The Beginners Guide to Cake and Cupcake Baking Supplies

So, you are thinking about starting a new baking adventure! Exciting! And overwhelming! I thought about it for years before actually making the jump.

My deciding moment was one night while my husband and I were watching the movie Bridesmaids, and the scene came on where Kristen Wiig’s character was in the kitchen making that one beautiful cupcake. I turned to him and said “I’ve wanted to do this for years.” He looked at me and asked what I was waiting for? I started my research the next day and the rest is history!

I found it very overwhelming in the beginning. What do I need, where do I start, where do I even find a good recipe to follow?

I really had no formal baking or decorating training; almost everything I learned was by watching YouTube videos. I still watch them today if I am struggling with a certain technique or want to learn new ways of doing things. I did take one cake decorating class at my local Michael’s store, but to be honest, by the time I took the course, my skills were beyond what they were teaching. However, that is not to dissuade anyone from taking those classes - they can be a GREAT starting point!

I’ve decided to create a list of my favorite baking essentials to get you started.

Note, this will not include any of the supplies that I use when decorating with fondant….that will be a whole separate post. I purchased almost all of my supplies on Amazon, but realize that you can find some or all of these supplies from other places, such as Wilton, or your favorite local stores. I've made this easy for you! Just click on the link below and you'll be taken to my Amazon Cake and Cupcake Baking List.  Almost every picture you see below is right from Amazon, and most are the exact items I purchased.  Some are the new versions of the ones I purchased many years ago.  Feel free to research similar pans, mixers, frosting bags, etc to find out which ones call to you personally!

For page transparency: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Click here to view my Amazon Cake and Cupcake Baking Supply List.

Okay, here we go!

A Quality Stand Mixer. This is where you will probably spend the most money on your new adventure. But, I promise it is worth it. This is my FAVORITE kitchen appliance. Sure, you can save money and get a hand mixer, but why put all that extra effort into every cake? What’s nice about the KitchenAid mixers is all the different colors they come in. Let your personality shine with this one! I smile every time I look at my mixer. It does not get hidden in the pantry, rather it sits on the counter at all times reminding me it’s time to bake again!

Bowls: If you decide to measure all of your dry ingredients and put it in the same large bowl, all you will need is that large bowl. But, if you like to pre-measure all of your wet and dry ingredients like me, you may want a nesting bowl set. Here is the one that I use:

Measuring Cups and Spoons: These can even be fun! Having measuring cups and spoons with color coding is not only fun, but helps you to know which color to grab for. As my daughter is my main baking buddy, these are the ones I bought for her. She thinks it’s pretty cool that some of the supplies are “hers.”

Here are the cups:

Here are the spoons:

Canisters for Flour and Sugar: This may seem silly, but trust me on this one. Every recipe calls for flour and sugar. The bags they come in are difficult to lower your measuring cups into without making a huge mess. Find a wide lipped canister that seals tight at the top and it will make your baking adventures much easier. I actually found mine walking through Lowe’s one day, but you can find something similar on Amazon or elsewhere.

Spatula Set: Another necessary yet fun item. I guarantee you can find a spatula set in your favorite color. There are so many of them out there! But, make sure to pick a set with a variety of sizes. You’ll use this for scraping your ingredient bowls, your mixer bowl, for loading your frosting bags, etc. This is not the set I have, but just a good example.

Egg yolk separator: This is an easy one. Many recipes call for extra egg whites or egg yolks beyond the full eggs called for. This will make separating the eggs a breeze.

Cupcake Pans: Most recipes will make around 24 cupcakes, so definitely buy two pans.  This will save time, and make sure your batter stays fresh.  Wilton does a great job with their pans.

Cupcake liners: OMG there are a million out there.  Plain, patterned, aluminum, paper, shaped like flowers, Silicone, etc.  Have fun with each of your projects.  Realize though that a chocolate recipe will not work in light colored cupcake liners - the pattern will be lost due to the dark color of the baked cupcake.  Choose accordingly for each project.  I let my daughter pick out which liners will go with each recipe - we have hundreds to choose from!

Ice Cream Scooper:  How do you get all of your cupcakes to be the same size? With an ice cream scooper, that's how!  Mine is a 4 Tbsp or 1/4 cup.  It's easier to use an ice cream scooper like this one, rather than a 1/4 cup measuring cup.  This ice cream scooper has a whisking function when squeezed, so that all of the batter comes out of the head.  

Cake Pans: Start yourself off with some basic round pans of numerous sizes. I have Wilton pans, but a number of companies make great pans. The link below is for a set of 4. I would buy two sets. This way if you are making a six inch cake, you can bake both layers at the same time. I have two of everything, whether it’s round pans, square pans, bowl pans, etc. This will save you time in the kitchen, and will make sure your batter is as fresh as possible when it goes in the oven.

Bake Even Strips: These little wonders help your cake to bake beautifully flat. Just get them wet, put them around your pan before putting them in the oven, and the cake comes out amazingly flat. This results in less waste as you are leveling the cake prior to stacking.

Flower Nail: Yes, these are great for frosting work, but they are also a necessity for baking your cake. At least in the 8” and larger cakes. Put one of these in the center (before pouring the batter in), flat side down. This will help your cake bake more evenly. Often, the center of the cake is the last to be done baking, while the sides may be getting a bit crispy! This heat conduction will help speed up the baking process in the center of the cake!

Parchment Paper: While greasing and flouring your cake pan may be enough for some recipes, other cakes still like to stick to the pan when you are trying to remove them after baking. I place a parchment paper circle in the bottom of the cake pan and grease and flour it along with the sides of the cake pan. Just trace your cake pan on the parchment paper, cut it out, and place it in the bottom. This little trick has saved me more times than I can count. I also put a parchment square on my cooling racks for the cakes to sit on while they cool. Lot’s of uses!

Cooling Racks: Once your cakes are done in the oven let them cool on the cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans. Then let them cool completely prior to stacking and decorating. These Wilton cooling racks are awesome! They collapse for easy storage, and they stack and therefore take up less space even when being used. I often even use them for storing my fondant creations while they are drying. I cover the three tiers with a dish drying cloth and my cat can’t get to my fondant creations!

Cake Boards: These are the thin round pieces of cardboard that support the bottom of the cake. Just like your cake pans, get them in a variety of sizes…..6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, etc. Wilton makes great ones that come as a 12 pack, but other companies make great ones, too.

Cake Bases: These are different from the cake boards above. These are THICK cardboard circles. Their main purpose is transport. But, I often pick a cake base that is about 3-4 inches larger than my cake board, and will decorate it along with the cake for more interest around the base of the cake…..names, ages, flowers, etc. If I’m using it for a cake for my children, I clean it after the cake is gone and re-use it on the next cake. Again, get them in a number of sizes.

Cake Leveler: This is an easy way to get a flat cake for layering. Could you just use a knife? Absolutely, but make sure you keep it level as you are cutting! The cake leveler takes any difficulty out of this and is fast! They are adjustable, too! My kids wait for the cake shavings every time I’m leveling a cake. But, if you don’t have kids to eat that top portion of the cake, don’t throw it away! Use it to make cake pops! More than likely you’ll also have some frosting left over as well. Put them together and have some extra fun with each project by making cake pops. Stick them in the freezer if there are too many sweets in the kitchen. Take them out after a month or so for an impromptu desert!

Cake Turntable: This is essential for decorating your cake. Get one that has a locking mechanism. Not only can you spin your cake while frosting, but the ones with the locking mechanism allow you to keep the cake in place while stacking, decorating, etc. Some are silver, some are white, some tilt. Find your favorite one!

Cake Lifter: How do you get that beautifully frosted cake from the turntable to the cake base? With a cake lifter. This easily slides below your cake board and helps you move the cake from point A to point B. I use it every time I am stacking cake layers.

Boba Straws: Speaking of stacking cakes……how do they stay up? These Boba Straws are amazing. Make sure to buy the clear plastic ones. Cakes are heavy and will definitely squish the cake layer below it without a method of support. By inserting 4-6 of these Boba Straws in the bottom layer in strategic locations, they will support the top layer of cake on the bottom layer of cake (we’re talking layering a 6” cake on top of an 8” cake or similar). They can be cut to size so they are the perfect length.

Long Thin Wooden Dowel Rods: When stacking cakes on top of each other, this will be inserted down the center of all of your cake layers and will be seated into the thick cake base.  During transport, this will keep the cake layers from sliding off.

Frosting spatulas or scrapers: Depending on the final look you are going for with your cake, there are many cake spatulas and scrapers out there. I am typically only adding a crumb coating to my cakes before I cover it with fondant, so I just use a basic flat cake spatula. If you plan on frosting being your top layer, be sure to look at all the cool options for scraper designs out there.

Frosting bags, couplers, tips: For cake and cupcake decorating you will need frosting bags of numerous sizes, couplers for attaching your tips, and then a wide variety of tips. I prefer the reusable frosting bags from Wilton. Yes, they make disposable bags, but the reusable ones are much better for the environment. The Featherweight bags come in lots of sizes, whether you need just a small amount of frosting for accents (8”), or a large amount for frosting a dozen cupcakes (16”).

The couplers will be needed to attach all of the smaller size tips to the frosting bags:

Tie the bags closed with:

And, get a huge variety of tips!

Then, cover those tips with these so that your frosting doesn’t dry out before you use it:

Cupcake Caddy: This final suggestion is one of my favorite baking supplies.  This caddy is by and far the best out there. You can stack two layers of cupcakes (24 total), and it collapses when not in use.  It also fits some cakes (careful if they are stacked and decorated).  I get comments everywhere I go with it.  I have two of them - one goes to school with my daughter, the other with my son.

Okay, you should be off to a great start with these products!  For a tips and a supply list of fondant and royal icing cookies, check out my other posts!

Happy Baking!