Top 35 Essential Cake Baking Tools and Equipment Every Baker and Beginner Should Know

Baking is a science. If you want a perfect soft cake and a crisp biscuit, you need to follow certain methods. You need to pay attention to a few things like cake baking tools and equipment, baking temperature, mixing methods, baking tin size and ingredients etc. In case, if you did not do that, you cannot expect a good result.

Using the right cake baking tools and equipment can make your work easy and also make your end product a lot better. You need to invest in a small set of cake baking tools and equipment.

In this whole session, I’ve summoned up all the essential and professional cake baking tools and equipment and categorized the equipment based on the needs. So, just bring your notepads out!! Let’s get started together.

Cake baking Tools And Equipment For The Beginners Or Novice

1) Whisk –

A  Whisk is used to blend dry ingredients or to absorb air into a mixture. It is mostly used to whip eggs or creams in baking.

Tips:  It is recommended that an electric beater or hand mixer will give better results instead of a whisk.

2) Electric Beater Or Hand Mixer –

Electric beaters are mostly used to whisk different kinds of batters and cream. These can be also used to knead dough when the attachment for kneading is used. Beaters can be used to easily beat eggs, cake-creams, custards, sauces, and puddings, etc.

But, yes! Mixers are still way more effective and powerful than using a spoon or spatula to mix with and the batter will be more effective and smooth in the form of texture. It is a very effective tool for beginners and professional cake bakers.

Tips:  Always it is recommended that wipe the beater be dry after each use and you should give at least 5 minutes of rest after a long time of usage.

3) Mixing Bowl –

Mixing bowls are used for storing dough, mixing liquid and dry ingredients and making cream. If you want a durable bowl set then, stainless steel bowls are a very good choice. You can also use plastic bowls.

4) Spatula –

When we need to serve a piece of cake from the pan or to transfer the icing cream from the container to the piping bag then there is no better substitution than a good spatula.

 There are two types of spatulas. They are: Rubber spatulas & Offset spatulas

• Rubber Spatula – These are easy to use, clean and last for years and years. Rubber spatulas are having a good hold to the sides of the bowl when you mix.

• Offset Spatula – An offset spatula is very important when you are planning to ice the cake. It is having a very sharp edge which helps it to keep the frosting on the sides of the cake.

Tips: When you will plan to buy a spatula, always go for the set of Spatulas which is having a good variety of spatulas (small, medium, large), so that you can use them for all Kitchen purposes not only for cake baking.

5) Baking Tin Or Tray And Cup –

Baking tin or pans are used to hold liquefied batters or cake batters. The batter should be placed in the pan and then baked in the oven. Baking trays are also important.

Baking tin/pans are available in a variety of materials and sizes, colours and, surface textures.

• Circular Shape Cake Tin (Aluminium, Silicone, Borosilicate)
• Square Shape Cake Tin (Aluminium, Silicone, Borosilicate)
• Baking Pan Or Tray (Aluminium, Silicone, Borosilicate)
• Star Shape Cake Tin (Aluminium, Silicone, Borosilicate)
• Heart Shape Cake Tin (Aluminium, Silicone, Borosilicate)
• Muffin Pan (Ready to bake, Papers, Aluminium/Stainless steel, Silicone)
• Bundt Cake Mould (Aluminium, Silicone, Borosilicate)

Different sizes of tins are available in the market like 4 inches, 6 inches, 8 inches, etc.

Cups are used to make cupcakes. You can select non-stick Carbon steel Muffin pans or ready-to-bake cups (these cups can be directly put inside the oven for baking) for cupcakes. Ready-to-bake cups are generally single-use, disposable items.

6) Scales –

Scales are a very important cake baking tool or equipment.

There are two types of measuring scales available in the market. They are Digital and Analogue weighing machines. You can measure small amounts accurately by Digital scale, but mechanical or analogue scales are inexpensive and easy to use.

7) Sieve –

Sieve is very important in cake baking. It is used to strain dry ingredients like flour, sugar dust, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda etc. It is also used to separate the unwanted particle from a liquid mixture.

8) Rolling Pin –

Rolling Pin is a must-have tool in the kitchen. It is used in bakeries to shape and flatten the pie and pastry dough to the cookie.

9) Silicone Baking Mat –

Silicone baking mats are used to create an even baking plain or surface. It is effective for making cookies with more browned bottoms. The Silicone baking mat won’t melt until exposed to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

10) Measuring Cups & Spoons –

Measuring cups and spoons are used for measuring dry and liquid ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, oil, milk etc. It is an important cake baking tools and equipment.

Cups available in the market: 1/8 Cup, 1/4 Cup, 1/3 Cup, 1/2 Cup, 1 Cup

Spoons available in the market: ¼ tsp, ½ tsp, 1 tsp, ½ tbsp, 1 tbsp

Tsp = Tea Spoon

Tbsp = Table Spoon

11) Butter Paper –

A Butter paper or sandwich paper is used for lining cake tins and also to wrap the butter. It is smooth, non-stick, heat-resistant. Butter paper ensures that the cake will not stick to the pan or tin and then it will come out in one piece after baking.

You can use both butter and flour or a non-stick baking spray instead of butter paper.

Cake Baking Tools And Equipments For The Professional Or Commercial Bakers

12) Ovens –

An oven is a heart of baking a cake in the case of commercial baking. Novices or beginners can start with a microwave oven or the gas oven. But, if you do not have an oven, there will be no pastry business or commercial baking.

There are different kinds of ovens available in the market. They are:

• Convection Oven –

A Convection oven circulates the oven heat all over the oven area, which means you will get more even heat in every space in the oven at the time of baking. A convection oven can cook and bake a different range of products like cookies, pies, cakes, pastries, brownies quickly and evenly. These ovens are also less costly.

• Deck Oven –

These ovens are taking up large space to set up. Deck ovens are more expensive. The advantage of the deck oven is the lower bottom heat control. These are having a heating element under the stone base, which is helping to draw the moisture from the dough and makes a crunchy, crispy base.

• Rotary or Revolving Oven –

A rotary or revolving oven is an all-time favorite oven of the bakers. Here you can utilize the rack ovens fully as the racks are placed to bake with the convection heat. Moreover, the oven has a fan that circulates the air to the entire oven. But it is quite expensive.

• Roll-in Rack Oven –

Roll-in Rack ovens are used for baking, re-thermalizing, roasting in a very faster way. It will provide super baking colour, high steam heat output, good consistency and an unexpected finish. These ovens are found in most cuisines across the world. Roll-in Rack ovens are very expensive.

13) Cooling Rack-

Cooling racks are used to place the cake after baking to cool it down. These racks are made of metal and a few also have a non-stick coating. 

Different types of cooling racks are available in the market. They are:

• Rectangular cooling rack–

These are used for several purposes including baking muffins and cookies, placing rectangular or heart-shaped cake layers etc.

• Circular cooling rack–

It is used for cooling round shaped cakes.

14) Commercial Mixers-

Expert bakers mostly use planetary or spiral style commercial mixers. Both types are very effective. It is used for mixing, beating, whipping and folding ingredients.

15) Cake Divider And Cutters–

Pastry chefs use this tool for getting the perfect evenly cutting cake slices in commercial kitchens. It is made of durable stainless steel. You need to place this tool inside your cake and then you need to place the cake divider in the centre of the cake. And just press the divider towards the downside and the divider cut the cake into evenly cake slices.

Cake cutters are also used for evenly cutting the cakes.

16) Infrared Temperature Gun-

If you are a professional baker, you need to understand first the temperature of the food. It is very important to understand the creamy texture f the whipped cream at the time of beating as cream making process is based on different weather conditions.

17) Holding Or Proofing-

Proofing or holding is a step used in the baking industry which activates the yeast in the dough. The yeast cells in dough consume carbohydrates and throw out the carbon dioxide gas which causes the dough to expand in size. It is used to control the quality of fermentation.

18) Bakery Display Cases /Counter Or Display Cabinet-

A display case is a cabinet with one or multiple transparent glasses which is used to display the pastry items for the buyers and vendors. It is often used in pastry shops and used for the bakery business.

Bakery Display Cases Or Counter Or Display Cabinet

 Cake Baking Tools And Equipments For The Decoration

19) Bread Knife –

It is also called a serrated knife. The bread knives can cut soft bread without crushing the soft portion of the bread. The bread knives are not required for the daily workhorse of the kitchen, but for some particular set of tasks like Baking, they are necessary.

20) Palette Knife –

A palette knife is a life belt when it comes to baking or handling some baked goods. It is the most important tool for moving delicate items like cake, pie, pudding, or pastry without breaking them. Palette knives are extremely useful for icing, spreading the creams equally and filling the gaps, and lifting the layers of cake.

There are two types of Palette knives are available: Straight and Cranked (bent).

• Straight Palette Knives – These are very secure when lifting layers of cake with cream.
• Cranked Palette Knives – These give a flattering texture while icing the layers.

Tips:  After icing, every time the palette knife should be cleaned up with a clean cloth to remove the extra cream and for setting up the cream layer on the sponge or cake.

21) Turn Table –

The turntable is mainly used for icing and setting and decorating the cake. An undecorated cake should be placed onto its rotating surface and then decoration can be done by spinning the table. The continuous spin can provide a more even and smoother finish.

Turn Table materials can be divided into three kinds:

• Stainless steel(aluminium)+ Cast iron
• Glass +Plastic
• All Plastic

The most expensive one is the metal material turntable and the cheapest one is all plastic. Beginners can use the plastic turntable as it is affordable, lightweight and they won’t rust no matter how often you are using it.

Tips: I will recommend avoiding plastic turntables as plastic material turntables are not working properly. However, a turntable is not an essential tool at all for beginners.

22) Scraper –

Scraper is used by pastry Chefs to give smooth, even, and sharp edges to the cakes at the time of decorations. This tool is having a variety of names, including bench knife, pastry cutter, dough knife, dough cutter, board scraper, dough scraper, cake smoother, etc.

There are plenty numbers of the best Cake Scrapers are available on the market, including MS WGO Pro Dough Pastry Scraper, Impresa 12inch Cake Smoother, etc. You can pick any one of them and start your baking.

24) Icing Smoother –

Icing Smoother is used to get perfect smooth professional finishes at the edges of the cake when coving or filling the cake layers with the cream.

25) Piping Bag –

A Piping bag is a useful decorating tool used for decorating cakes, cookies, pies and, different types of pastries and also for squeezing batters, creams and dough.

It is a bag in the shape of a cone. The main key point to properly filling the bag is to not overfill it. It is very captivating to put a lot of icing in the bag. So you don’t have to repeat and refill it later. Be careful about the quantity so that you can squeeze it easily.

26) Base Board –

A baseboard is a lowermost section or bottom base that the entire cake will sit on. It is made of cardboard and it is available in different colours in the market. The Cake baseboard is very cheap and easily available in the market.

 27) Pastry Brush –

A pastry brush or the basting brush is cooking equipment used to spread butter oil or coat the food. Traditional pastry brushes are made with natural bristles, nylon fibre or plastic.

But modern kitchen brushes are mostly made with silicone bristles.

There are two types of pastry brushes.

• Flat pastry brush – It is used for egg wash, greasing a cake tin or pan, or glazing a cake. It is usually one to four inches in width.
• Round pastry brush – It is very appropriate for more detailed work like glossing small pastries or decorating a cake.

28) Coupler –

A coupler is used for different decorating tips with the same icing bag. You can make different designs with the same colour and consistency.

29) Bundt Cake Tin –

These types of pans are mostly used for baking sweet coffee cakes. When the mixture of cake ingredients is baked, it is taking the shape of a decorative pan.

30) Cake Leveller –

It is not a mandatory step for beginners. It may seem an unnecessary step for a few people, but it is very important to have a level of your cake layers to ensure the stability of your cake. Professional bakers first place the cake on a flat surface and place the leveller next to their cake. In this way, the Cake leveller is used.

31) Nozzles –

The nozzle is a pipe or tube with different cross-sectional areas, so it can modify or control the flow of the fluid. It is used in baking to draw and create different designs with the cream. The nozzle is placed at the front of the piping bag after cutting the front section of the bag.

Different types of mostly used cake piping nozzles are:

• Round Nozzle
• Star Shaped Nozzle
• Basketweave Nozzle
• Drop Flower Nozzle
• Leaf Nozzle
• Multi Opening Or Grass Nozzle
• Special Nozzle
• Petal Nozzle

Read Next: Delicious Homemade Mango Crepe Cake Recipe

Essential Ingredients For Baking

32) Food Colour –

Cake colour is easy to add the food colouring to the cake batter. You should use good quality food colour as it is directly connected to our health. Do not use unnecessary colour in the batter until it is required as it will impact the taste of the cream.

33) Icing Sugar –

Icing sugar is an at-hand ingredient used while making cakes and bakery items. It comes in the market with cornstarch mixed to prevent it from clumping. This kind of sugar is used to make frosting, icing, or even dust on the top of the cakes for decoration purposes.

34) Essence –

The taste is generated from the tongue but, in maximum cases, the food quality is being judged by smelling it. So the essence is a very important role in cake baking.

Essence is used for baking items, desserts, beverages, custards and, pastries.

The most used essence is Vanilla essence in cake baking. The famous types of essence available around the whole world are – Chocolate hazelnut, Rabdi, Blueberry natural, Raspberry natural, peppermint extract, Red velvet aroma, Lemon extract, Saffron flavour, Orange flavour, Butter Rum flavour, etc.

35) Malas Crush –

Malas crush is a summertime favourite, juicy fruit syrup. It is having different flavours including Blueberry, Strawberry, Kiwi, Choco, Black currant, Butterscotch, Mango, Orange Pineapple, etc. It is used in the lower and innermost cake layers after icing and setting up the cream to get the taste of the exact flavoured cake.

Tips:  Malas should be preserved at a normal temperature without a fridge.

36) Whipping Cream –

Heavy whipping cream is a very thick, heavy liquid cream. It is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is very fluffy and light in weight. After the whisk, it will hold its shape. It is used for several purposes. It is mainly used for making whipped cake topping, pies and, other desserts.

FAQs

Summing –Up

You might be surprised to know that the best bakers and pastry chefs across the world use cake baking tools and equipment for making pastries. In cooking you can generally taste and adjust the spices, sugar or salt etc as you go on but, in baking, you can’t do that. So absolutely on guesswork here please! Use must-have cake baking tools and equipment even you are extremely good at cooking.

We all started from the same place and we all do the same mistakes in baking. I did not give up on baking and kept practising and experimenting.

And trust me; anything you make at home is a lot healthier than anything you can buy. The stuff you will make at home has no preservatives, no chemicals and they are very fresh and also you can adjust them to your taste.

Nevertheless, I really appreciate you for staying a long time here. I hope that this blog will meet your needs.

Next time onwards, when you enter the kitchen, you should have the above cake baking tools and equipment for easy baking. So, stop Hating and start Baking!!