Mattress Old Fashioned Pink Iced Cake

We've got lots of inspirational ways to decorate a cake at home. We've included how to decorate a cake with icing sugar, marzipan, marshmallows, and more.

If you're looking for cake decorating ideas and toppings, we're here to help. From royal icing to buttercream, from desiccated coconut to fruit, we've got plenty to choose from.

This drove includes elementary, easy methods and techniques. Most of them are upkeep-friendly and ideal for decorating a variety of different cakes including traditional Victoria sponge block, chocolate cake, classic lemon drizzle cake and moist chocolate brownies to name a few.

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Decorating a cake doesn't take to have hours on terminate. Our Kids Kitchen vlogger, Sarah demonstrates, in the video above, 3 simple cake decorating designs for kids. Simply past using cookie cutters and sprinkles, writing icing, and marshmallows, she transforms them into showstopping cakes.

So whether you lot're looking for kids birthday cakes or just want to jazz upward your usual cake decorating techniques, see more of our piece of cake cake decorating inspiration below…

How to decorate a cake: Easy cake decorating ideas

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Chocolate is one of our favourite ways to decorate a block. It tin exist melted, mixed with foam to brand ganache or you tin simply use cocoa powder as a light dusting for your cake. And it doesn't accept to be a chocolate cake that y'all cover with chocolate either - you can cover whichever block y'all prefer.

Top tip: When it comes to melting chocolate, you want to keep information technology on a depression heat and cook it gradually otherwise information technology'll burn down. White chocolate volition cook much quicker than milk or dark as it contains more sugar. For more than advice on how to melt chocolate run across our handy guide.

Recipes to try using melted chocolate:

Get the recipe: Triple chocolate cake
Get the recipe: Chocolate truffle cake
Get the recipe: Chocolate dipped cupcakes
Get the recipe: Annabel Langbein's ultimate chocolate cake

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If you're looking for something light and refreshing to give your block a sense of taste of summer, fruit is the best choice. From fresh raspberries to dried raisins, there are many varied fruits that volition be perfect for topping your block. You tin can theme your cakes with seasonal fruit, employ berries in the summer and clementines and dried fruit in the wintertime.

Elevation tip: If you're using fresh fruit, make sure y'all add together it correct at the last minute. If your fruit is wet it could make the buttercream or cream topping move or melt slightly.

Recipes to effort using fruit:

Get the recipe: Lorraine Pascale'south raspberry, vanilla and white chocolate cake
Get the recipe: Hummingbird Bakery blueberry cake
Get the recipe: Mary Berry's strawberry block

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From rose petals to sprigs of lavander, give your cake a bound feel by using flowers to decorate. They'll make your cake look very pretty and smell floral too. Tie bunches of flowers together and prevarication effectually the edge of your block or sprinkle rose petals over your buttercream.

Top tip: We wouldn't recommend eating the flowers, unless you know that they are suitable for eating, are marked as edible or they were shop-bought. Eating flowers from your garden could give you an upset breadbasket.

Recipes to try using flowers:

Get the recipe: Fiona Cairns almond apricot rose petal cake
Go the recipe: Beetroot chocolate cake
Go the recipe: Rose and raspberry cake
Go the recipe: Lavender and lemon drizzle cake

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Whether you pile them upwardly in the middle, encompass the whole cake in them or make a pattern similar spelling out their names, your kids are going to honey a cake decorated with masses of shop-bought chocolates. Think Maltesers, Milky bars, Smarties, Mars bars and more.

Elevation tip: If you're planning on decorating your cake with chocolates, nosotros'd recommend roofing it in a low-cal buttercream or melted chocolate coating beforehand so the chocolates accept something to stick to, otherwise they'll be falling all over the place.

Recipes to try using chocolates:

Get the recipe: Maltesers chocolate cake
Get the recipe: Smartie chocolate cake
Get the recipe: Chocolate explosion drip block

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Ready to curlicue fondant can be bought in most supermarkets in the cake decorating alley. Information technology's ideal for making your cake stand and is really easy to work with. Y'all tin buy all sorts of different colours or you tin can add a few drops of food colouring to white fondant for your own color palette.

Peak tip: Before working with fondant brand sure you accept a make clean, dry out surface to scroll the fondant or sugarpaste onto. Dust with icing carbohydrate to stop it from sticking and use a clean rolling pivot.

Recipes to try using ready to curl fondant:

Get the recipe: Polka dot fancies
Get the recipe: The Princess and the Pea kids' birthday cake
Get the recipe: Large Madeira cupcake

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Melted or whole, marshmallows are a simple way to plow your classic broil into a masterpiece. Pile them high or melt gently on a depression rut on the hob and cascade over the pinnacle of your block - the choice is yours. Marshmallows are reasonably priced in most supermarkets, making them an like shooting fish in a barrel selection for kid's birthday cakes or food gifts.

Height tip: When it comes to melting marshmallows, y'all're best to employ a non-stick pan. Warm the marshmallows slowly and gently, making sure you lot don't overcook them, otherwise yous'll accept a sticky mess on your hands.

Recipes to try using marshmallows:

Become the recipe: Chocolate and marshmallow birthday cake
Get the recipe: Hummingbird Bakery marshmallow cupcakes
Become the recipe: Marshmallow flower cupcakes

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If yous're looking for a elementary yet effective technique, icing sugar is your best decorating choice. Dust it onto your cake freely, cut out a template using paper and dust over information technology to create shapes or add together some h2o and flavoured extract to brand an icing sugar paste which is perfect for drizzling over large cakes or cupcakes.

Top tip: When information technology comes to dusting your block with icing sugar, make certain your cake is completely cool otherwise the icing saccharide volition melt.

Recipes to try using icing sugar:

Get the recipe: Mary Drupe's Victoria sandwich cake
Get the recipe: Mary Berry'due south iced fairy cakes
Get the recipe: Lavander fairy cakes

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This is a great technique for covering upward any flaws on your block. If it's a picayune burnt around the edges and y'all've had to cut some bits off - or if it didn't rising as much as y'all'd like, become the chocolate fingers and cigarellos at the fix. But cover your cake in buttercream, chocolate or purple icing and press them around the edges of the block. They requite you a bully base for topping your block with sweets, fruits or flowers as well.

Top tip: The more chocolate fingers or cigarellos you've got, the improve. There's nothing worse than getting halfway effectually the block and realising you haven't got enough to finish off your masterpiece.

Recipes to endeavor chocolate fingers and cigarellos:

Go the recipe: Digger cake
Get the recipe: Chocolate fingers block
Get the recipe: Cigarellos cake with a chocolate mousse filling

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If yous're short on fourth dimension, the cake decorating aisle at your local supermarket can be a life saver. From Hundreds and Thousands to readymade fondant roses, you lot tin discover plenty of wonderful treats to turn your cake into a work of art. 1 of our favourite ways is with multi-coloured sugar sprinkles - a little fleck of buttercream and a generous sprinkling will turn your cake into a colourful treat.

Top tip: When it comes to decorating for certain events, theme your sprinkles - red and dark-green for Christmas, yellow and pink for Mother's Solar day or you can get different shaped sprinkles like flowers, animals and fifty-fifty mini Christmas trees.

Recipes to endeavor using sprinkles:

Go the recipe: Dairy-free cupcakes
Get the recipe: Hummingbird Bakery vanilla cupcakes
Go the recipe: Sprinkle fairy cakes
Get the recipe: Christmas cupcakes

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Coconut tin can exist baked in a cake or used to decorate it too. It's a healthier version than carbohydrate sprinkles or sweets and looks but as effective. Cover your cake in a light buttercream and and then printing coconut into it. Coconut is so light it tin can be added to pretty much whatever cake, from lighter flavours like vanilla and lemon to richer cakes like chocolate and carrot block.

Top tip: Desiccated kokosnoot is all-time bought in bulk, a small packet here and in that location tin actually add upward. It'south worth having a await online too before heading to the supermarket to see if you can discover whatsoever deals.

Recipes to try using coconut:

Become the recipe: Coconut cake
Go the recipe: Jammy kokosnoot squares
Get the recipe: Coconut and lime cake

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It really doesn't take much to transform your cake with this piece of cake cake decorating idea. A couple of bags of sweets go a long way and are perfect sprinkled on top of your favourite cake.

Summit tip: If yous're making this for a specific person you could choose their favourite sweets instead of using the ones in our recipe. If you're making information technology for Christmas - swap the sweets for festive treats instead.

Recipes to attempt using sweets:

Go the recipe: Pick & Mix block
Become the recipe: Sweetie tray bake
Get the recipe: Chocolate boom cake

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Mixed nuts are perfect for giving your cake a new look. You can comprehend the whole thing, elevation to lesser or you can sprinkle some on top of your buttercream - any selection you go for, your cake is going to look marvellous.

Top tip: Match your nuts with the cake that you're making - if you're making a carrot cake, walnuts would piece of work a care for. If you're making a cake with peanut butter, peanuts would work well or if you're making a chocolate block, sweet pecans are a good friction match.

Recipes to attempt using mixed nuts:

Go the recipe: Gluten-free carrot and walnut block
Get the recipe: Red velvet cake
Get the recipe: Easy carrot block
Become the recipe: Mary Berry's Victorian Christmas cake

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Decorating a cake with marzipan is a dandy way to add delicious, moist, almond season to your block. Perfect for rich fruit cakes, marzipan is a great topper for Christmas and Simnel cakes.

Summit tip: Make sure your piece of work surfaces and easily are make clean before attempting this technique. You lot'll want to work speedily with the marzipan besides to brand sure information technology doesn't crack or dry out out.

Recipes to try using marzipan:

Get the recipe: Mini Eggs Simnel cake
Get the recipe: Simnel block
How to cover a cake with marzipan
How to ice a Christmas cake

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Make someone feel extra special past writing them a personalised message on a cake. The easiest manner to do this is with writing icing but you can too buy edible fine art pens or special cake decorating stamps to emboss words into fondant.

Height tip: If you can't find writing icing in your supermarket, you can use buttercream or icing sugar mixed with some h2o instead. It has to be thick though in gild for yous to piping it through a thin nozzle to write messages.

Recipes to attempt with writing icing:

Go the recipe: Heart cake decorations
Get the recipe: Colour in cupcakes
Get the recipe: Father's Day cake

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Whether you're cutting corners and opting for the readymade stuff or you're pushing your baking skills to the side by side level and making it from scratch, caramel is a very impressive fashion to cease your cake. You lot can drizzle it over the pinnacle, leave it to set up for a crisp finish or add together it to foam cheese to make a caramel frosting.

Top tip: If you decide to make caramel from scratch, make certain you lot cook it gradually on a low heat otherwise it'll burn and you lot'll have to start all over over again.

Recipes to try using caramel:

Get the recipe: Spiced squash ring block
Get the recipe: Salted caramel topped brownies
Get the recipe:How to make caramel

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If you love meringue as much equally we do, you should actually give this block decorating technique a go. Whip upwards some soft meringues with egg whites and carbohydrate and gently spoon or pipe onto your block. If you want that classic, crisp meringue finish you can brown the outside with a blow torch or a quick burst in the oven.

Top tip: If you lot've never fabricated meringue before, y'all could cook information technology slowly in the oven on a depression heat and add to your cake as a topping, instead of spreading it over.

Recipes to try using meringue:

Get the recipe: Stacie Stewart'due south skinny carrot meringue cake
Become the recipe: Lemon meringue cupcakes

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From Nutella to marmalade, spreads are a great choice if you lot're curt on time and coin when it comes to decorating a block. Just spread evenly over your cake with a palette knife or spoon. You can acme with sprinkles, fondant shapes or fresh fruit - whatever tickles your fancy.

Top tip: If you're decorating with a thick spread like Nutella or peanut butter, make sure your cake is slightly warm, this volition let the spread cook a little then it'southward easier to work with.

Recipes to try using spreads:

Go the recipe: Nutella cake
Get the recipe: Marmalade block
Get the recipe: Jammy coconut squares

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Whether y'all spread it on with a palette knife, pipe swirls or spoon on splodges, royal icing tin really brand your cake stand to a higher place the rest. Perfect for getting that snow white consequence at Christmas time. Find out how to make royal icing at dwelling house with our handy guide.

Top tip: When it comes to colouring your royal icing, use gel pastes instead of liquid food colouring. This will make certain the consistency of the mixture doesn't change. Make sure when using the gel pastes that you add a little at a time every bit they've got a stiff colour.

Recipes to try using royal icing:

Get the recipe: Ruddy velvet peppermint cake
Get the recipe: Mary Berry'due south Christmas block

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With a little bit of practice, you can make some rather impressive fondant shapes to pop on top of your cake. Our cupcake queen Victoria Threader is a pro when information technology comes to making fondant shapes, and with her handy step-by-step pic recipes, you'll find making them much easier. They're perfect for personalising cakes for special occasions

Height tip: Fondant shapes are perfect for making in accelerate every bit long equally you lot go along them in an airtight container and handle with care when it comes to popping them on your cake.

Recipes to try to brand fondant shapes:

Get the recipe: Fondant bow
Get the recipe: Fondant dog
Get the recipe: Fondant name blocks

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Make your cake even more than indulgent by topping information technology with freshly whipped cream, which is the perfect base for chocolate or fruits. Cream is really easy to work with and can exist spread or piped onto your cake depending on its thickness.

Pinnacle tip: Remember that cream is all-time kept cold in the fridge - the fresher, the ameliorate. So if you're planning on making your cake in advance, shop information technology in the fridge or add together the cream topping correct at the terminal minute.

Recipes to effort using foam:

Become the recipe: Classic Black Forest gateau
Get the recipe: Strawberries and cream cake
Get the recipe: Chocolate and double foam cake
Get the recipe: Lemon cream cake