Cupcake Liners
These are available in a variety of colors, from simple white to a jazzy rainbow leopard print number. Any color can be used with any cupcakes; however, color and style recommendations are made with most of all the cupcake recipes in this book.
Disher / Ice Cream Scoop
While both can be used to dole out an equal amount of cake batter into a cupcake pan, color-coded scoops called “dishers” are used for portion control in food preparation and restaurants and can take less trial-and-error than finding the perfect ice cream scoop. My go-tos are a #20 yellow disher for portioning my cupcake batter, and a #40 purple for portioning cake pops. I also use the #20 disher to help determine how much frosting to dye / flavor for a particular number of cupcakes, at one scoop per cupcake.
Edible Ink Pens
Like food dye, but in a handy felt-tip pen applicator. A few companies make them, but by a wide margin, Americolor pens are the best quality and last the longest, and they work on a wide variety of surfaces. Edible ink pens are great for details on cake pops and fondant, or anywhere you need a quick, small application of color. While they come in all colors, I find I use the black 90% of the time, so keep that one in good supply. The black can be purchased in a pack of two on their own online, or in a pack with all the other colors.
Flavoring Oils
When lemon zest alone just won’t cut it, these oils extend your flavor possibilities. Need your cupcakes to taste like cotton candy? No problem! There’s a flavoring oil for that. Add slowly and to taste, keeping in mind that the baking process will remove some of the flavor. That being said, try not to go overboard! I use an eyedropper to add the flavoring from these small vials, ensuring that I don’t just upend the bottle accidentally and put someone into a Cotton Candy Coma™.
Fondant
Fondant is like the modelling clay of the baking world. It is made out of sugar and water, with gelatin and glycerol to make it stretchy and malleable. You can dye it, flavor it, shape it, spread it out thin to cover frosted cakes, and dry it to cut shapes out of it with an X-acto or sharp paring knife. My brand of choice is Wilton, as it dries at a decent speed for cupcake toppers when thin, stays moist enough for shaping when thick, and is dry enough that it doesn’t stick to your fingers like crazy.
Fondant Glue
This simple “glue” is made at home, and is used to stick things to fondant, or to stick fondant to itself. Take a one-inch ball of fondant, and put it in a small, shallow microwavable dish with a teaspoon of water. Microwave on high for about 20 seconds, or longer if required. Stir mixture to create glue texture, adding more drops of water if needed. If glue starts to thicken back up while in use, add a few more drops of water and microwave again until it is the desired consistency.
Gel Food Coloring vs Liquid Food Coloring
There is a big difference between these two types of food coloring. While the liquid coloring you can buy in a grocery store is good for coloring other liquids, they will not do the trick for buttercream or batter as the dye is not concentrated enough. Gel dyes can be purchased online or at specialty baking / crafting stores like Michaels or Bulk Barn. In contrast to liquid dyes, only a tiny amount should be used, and it can be doled out using a toothpick. Be careful not to “double-dip” as that can transfer bacteria to the tub of dye. They last almost forever, but always keep a lid on them, as they will dry out to a rubbery consistency if left open to the air.
Luster/Disco Dust
Luster dust is an edible dust that adds a shimmer to your baked goods, while disco dust is a coarser edible glitter that can be used in the same way. They can be watered down into a paintable paste with a few drops of vodka, or dusted dry on a surface with a large, soft paintbrush. Luster dust can also come in a spray can, which is useful for spraying a metallic sheen onto something wet, like the top of a frosted cupcake. A 24k gold dust can even be purchased and used in very small amounts for an extremely metallic effect.
Paint Brushes
Two paintbrushes should be purchased and used for only food-related purposes: A small detail brush to paint on watered-down dusts and dyes (among other fancy things), and a large fluffy brush to pick up and dust on edible glitter or brush luster dust over large areas. Always wash and dry well after each use.
Piping Bags
I recommend investing in a good quality plastic-lined cloth or silicone piping bag that will hold your large cupcake frosting tips. These bags can be rinsed out with soapy water and easily reused over and over. They have to be kept clean and dried out well after each use to avoid retaining any smells or discoloration.
I also recommend having a stock of disposable plastic bags for small quantities of royal icing or for recipes where you will need multiple colors at once and may not have many reusable piping bags. These are also handy for melting candy melts in the microwave. These disposable bags can also be rinsed out and reused to prolong their lives, but they won’t last forever.
Piping Tips
While there are a vast array of different piping tips out there, here are a few specifics that top my list – you’ll see them used throughout this book:
For decorating cupcakes: Ateco 845 (large star tip) and Ateco 809 and 806 (large round tip) will cover almost every type of frosting technique in this book.
For decorating cookies: Ateco or Wilton in a size 1 for the tiniest details, size 5 for covering large areas, and size 3 for just about everything else. I have about 15
of these tips for cookie decorating that requires a lot of colors.
Ateco and Wilton brand tips are the most popular and can be purchased online or in baking supply stores like Michaels or Bulk Barn.
Rolling Pins and Rings
While rolling pins come in many varieties, my favorite is the Wilton 20” Fondant Roller. It’s huge, it’s smooth, it’s easy to clean and it packs a mean wallop should an army of orcs invade while you’re prepping your cookie dough. I also like the smaller 9” roller when rolling out small amounts of fondant - though a round, clean pen or pencil will also do the trick!
Spatula
Several good spatulas will serve you well for many baking tasks. From scraping the bottom of a mixer bowl to incorporating all the dry ingredients to scooping buttercream into a piping bag, you’ll always have a use for a good spatula. I recommend the silicone variety as