baking and this will make the job much easier!
For jobs such as spreading jam and buttercream use a Palette knife, which will also be necessary when working with royal icing. A long bladed straight, and shorter bladed cranked knife, are useful ones to have.
A good investment for a rolling pin would be a 20" long non-stick pin - this will cope with rolling out sugarpaste for larger cakes. A 6" or 9" rolling pin is ideal for smaller projects and sugar flowers etc.
For more professional results use a non-stick board for flower/model making etc.
Whilst not essential a smoother will help to give your sugarpasted cake a smooth, flawless finish. I would hate to be without one of these!
Various tools are available to aid all icing jobs, some of which you may already have around the home. Fine bladed scissors, brushes and a craft knife are three of the most used tools in sugarcraft! A double ended cutting wheel, a Dresden tool for veining and softening, a pointed modelling / frilling stick and a bone tool complete my list of recommended tools.
Basic cutters make life a lot easier when decorating a cake. Shapes such as round, square, stars and hearts to name a few, and simple flower/leaf cutters - rose petal and leaf, ivy and blossom are some of the cutters you could invest in to start. Alphabet and number cutters are really useful for those who are not confident with piping skills when adding script onto a cake.
Also essential would be a range of food colours, the most versatile being the concentrated gel/paste colours. These are suitable for any type of icing, and are particularly good for sugarpaste as they do not alter the consistency when mixing a dark colour. These can be mixed together to make further colours.
A selection of piping bags and tubes would complete your starter kit. There are many different types of bag to choose from, including silicone/greaseproof, nylon re-usable and plastic disposable.I would recommend stainless steel seamless tubes for a professional finish, with a basic writing, and a star tube, my favourites, then add more as and when required.
Baking Tins which are essential, preferably good quality, and made to last. Why not start with a few round and square - 6", 8", 10" and 12" are the most commonly used! You can generally hire tins in other shapes from good sugarcraft or bakeware shops, to save money initially.
A useful tool to own is a Long Cake knife / leveller. Cakes will often need levelling and splitting after baking and this will make the job much easier!
For jobs such as spreading jam and buttercream use a Palette knife, which will also be necessary when working with royal icing. A long bladed straight, and shorter bladed cranked knife, are useful ones to have.
A good investment for a rolling pin would be a 20" long non-stick pin - this will cope with rolling out sugarpaste for larger cakes. A 6" or 9" rolling pin is ideal for smaller projects and sugar flowers etc.
For more professional results use a non-stick board for flower/model making etc.
Whilst not essential a smoother will help to give your sugarpasted cake a smooth, flawless finish. I would hate to be without one of these!
Various tools are available to aid all icing jobs, some of which you may already have around the home. Fine bladed scissors, brushes and a craft knife are three of the most used tools in sugarcraft! A double ended cutting wheel, a Dresden tool for veining and softening, a pointed modelling / frilling stick and a bone tool complete my list of recommended tools.
Basic cutters make life a lot easier when decorating a cake. Shapes such as round, square, stars and hearts to name a few, and simple flower/leaf cutters - rose petal and leaf, ivy and blossom are some of the cutters you could invest in to start. Alphabet and number cutters are really useful for those who are not confident with piping skills when adding script onto a cake.
Also essential would be a range of food colours, the most versatile being the concentrated gel/paste colours. These are suitable for any type of icing, and are particularly good for sugarpaste as they do not alter the consistency when mixing a dark colour. These can be mixed together to make further colours.
A selection of piping bags and tubes would complete your starter kit. There are many different types of bag to choose from, including silicone/greaseproof, nylon re-usable and plastic disposable.I would recommend stainless steel seamless tubes for a professional finish, with a basic writing, and a star tube, my favourites, then add more as and when required.
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