In our Barcelona cake studio we make a lot of birthday cakes, wedding cakes and other type of celebratory cakes. We also host group cake workshops in which we teach you how to make your own cake from beginning to end. Making cakes is not as easy as it might look, but to make your life a little easier while caking here’s our favorite tools:
- Kitchen scale
The first item on our list is a small kitchen scale. Baking is an exact science and therefore all ingredients must be scaled before added to your mixer. Make sure to always have an extra battery laying around in your kitchen. Trust me, we’ve been there and it seems you always run out of battery just when you are about to make someone a birthday cake!
- Cake scraper
Here at Casa de Pastel we use a 25 cm tall, 3 mm thick perplex scraper. This tool helps you smooth out buttercream on the side of your cake.
- PME baking tins
In our Barcelona cake studio we work with PME baking tins in size 10cm diameter, 15cm diameter and 20cm diameter. These are our more standard cake sizes. Obviously we have some bigger ones laying around specially for those special wedding cakes. We recommend to have at least two of the same sized ones so it is easy to prepare a layer cake.
- Rubber spatula
Don’t get just one, get a few. If you’re baking on a regular basis it might come in handy to have a few rubber spatulas laying around. We have different sizes: bigger ones for making cake batter, smaller ones to color our buttercream.
- Blow torch
If you work with Swiss meringue buttercream in your cakes, a blow torch is a must-have. SMBC has the tendency to split, and by heating up the side of the bowl of your stand mixer a little, you buttercream will come back together in no time. Just in time for you to assemble your cake!
Want to learn more about Swiss meringue buttercream? We have a special segment on SMBC in our online school which will teach you everything you need to know. You will be able to repeat it time and again in your own kitchen by simply logging into our online school platform.
- Kitchen Aid (or other stand mixer)
We choose Kitchen Aid because we fell in love with the colors, but honestly any stand mixer will make your life easier when baking cakes, cookies or any other sweets. If you’re just starting out, you might not want to spend a lot on a stand mixer. For those of you: a handmixer will work just fine!
- Offset spatula
When baking cakes, we use an offset spatula to run around the edges so the cake comes out of the tin easily. When making layer cake we use an offset spatula to assemble the cake. We have two different sizes in our Barcelona cake studio: a smaller one that’s easy to handle (hello beginner cake makers!) and a bigger one for bigger cakes like tiered wedding cakes and birthday cakes for big events.
- Turning table
Every video or written tutorial will have this essential tool: a turn table. Turntables are the tool of choice when filling and frosting a cake with ease. We use Ateco 608, but for those with a smaller budget: the Ikea SNUDDA will do just fine!
- Small sharp knife
For cutting butter into cubes, for achieving sharp edges on your buttercream cake; a small sharp knife is always a great tool to have laying around in your kitchen.