Essential Baking Tools
Baking Pans
As much as we love finding creative and unique tools for the kitchen, there is really no alternative to having great cake pans. Whether you’re baking a cake or cake pops, a durable pan is a must for creating not only beautiful treats but also tasty ones! A well-made pan bakes evenly, doesn’t brown too quickly, and cleans up easily. One of our favorites at Damask is the silicone pan because it’s strong but lightweight. It provides an even bake without causing the bottom of your cake to be chewy and overcooked. It won’t rust or chip, and ours is BPA-Free!
Mixer
We love the contrast between old and new practices, comparing skills passed down from generation to generation with the convenience of modern appliances. And yet, while we appreciate tradition and getting our hands dirty, sometimes nothing beats ease, power, and efficiency. Enter the mixer (stand or hand-held). Do you absolutely need a mixer to be a baker? No. Can you make a delicious cake or cupcake with just a whisk? Absolutely! But your cake may be a touch denser and your frosting texture a bit less smooth. Thanks to mixers like this one from KitchenAid, every cake you bake will have an ethereal crumb – no superhuman whisking strength required. And, if you're looking for a smaller, less pricy solution; check out this electric 5-speed handheld mixer our bakers love.
Sifter
The sifter is one of those tools that may seem unnecessary because it’s a one-job kind of tool. We LOVE tools that function in a variety of ways, especially to maximize kitchen space. But trust us on this one. For the baker at any skill level, the sifter is your secret weapon. Because baking is a science, and sometimes a tricky one, sifting your ingredients is key to setting yourself up for success. A good sifter will aerate every grain of flour, baking powder, salt, and powdered sugar. This allows every component to mix freely to create a smooth and consistent batter. In need of your own secret weapon sifter? Check out our Damask sifter here!
Measuring Cups and Spoons
What kitchen is complete without measuring cups and spoons? These multi-use tools are key players in almost every recipe. Even the most accomplished chefs rely on the exact measurements of a measuring cup or spoon. Damask happily removes the need to measure most of your ingredients by hand. But you’ll still find that owning measuring spoons helps with countless kitchen tasks. For example, you can use the teaspoon to scoop out space for the filling in our Chocolate Truffle Cupcake recipe.
Rubber Spatula
The rubber spatula is a true workhorse in the baking world. It stirs, it mixes, it folds little unblended pieces of flour, it doesn’t scratch your pans, it's dishwasher safe. A good-quality spatula can even be used when cooking with high-temperature ingredients. Invest in a well-made rubber spatula (like this one!) and it will take care of many of your kitchen needs for many years to come.
Whisk
Whether you own a mixer or not, adding a whisk to the mix is another great tool for any home baker to own. As mentioned above, we love working with our hands especially when it comes to baking. The more you use your hands the more connected you are to the final product. We’re not suggesting you have to mix your cake batter to the ribbon stage by hand. But whisking your chocolate into the milk for our chocolate cake or aerating the flour because you don’t have a sifter adds something to the overall baking experience. And it helps with the success of your final bake even more.
Cooling Rack
We’re all about tools with multipurpose functions and the cooling rack is one of the best. Did you know that your cake continues to bake after you remove it from the oven? Placing your cakes on a cooling rack instead of on a surface that traps residual heat reduces the risk of overcooking your cake bottoms significantly. Cooling your cakes on the cooling rack allows air to circulate around the entire cake, so the cake cools evenly and quickly. And after the cakes have cooled? Use the cooling rack to make bacon, grate eggs for a salad, or crumble fresh mozzarella cheese for homemade pizza!
Straight or Offset Spatula
The straight or offset spatula is all about design. Picture this: you’ve spent the past hour or so carefully sifting your ingredients and mixing them into a glorious fluffy batter. That beautiful batter was then poured into your sturdy cake pans, baked, and is now cooling to a perfect room temperature on your cooling rack. Now what? How do you turn bare cakes into a beautifully frosted dessert? Sure, there are plenty of tools in the kitchen that you could repurpose to frost a cake. But the straight or offset spatula is key to achieving a picture-perfect finish. The straight spatula creates clean, sharp edges, while the offset spatula results in creative designs and textures. Using both will give you the most flexibility for your design! Check out our article on frosting a cake a cake for more tips!
Pastry Bag and Piping Tips
Speaking of design, owning a reusable pastry bag with piping tips is a fun and playful way to add character and personality to that frosted cake. Working with a pastry bag and decorative tip can take practice to build mastery, but when frosting is involved, we’ll happily practice all day!
Check out this great reusable piping bag and tip set from Damask! Also, check out our article on piping tips and tricks!
Decorating Comb and Smoother
If you’re a perfectionist like me, the decorating comb/smoother is a game changer. The smoother creates perfect lines and is an even more effortless tool to master than the straight spatula. Once your frosting is generously applied to your cake a few quick swipes of the decorating comb can turn that haphazard cake into a sleek showpiece. Want to add fun textures? Try using a decorating comb with a patterned edge!
Bonus Tool for Bakers Wanting More:
Turntable
Regardless of its reputation as a “professional tool,” the cake turntable is ideal for a baker at any level. When used in combination with decorating tools, the turntable helps create beautiful designs with an effortless turn of the wheel. It might not be one of the most essential baking tools, but you won't regret owning a cake turntable.
