Baking, Pastry and Icing Buying Guide

Baking is an ever popular home tradition which continues to grow in popularity thanks to TV programmes like ‘The Great British Bake Off’. More and more shows feature baking, from learning the basics right up to more advanced cake decoration with lavish recipes for extraordinary cupcakes and cookies.

This makes baking a very versatile and in depth subject to follow. Likewise making your own icing and decorating your cakes and cupcakes with professional styled designs can be very rewarding.

Our guide will hopefully explain the different products to aid your baking, pastry and icing techniques and make you the ‘Star Baker’ in your home.

Accessories Designed to aid your baking, accessories will always help with some of the most basic tasks. Cake testers will make sure your cake is baked all the way through. Pie funnels allow steam to escape from your pie filling allowing the contents to cook thoroughly. Baking beans will help you blind bake your pastry before you add your filling to avoid a soggy bottom!

Biscuit / Icing Sets and Syringes When icing a cake, using intricate icing techniques can be tricky without the right nozzles or icing bag. Icing sets contain an icing bag with a variety of nozzles and sometimes will contain a coupler which will allow the changing of nozzles without having to empty the icing out each time. Icing bottles are generally used for icing with a wetter mixture for filling in larger areas. The nozzle will fit straight onto the bottle and the soft sides are squeezed to release the icing. Syringes are hard containers on which the nozzle is fitted on one end through which the icing is pushed out using a plunger or trigger. These syringes are great to use if you find icing bags difficult to control or keep the pressure on whilst squeezing.

Bread Making Proving baskets are designed to allow your homemade dough to rise naturally whilst still maintaining its shape. The wound wood baskets, either oval or round, will allow a natural rise and circulation of air around your dough. These baskets must only be gently hand washed without soaking and never put in the oven for baking.

Candles and Decorations Finish off your beautiful cakes with some celebration wax candles or cake toppers for decoration. In addition to this, you can wrap your finished cake in colourful ribbons and sit it on a selection of pretty doilies. If you prefer a more subtle finish to your cake, you can use a stencil or sprinkle a little pattern on the top of your cake with edible glitter, cocoa powder or icing sugar.

Cake Pops Cake pops are a relatively new trend in baking. They are small decorated balls of cake on a long stick like a lollipop. Products to help you in making these will be shapers or scoops for cutting out pieces of sponge cake for your cake pop shape. There are also a large variety of sticks and cake pop holders for standing your decorated cake pops in, including pretty carousels and presentation boxes.

Cake Cases Cake cases are used for cupcakes, muffins and Petit Fours. They come in a wide variety of colours and designs. Most are made from a bake proof paper that will sit perfectly in your cake pan. They are also available in reusable silicone cases in a variety of colours. Most cake cases are round in shape but they are also available in star or heart shapes. Petit fours are mini cases used for small sweet and savoury cakes or pastries that are intricately decorated.

Chocolate and Treats In this category you will find lots of items for creating and finishing off your chocolate creation. Chocolate moulds are made from silicone and come in a variety of designs like hearts, letters and flowers, they are easy to use because the silicone is soft and pliable. To finish off your homemade chocolates there are foil wraps, mini cases and presentation gift bags.

Cookie / Pastry Cutters Cookie and pastry cutters come in a large variety of shapes and sizes - from letters and numbers to stars, hearts and novelty shapes. These cutters can be used for cutting cookie dough, fondant icing and pastry shapes. These can also be used for cutting out small baked cakes.

Cooling Racks Cooling racks are perfect for cooling down cakes and other baked items as the air to cool them can circulate all around. A cooling rack is normally made from wire and can be rectangular, square or round. It will have little feet to raise it off the work surface allowing your baking to cool underneath too.

Fondant Moulds / Cutters Fondant cutters are similar to cookie cutters, but as well as cutting they can also have patterns to make decorative indents for a particular design. In some cases the cutter will also have a plunger to help release the fondant as the fondant dough can be very soft. Similarly moulds can have fondant rolled into them to form intricate patterns for decorating cakes.

Icing Accessories When icing cakes and cupcakes there may be a small degree of fine detail modelling or painting that will require intricate tools. Tiny brushes are used for applying edible glitters or paints onto fondant leaves or flowers. In the same way, modelling tools are used when working with small pieces of fondant or sugar paste.

Icing Bags and Nozzles Icing bags are made from a variety of materials. Disposable plastic icing bags are great for smaller icing jobs, but for more time consuming piping tasks a stronger plastic-lined cloth piping bag will be needed. Nozzles come in a huge variety of sizes and designs, so always make sure when getting a new nozzle that it fits the width of your piping bag hole or coupler if you are using one. Nozzles are available in both stainless steel and plastic.

Icing and Edible Decorations Edible decorations and sprinkles come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. These can be used to finish off your cupcake or celebration cake perfectly. Edible glitter can be sprinkled or applied gently with a brush and is available in a variety of colours. Most of these types of edible decorations come in a disposable shaker for sprinkling.

Rolling Pins Rolling pins can be used for rolling out icing or pastry and are available as wooden, non-stick plastic or silicone. Some will just be a solid cylindrical pin and others will have handles on the end to allow the pin itself to move freely. There are also rolling pins available with spacing wheels that are interchangeable for adjusting the thickness that the icing or pastry is rolled out at.

Sets These sets are great for beginners or children to get started in baking and icing. They will include tools for decorating cupcakes or a variety of cutters. With so many to choose from there is something for everyone to get started and good for adding to at a later date.

Storage and Stands Once you’ve made your cake you’ll need somewhere to store it (assuming you’re not going to devour it in one sitting!). You can choose from either a bulk-standard storage tin (available in different sizes and designs) or one that doubles as a server. These have a platter-style base with a domed lid. A stand is a great way to show off and serve your master piece. These vary is design and size and some come with a glass dome to stop your cakes from drying out. There are also wire tree stands which can hold a number of cupcakes – great for celebrations and parties.

Bakeware As mentioned in the Bakeware Buying Guide, there are so many types of bakeware, from trays and tins to specialist items to help you in your baking adventures, please refer to bakeware guide for further advice.

Cleaning and Storage

Cleaning

Baking and icing accessories are generally better cleaned in warm soapy water by hand. This is because a lot of these items are small and fragile can easily get lost or damaged in a dishwasher. Always follow manufacturer’s guidelines in the first instance.

Storage

Some kits and sets will come in some sort of storage box as part of the kit. However, small items can be kept in a plastic storage container or tin. Make sure that all items are dry before storing in an airtight container.