Baking Equipment in Kenya-Cake Decorating

This is the second post on our series of Baking  Equipment Explained. If you haven’t read our previous post, you can read it here – Baking pans. This time our focus is on equipment used for cake decoration.

This post is helpful for those who would like to bake cakes at home and decorate them as well. These tools will help through every step of the cake decoration process.

1. Sifter/Sieve

This is a tool used to sift dry products like flour or icing sugar. It’s used to sift icing sugar into a mixing bowl before mixing it to allow for a smooth, lump-free consistency in the frosting. For baking purposes, stainless steel versions are the easiest to use and are easily found in major supermarkets. Also bake-ware shops like Topserve Ltd on Accra road in Nairobi CBD. They are available in medium to large sizes and range from Kshs. 50 to 500, depending on quality and size.

Stainless steel sifter

2. Cake Turn-table

This tool is used to set a cake on before icing it for stability and also mobility. There are two types of stands/tables; stationery stands which can also be used for display as well as for icing and Turn-tables – these are best for frosting a cake with ease of movement.

Cake Turn-table

These revolving cake stands are available for use when icing cakes.

Steel revolving Cake stand

They make icing a cake easier since you can move them in any direction. Turn-tables are available in plastic or stainless steel material. They are found in bake-ware shops such as Topserve Ltd. Stationery cake stands are available in bake-ware shops as well.

3. Cake Leveler

String Cake leveler (neartonothing.blogspot.com)

This is a great professional baker’s tool used to level a cake. Leveling a cake is done after the cake has cooled for at least an hour or more. This is when you cut the crown or top part of the cake that has peaked to create a level surface on the cake.
Cake levelers come in different sizes: small and large sizes that are adjustable.

Adjustable Cake leveler (courtesy of cakejournal.com)

Cake levelers are available in house-hold shops or cake supply shops like Topserve Ltd for about 1,000 to 3,000. You can also search online for distributors who sell them as well e.g. vituzote.com.

4. Bread Knife

If you don’t have a cake leveler, you can use a large bread knife. This is a serrated knife that can be used on smaller size cakes to do the leveling before you frost your cake. They can be found in major supermarkets or cake accessories shops as well. They range from Kshs. 90 to 1,500 depending on quality and brand.

5. Spatula

This tool can be used to scrape the frosting from the sides of the bowl. It is also used to scoop frosting onto a cake to be decorated. It is available in different sizes and materials. You can find silicone or wooden versions of the spatula, they are affordable and functional. Wooden spatulas can be found in some local market shops and supermarkets.

wooden spatula (courtesy of etsy.com)

Spatulas are also available in silicon versions; they are more durable and flexible. However they are more expensive but completely worth it. You can get them in cake supply shops, house-ware shop or major supermarkets.

Rubber spatulas – diff. sizes

6. Icing Spatula or Palette Knife

This very useful tool is used to spread frosting on a cake while decorating it. It is usually made of stainless steel material with a handle. It comes in a straight or beveled shape – these are known as off-set spatulas/palette knives.

Icing spatula-small (courtesy of annesfood.blogspot.com)

They are available in different sizes; from small to large. You can find them in major supermarkets, bake-ware shops like Topserve Ltd or some house-hold equipment shops for around Kshs. 550 to 3,000 (depending on size). You can also search online for any vendors who may sell them online.

Icing spatulas/ Palette knives

7. Fondant Smoother

This is a decorating tool used for smoothing fondant icing on sides and tops of cakes. It is available in stainless steel or a flexible plastic or silicon. It’s fitted with a handle for easy use. This tool is available in bake-ware shops in Nairobi or you can search online for vendors who sell it.

8. Nylon Icing bag with Nozzles

This is a triangular shaped hand-held bag made with nylon that is used to pipe frosting through a narrow opening at one end fitted with an adjustable nozzle attachment. Different nozzle designs are used based on the shape, design or sizes required by the decorator.

Nylon icing bag with nozzles

Nylon bags are used by bakers because they are easy to use and clean as well. They are available in small, medium and large sizes. You can also purchase them in bake-ware shops You can purchase a set; this include the bags, nozzle attachments and nozzles of different shapes; they range about Kshs. 970 to 3,000. You can also purchase the pieces separately for easy planning e.g. nylon bag (Kshs. 720 – 970), nozzle attachments/couplers (Kshs.90) and different nozzles (Kshs. 130 – 250 per piece).

Please note that there are also disposable plastic piping bags that can be used once or twice before discarding.

You can choose to use these as well.

9. Icing Set

This is a cake decoration set that has a narrow pipe shaped container that has a fitted nozzle on one end and a movable handle on the other end to push frosting towards the nozzle side. The icing set comes with its own set of nozzles; usually 5 – 10 pieces. The sets are usually easily available in major supermarkets, bake-ware shops or online vendors. They come in plastic or stainless steel material. They range from Kshs.800 – 2,000.

Icing Set with nozzles (courtesy of overstock.com)

A lot of these decorating tools can be easily found in Nairobi in most leading supermarkets, bake-ware shops like Topserve Ltd on Accra Road in Nairobi CBD and you can also search for vendors online. Any other additions and/or suggestions are always welcome. Happy Cake Decorating ^_^!

We offer baking classes if you would like to learn how to decorate. We’re also offering online classes, click here. Email us at: amaribreads@gmail.com for more info or call/text: 0701796688

If you would like to get a Decorating set that has all the above tools and more; check out the Topserve decorating kit. We did a video for the unboxing of the kit with a breakdown of all the things included; the video is shared here = Topserve Decorating Kit.

Click here to check their site – Topserve Ltd.