Tools you need for your Cake Business
When setting up to start a cake business, it can be thrilling and overwhelming.
Do you feel dazed and confused looking at all the different types of cake products, because there is so much cake decorating stuff out there!? Do you know which ones you will use? Which ones are a waste of money?
Do you want your money to go far so that you are creating professional cakes and cupcakes that sell well and make you money?
There are so many cake tools out there to choose from, which can make getting started more than a little daunting.
When setting up a cake business, you really only require a basic set of decorating tools (which can decorate over 90% of your orders & will cost less than N10,000 - for most people!).
So many go out & spend thousands of naira on, piping bags, nozzles, books, cutters, luster dusts, colour icings, decorations, cake boards, fondant, air brush gun & colours, smoothers, tins and let alone the cake decorating courses!
Don’t get me wrong, its ok to go spend all that money, but if you are looking at starting your cake business as cheap as possible, I’m your cake lady to help….
The Ultimate List of Tools you need for your Cake business
You will need:
1. Cake pans
They are usually priced from N900 to N8000. It is best you buy a set of 8, 10 and 12 inch tins to start off with.
Try and choose good quality tins. This is your craft and if there is one equipment to spend a bit of money on, it’s your cakes tins. They are your pride and joy.
True professional cake pans are key to making beautiful cakes. Professional cake pans have straight sides instead of slanted. This helps to keep the sides of your cake straight after it is stacked, reducing or eliminating the need to carve down the edges to get perfectly even sides.
2. Parchment paper/ baking paper
Parchment paper can be used for many things, including cutting circles and placing them in the bottom or cake pans for a perfect release every time. When you flip over your cake to release it from the pan, have a piece of parchment to set it on while you cut off the top and torte your cake. The parchment paper will catch the mess, making a super easy cleanup for you.
3. Sharp knife
Use a knife to help release your cakes from pans by running the blade around the edge, with parchment paper in the bottom, it should fall right out when you flip it over.
Clean, sharp knives are also very useful when working with fondant. Use them to cut shapes, stripes and to add detail.
4. Cake boards/drums
Every cake needs its own cake board. These give stability and strength to cakes and hold them together.
For large cakes, it’s best to use a cake drum, which is a thick cake board that have been glued and pressed together, then covered in foil. They come in sizes 8’, 10’,12’, 14 and are priced between N100 to N200.
5. Spatula and bench scraper
To achieve a beautiful, clean crumb coat and final coat, these two tools will make your work much easier. Spread your buttercream icing using the off-set spatula. Once you have a thick coat of icing, smooth it out using a bench scraper. They each cost about N400- N500.
6. Turntable
Cakes and turntables are inseparable. To decorate a cake without a turntable is frustrating and almost impossible. You will use a turntable to torte, fill, crumb coat and decorate your cake. The good ones cost about N5,500.
7. Bowls
Good quality plastic bowl are very good for mixing your cake ingredient.
8. Hand held beater/whisk
Try and buy a high quality one. An electric whisk can range from N5,000 to N11,000 while a Cake Mixer can range from N15,000 to N40,000 and more.
9. Piping Bags
If you don’t have a piping bags, this is a must buy. These are the professional, canvas or plastic bags that bakers and decorators use. They are usually priced at N50 each and are reusable. A quantity of 10 would do. The best ones are wilton and those sold in the market. They come in 2 sizes- medium and large. You can make your own piping bags using baking paper, but I never got the hang of it, so don’t worry if you can’t make one.
10. Nozzles
They are various types of Nozzels and it’s easy to get confused by the array of different tips. As a starting point, it is best you buy nozzles Metal nozzles in Star and Round. They are usually priced from N300.
Here are the types of star tips to buy, shown here-
Open star
Closed star
Another tip is to buy the Round Tip.
11. Colours
Because icing is so essential in a perfectly decorated cake, the food coloring you use is just as important. There are plenty of food coloring options out there, many of them good, so try and test as many brand that you can. Again as a starting point , they cost between N300-N800. The colours to buy are:
Red, Orange, Egg Yellow, Leaf Green, , Sky Blue, Royal Blue, Regal Purple, Electric Pink, Chocolate Brown , Super Black.
All these cake equipment’s can be purchased from cake shops and in the bakers section in most markets in Lagos.
For more tips and information about setting up your own cake business, make sure to check out my E-Course ‘The Baking Business School Cake E- Course‘. From the rules surrounding getting your business registered, marketing and business strategies as well as pricing guides including Templates, guides, Workbooks and checklists to help you build your cake passion business dream.
Enrollment for the Baking Business School E- Course is still ongoing. Don't miss this chance to start and to take your cake business to the next level.
Register here for the Baking Business School Cake E- Course.
Till next week.
Happy Caking.
RotimiCakeLady