The Complete Guide to Cake Decorating is a stunning visual treat! Open up your world to some sweet new skills (or polish some existing ones) with this collection of decorating recipes and how-tos. This brand-new edition brings together some of the best talents of the baking and cake decorating world to share their inspiration and expertise. Whether you want to get to grips with crumb coating, drip cakes, fondant flowers, modelled toppers or buttercream ruffles, this super-helpful guide will take you through the basics and beyond! We also chat with our guest experts, including the fabulous Peggy Porschen, Mich Turner and Mr Baker (Mr Baker’s Cakes), about their experiences and future plans and share recipes from Great British Bake Off finalists Kim Joy, Edd Kimber and Nancy Birtwhistle. So have a flick through to see what inspires you and keep this guide to hand every time you get your cake on!
Welcome!
Meet the cake professionals
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Basics • Get to grips with all the key sugarcraft techniques, ingredients and toolbox essentials. Plus, learn how to crumb coat and assemble a cake…
Getting started • Take the time to read up on the basics of sugarcraft and you’ll soon be creating your own showstoppers
Toolbox essentials • There are a few cake-decorating essentials you’ll want in your toolbox to help you achieve a professional finish on your creations…
How to crumb coat a cake • Expert cake designer, Peggy Porschen, shows you how to assemble, layer and crumb coat a cake, so it’s ready to decorate!
Peggy’s pointers • Internationally renowned cake maker Peggy Porschen shares just some of the helpful advice from her book, A Year in Cake
Buttercream • From covering and filling cakes to piping beautiful blooms, ruffles and more, be inspired by this collection of ideas with buttercream icing…
Fiesta piñata layer cake • Tiempo de fiesta! Try your hand at piping colourful buttercream ruffles on this bright bake from Lakeland. Its hidden pinata core is filled with a sweet surprise…
Cherry bake wow • This vegan recipe takes the cherry Bakewell to dizzy new heights. Ground almonds and cherry conserve give a delicious nod to this timeless favourite.
Simply purrfect • As cute as any ginger cat, this fun cake with buttercream icing is ideal for novice sugarcrafters to try as there’s no tricky assembly.
Spooky but sweet • Put a new spin on chocolate cake with this dramatic and delicious bake by Edd Kimber. It makes a frightfully good Halloween party centrepiece
How to pipe a sunflower • Sunflowers are beginner-friendly flowers that are beautiful and easy to pipe. Follow Neetha Syam’s guide to create this pretty bloom and add it to a cupcake
Red velvet delight • Bake-Off favourite Kim Joy shares this simple and soft cake that’s perfect for birthdays. Keep the decoration simple for a go-to recipe you can bake time and again
Cupcake bouquet • This stunning arrangement of pretty cupcakes makes a glamorous centrepiece for a Mother’s Day treat or a special birthday.
Chocolate heaven • Chocolate lovers will adore this decadent Ferrero Rocher hazelnut drip cake, filled with delicious nutty, chocolate flavours.
Luxury shimmer • This light vanilla cake with lemon filling and fluffy Italian meringue buttercream is decorated with delicate piped florals and ivory pearls.
“Create something beautiful & delicious” • Founder of Little Venice Cake...
