Here’s an easy and versatile idea for an owl cupcake cake from FamilyFun. It uses shredded coconut and various cookies and candies for the details, but there are countless ways to mix it up and make it your own. Be sure to read the reviews for more owl cake decorating ideas and tips. There are great owl cake ideas easy enough for anyone to pull off!

What could be easier than decorating a cake without having to do any cake decoration? This tiny bunting, strung up on bamboo skewers, is a festive and elegant cake decorating idea.

The cake shown here features cake bunting made with bits of vintage fabric, available on Etsy from KikiLaRu, but you could easily and inexpensively make your own cake bunting with endless color and pattern possibilities using fabric or scrapbook paper.

[Via Craft Gossip and Design*Sponge]

How cool is this? With a few simple ingredients, you can easily put together this cherry pie cake for a fun and surprising dessert. Just bake your favorite cake mix in a pie plate, top it with cherry pie filling, and pipe on some tinted frosting. Awesome!

Check out the full instructions from Parenting here, or take cake decorating classes online and really challenge yourself.

Intimidated by the idea of making gum paste flowers? Try this easy gum paste flower tutorial from Craftzine. With a basic flower making tool set and a little time, anyone can master this simple technique to make an ordinary cake look fantastic.

If you like this pretty cake, check out this other elegant, easy cake decorating idea from an earlier post.

This train cupcake idea is so easy, even kids could do the decorating. If you’re planning a train birthday party and are not very experienced or adventurous at cake decorating, these train cupcakes from Ladies’ Home Journal are a great idea.

They used candy blocks to make the trains, but you could instead use inexpensive toy trains that your guests could then take home as party favors. With store-bought cake mix and frosting, toy train cars, and some licorice string, you can whip up a batch of these train cupcakes in no time!

I love this ruffled layer cake from Martha Stewart. It’s elegant and festive, and it makes an impression even though it’s really very simple. The free-form ruffled icing is nearly foolproof because imperfections are part of the design. Just use any piping shape you’re comfortable with, and repeat it all over the cake!

Get the recipe and simple instructions at MarthaStewart.com.

Whether you make a simple boxed cake mix with canned frosting or bake a cake from scratch with elaborate decorations, the key to a beautiful, enticing cake is starting with smooth icing. But getting your icing smooth isn’t always easy, especially if you’ve never learned these simple cake icing techniques.

When you follow these guidelines, you’ll know how to get smooth icing on all your cakes, and your decorations, whether simple colorful sprinkles or fancy buttercream roses, will look better than ever.

Begin With a Level & Smooth Cake

Before your cake even goes in the oven, be sure to spread the batter so it is level in the pans. Check the cake several times as it is baking, and if you find that it’s rising or browning unevenly, rotate the pans a half turn about halfway through cooking. Uneven heat is common in home ovens, and it will take more than smooth icing to fix a lopsided cake.

When the cake is finished baking, trim the top, if necessary, to level the top of the cake. Hold your knife horizontally and view the cake at eye level as you cut straight across the tops of any bumps.

Allow the Cake to Cool Completely and Apply a Crumb Coat

One of the most important steps in how to get smooth icing on your cakes is applying a crumb coat to seal the cake surface from moisture. This will help keep your cake moist and keep your frosting from making the cake soggy.

To apply the crumb coat, first let the cake cool completely. This should take several hours to ensure the cake is cooled all the way through. While it’s cooling, you can prepare your icing, and thin a portion of it with milk, water, or light corn syrup to use for the crumb coat. The crumb coat icing should be smooth and thin enough that you almost need a spoon to apply it, as it will run off your icing spatula.

Use this reserved icing to completely cover the surface of the cake with a thin, smooth icing layer. Don’t worry about getting crumbs in this layer; they will be sealed in the dried crumb coat. Wait for the crumb coat to dry into a firm crust before adding the second layer of frosting.

Apply the Final Layer of Smooth Icing

When the crumb coat is totally dry, you’re ready to put on the final layer of smooth icing. First, put a large dollop of frosting in the center of the top of the cake, then gently push the icing out toward the edges. Work in long, even strokes to get the icing smooth. Next, spread the icing around the sides of the cake, holding the spatula vertically and turning the cake while the spatula is kept still. Finally, run the spatula edge gently around the corner edge of the cake to remove any excess icing that has accumulated there.

At this point, you should have an even layer of smooth icing all over the cake. To get the surface even smoother and sleeker, dip your clean spatula in hot water and run it across the surface of the cake in long strokes. This will melt the frosting slightly to help remove stroke marks. Wipe the spatula clean and dip it in the hot water before each stroke.

Knowing How to Get Smooth Icing Will Make All Your Cakes Look Better

Practice these techniques and tips on all your cakes until you know how to get smooth icing on a cake every time like a professional cake decorator. Your cakes will look beautiful enough to stop with a simple layer of smooth icing, and any decorations you add will stand out even more.

Learning how to get smooth icing on a cake is only the beginning. Take a cake decorating class online to learn more techniques like these.

Elegant cake designs don’t have to be complicated. With a little bit of style or artistic flair, even easy cake decorations can be used to make elegant cake designs. These ideas use simple and inexpensive embellishments to make even a simple boxed cake mix look sophisticated and special.

One way to use edible cake decorations for elegant cakes is by focusing on tone-on-tone colors. Silver sprinkles or dragees, shiny edible ball sprinkles, look wonderful on a cake with white frosting. Sprinkles are the ultimate easy cake decorations, and using them in a single color on a matching color of frosting looks beautiful. Try yellow colored sugar sprinkles on pale yellow lemon frosting, or chopped nuts on light brown caramel frosting.

Sliced fruit is a great choice for easy cake decorations that are a little more festive but still sophisticated. Simple ripe red strawberries sliced and arranged in overlapping circles on dark chocolate frosting makes a decadent dessert. For even more decadence, macerate an assortment of berries by stirring them with a tablespoon or two of sugar and, optionally, a few tablespoons of your favorite liqueur. Refrigerate them in a bowl for several hours, then pour the syrupy berries over a cheesecake.

Another simple way to turn ordinary easy cake decorations into something special is to decorate only the sides of the cake, leaving the top with plain smooth icing. Chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut, chopped candy bars, and crushed peppermint candies are all good choices for this method. To get the sides of the cake decorated, take a small handful at a time and gently press it into the frosting, working your way around the cake. Try doing this holding the cake at a slight angle over a large bowl of your chosen decoration, allowing the excess to fall back into the bowl and keeping your serving dish clean.

One final idea for elegant cake designs is a light dusting of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon sugar, or colored decorating sugar. For best results, use a strainer or sifter to dust either an unfrosted cake or one that has been chilled to fully set the frosting. You can dust all over the top of the cake or use a stencil for a more polished look. Stencils are available at craft stores in hundreds of shapes, or you can make your own or use a paper doily. Go for an intricate geometric or lace design, or stencil the shape of an object or words to fit your theme or cake flavor. Be sure to dust the cake just before serving because the sugar will slowly dissolve on the cake.

With these easy cake decorations for elegant cake designs, you’ll be able to impress your guests when even the most basic cake recipe looks like something special.

Wilton cake decorating classes are the ultimate form of instruction for decorating cakes. A huge selection of Wilton cake classes is available at the Wilton school in Darien, Illinois, with options ranging from a three-hour workshop focused on one project to a 10-day Master Course of Wilton cake classes designed for students interested in a career in decorating cakes.

You can also learn the Wilton Method of cake decoration outside of the Wilton school classes by looking for cake decorating instruction at local craft stores and culinary schools. If none of these options will work for you, you can even learn all aspects of cake decoration with online courses you can take at home.

Wilton Cake Classes – Introduction to Gum Paste

Introduction to Gum Paste is a beginner’s course in how to make gum paste flowers and arrangements. Learning to work with gum paste will take you a long way in designing and decorating all styles of cakes. The class is offered over four days in three-hour sessions covering the following lessons.

• Day 1: Demonstration of the use of gum paste; how to prepare gum paste; how to make gum paste leaves, a rose base, and a daisy center
• Day 2: Making gum paste rosebuds, roses, and daisies
• Day 3: Making gum paste orchids, stephanotis, and calla lilies
• Day 4: Highlighting; assembling and finishing orchids and calla lilies

Wilton Cake Decorating Classes – Introduction to Rolled Fondant

Introduction to Rolled Fondant at the Wilton school, in three 3-hour sessions, includes cake decorating instruction on the basics of using fondant. Students practice fondant decorating techniques to make a complete display cake that they can take home.

• Day 1: Basics of using fondant, including covering a cake with fondant, making fondant bows, and crimping and embossing
• Day 2: Making flowers and leaves; using fondant molds and ejectors; fondant cutouts
• Day 3: Assembling bows; sponging; making drapes; positioning flowers on the cake

Wilton Cake Classes – Introduction to Sugar Artistry

Another of the beginner Wilton decorating classes is Introduction to Sugar Artistry. In this class you’ll learn the art of making sugar decorations, including recipes, pulling, and molding. Students get to take home floral cake toppers and bows made in class. The following topics are covered in one 9-hour session.

• Explanation of recipes and sugar art equipment
• Making simple leaves and flowers
• Creating a floral cake topper
• Explanation of Isomalt sugar substitute, including recipes and equipment
• Making sugar cages
• Using spun sugar and bubble sugar
• Demonstration of sugar molding
• Making sugar roses
• Creating ribbons and bows

More Cake Decorating Instruction at the Wilton School

There are dozens of Wilton cake decorating classes available at the Wilton school in addition to the three featured here, but these are an excellent beginning in cake decorating instruction. If you complete one of these Wilton cake classes, consider an advanced course to add to your skills. Try a class focused on a theme, like Sugar Artistry for the Holidays, or one that adds new techniques, such as Advanced Fondant Art. With any of the Wilton cake decorating classes, you’ll learn everything you need to know to make beautiful cakes for all your special occasions with family and friends.

Can’t attend the Wilton cake school? You can still learn these techniques and lots more by taking online cake decorating classes. You’ll get all aspects of cake decorating instruction, including using fondant, sugar art, and gum paste, in one easy-to-use computer-based cake decorating course that you can take anytime in your own kitchen.

If you’re looking for an answer to “What is fondant icing?” this is a great video to watch. It gives you an overview of what fondant is made of, how you work with it, and what you can do with it in cake decorating.

You can get step-by-step videos, illustrations, and instructions for the fondant methods shown in this video from an online cake decorating class.