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With thousands of cake decorating tools to choose from, which ones really work? In this video I test 10 cake tools - find out which 7 tools work and which 3 to stay away from! Here are the links for the tools I love:
Handheld zester: https://amzn.to/3DdJxSp
Bake-even strips: https://amzn.to/3ZWzPxl
Wire Leveler: https://amzn.to/3WuMswR
Blow torch: https://amzn.to/3Rbnrph
Spirit Level: https://amzn.to/3Dccez6
Scraper Paddle: https://amzn.to/3Jch0QM
Mini Donut Maker: https://amzn.to/3RiYSad
These are Amazon affiliate links - you won't be charged extra but I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Thanks for supporting my channel!
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0:00
I'm going to test 10 cake tools I bought on Amazon, seven tools that work, and three to stay away from
0:09
I'm testing this adjustable frosting smoother first because I'm the most excited about this one
0:15
If it gets results as good as I hope, then surely everyone would be using one, right
0:20
It's easy to set up, but the height notches are a bit more spaced out than I'd like
0:24
so I can't get the exact height I need for my cake, and it either leaves a very thick layer of frosting on top of the cake
0:30
or scrapes off too much and exposes the crumb coat. So the results aren't great so far
0:35
Now for the sides of the cake, I'm scraping around again and again, maybe 20 times, touching up in between
0:41
and the frosting still isn't smooth. Also, although there's a wide base on this smoother
0:47
so it should be easy to hold it straight, the sides of the cake are sloped
0:51
and it looks like the cake is leaning, and I could do a better job of getting straight sides
0:55
with a basic cake comb. So eventually I give up. The adjustable frosting smoother is a big disappointment
1:02
Next up, these bake-even cake strips. This is another tool I've wanted to try for a while
1:08
You wrap a strip around a cake pan and tighten it to fit snugly, and then take it off and soak it in water
1:14
Squeeze out most of the excess, put the strip back around the pan, and I'm going to test my very vanilla cake with and without the strips
1:21
and also my perfect chocolate cake with and without the strips. After wrapping the pan with a wet bake-even strip, bake as normal
1:28
Well, not quite as normal, I found that the cakes I baked with the bake-even strips
1:32
took about 15 minutes longer to bake than the pans without the strips. Now for the results
1:38
My chocolate cake baked in the pan with the bake-even strip rose a little bit higher than the cake in the pan without a strip
1:44
but both layers baked flat, without domes, and the coloring was even
1:48
There was a bigger difference for my vanilla cake. This cake was baked without a strip, and look at the difference
1:54
The layer wrapped in the bake-even strip really did bake more evenly
1:57
without dark golden edges and with a flat top. The strips take a bit of time to prepare
2:03
and make the baking time a bit longer but if your schedule can accommodate it I think they worth it This mixer paddle with a scraper is another tool I really excited about When you mixing cake batter or frosting ingredients always get stuck on the sides of the mixing bowl
2:18
and they don't incorporate properly, so you have to constantly turn off the mixer and scrape around the bowl
2:23
so that everything mixes together. With a paddle with a scraper, the scraper goes right up to the edge of the bowl
2:29
so it catches every little bit of each ingredient and mixes it all together much better
2:33
That way, you don't have to stop mixing every few minutes to scrape the bowl
2:38
This tool is a big time saver and gets a thumbs up from me. Silicon pans, are they worth it
2:44
I understand the appeal. They're lightweight, won't get scratched or dented, and should be non-stick too
2:50
I'm spraying mine with oil to make sure the cakes don't stick. Pouring my batter in and then tapping the pans to spread the batter evenly
2:58
But it's much trickier to tap these silicon pans than metal pans
3:02
so I'm not convinced the batter is level. Into the oven, and when I take the cake out
3:07
I can see that the batter wasn't level because the cake is lopsided. Also, the pans aren't as non-stick as I'd hoped
3:13
because some chunks of cake are stuck to the bottom. Compared to the same cake batter
3:18
baked in a metal pan, the silicon pan cake didn't bake nearly as well
3:22
I don't think silicon pans are worth buying. I'll stick to metal pans
3:26
This leveler is supposed to create perfectly flat layers, but it looks a little bit tricky to use
3:32
Let's try it. If your cakes are domed or if they're lopsided like this one, you can level the tops to make them flat so that your cake will be straight with a neat cross-section when you slice into it
3:43
This wire can be adjusted to different heights and it cuts surprisingly easily through a cake until the end
3:49
It's tricky to get through the last part of the cake without a chunk of the cake crumbling off, so the most effective way to use this is to go from one side to the middle of the cake and then from the other side to the middle or spin the cake as you see
4:02
slice. The leveler does make cake layers perfectly flat, but does it do a better job than just
4:08
using a serrated knife like a bread knife Let find out It quicker to use the knife but the cake layer isn quite as level as with the wire If you bake cakes professionally and level and divide several cakes in a day using a serrated knife to do this is second nature
4:24
and you'll save time by not needing to adjust the wire, which can take a while
4:28
I'm impatient, so I'll reach for my knife first. But if you struggle to get flat cake layers, this is a must have
4:35
I know this looks like it belongs in a toolbox, but let's use this spirit level to assemble a straight cake
4:40
You can use this after every single layer or just at the end
4:44
and if the bubble isn't in the middle, between the two lines, your cake top is sloping
4:49
You can trim the top of the cake or just push down on whichever side is higher
4:53
which will push that side lower into the filling and level out the top of the cake
4:57
I should mention that unless you have a huge slope across the top of a cake
5:01
it's typically not a problem. With most cakes, you can use frosting to fill in any imperfections and even to level the top
5:07
but sometimes that's not an option, because the frost. The frosting on the top needs to be a very thin layer, like for semi-naked cakes
5:14
or the actual cake itself needs to be perfectly level for support
5:19
like for tear cakes, when I'll definitely be using this from now on. Another tool that seems better suited to DIY than cake decorating
5:26
a blow torch. Wondering what this could be for? It can make your frosting super duper smooth
5:33
If there are air pockets or any other imperfections in your frosting, usually caused because the frosting has started to set while you're still smooth
5:40
it, a hot metal cake comb can fix all of this. You can run the cake comb under very hot water
5:46
or, much easier, use a blowtorch to heat the edge of the cake comb. The hot metal will melt the
5:52
very outer layer of the frosting and then the comb will drag it around the cake and it will fill in
5:57
any tiny air pockets or air bubbles. This might be my new favorite cake decorating tool because it
6:02
makes the frosting on a cake so much smoother, which makes every cake look better. For recipes
6:07
He's using only egg yolks or only egg whites, or using both but separately
6:12
This egg separator seems like a good idea. Most of the egg white slips through it quite quickly, leaving the egg yolk behind
6:19
But there still quite a lot of sticky egg white that just won go through this Maybe it just a particularly stubborn egg Nope the next one the same This is ridiculous And a drop of yolk gets through
6:32
which ruins egg whites for marangs. It takes longer to use the gadget
6:36
than passing the yolk from egg shell to egg shell to separate it the traditional way
6:40
And it's not even a reliable way to keep the yolk and the egg white separate
6:44
I give this cake tool a thumbs down. Donuts are such a fun cake decoration
6:49
but they're a hassle to make. Let's see if this mini donut maker makes the process much easier
6:54
You can make donut batter for this or use leftover cake batter. Spoon it into a piping bag or even a sandwich bag with one of the bottom corners cut off
7:02
and then pipe the batter into the mini donut maker. Close the lid, wait two minutes and then flip the donuts out with a toothpick
7:10
This was really easy to use and my two and four year old loved helping me make the batter
7:14
and decorate the mini donuts. You can use these mini donuts to decorate a cake, poking toothpicks or wooden skewers into
7:21
them so that you can stand them upright on top of the cake. Although I am a classic fried donut fan
7:26
I love the look of these perfectly round donuts on a cake, so I'm giving the mini donut maker a thumbs
7:31
up. What's this mysterious gadget? A lemon zester or chocolate grater. The grater blade is attached
7:38
to the lid of a little container, and it's comfortable to hold and easy to use. It can take a really
7:45
long time to zester lemon using a traditional grater, and it's awkward to hold the grater so that the zest
7:50
falls onto a plate or into a bowl. This zester is easy to grip, quick to use, and it catches every
7:56
piece of zest in its handy compartment. This is a game changer if you need a lot of zest for a
8:02
cake or lemon curd or if you need a lot of grated chocolate to decorate a cake. So there are 10
8:08
cake tools, seven that work and three to stay away from. Which of these cake decorating tools are you
8:14
going to try? Tell me in the comments. Visit my cake school on British Girlbakes.com for hundreds of
8:19
cake decorating designs and techniques, and join my Club Plus for access to every mini-course
8:23
master course, live workshop and five-minute Fridays. Thanks for watching
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