I never use my leveler, I think the knife is much better

Great topic! I just love this site.......Anyway, as for "toys" I don't use. The large coupler and the cake dividing set (I think it's the same thing as the gumpaste or fondant rolling mat) because it's so curled up from the box. I was just looking at the sculpting comby thing today.....glad I didn't buy it! As for a turntable I use an old "Twistisizer" I had laying around (anyone remember them?) they make GREAT turntables. Tried the leveler (borrowed from someone else) & couldn't make it work. As for non cake decorating things not used........too many to list!!

LemonLyme,

I got my Ateco disposable bags online at goldaskitchen.com It's a Canadian site, but I'm sure they will send to the US too. They are so much cheaper than Wilton brand disposable bags, plus they NEVER break, and it's a nicer plastic...it's easier to work with than the Wilton brand. Just my opinion

Lemondrop

Since I moved I can't find my small Wilton leveler....I used it all the time. I have no idea where it went. Since I don't want to buy another one, I use dental floss to tort and level. Works like a charm and pretty cheap. Not only that.....you don't have to wash it

I still vote for the icing sculpter....and the box of Wilton Fondant I had to buy that still sits in my pantry unopened! Guess I could make something out of it...as long as no one eats it.

I have to say my instuctor was a dream.She taught us to put our cake dividing mat in the tub with really hot water(tub because that's usually where the hottest water in the house is).Lay something on the mat to keep it under water.When the water gets cold refill again with hot water.Do this a few times and mat is flat and straight.You can then roll it into a tube and it unrolls great everytime.I have 3 and did all three the same.
The tilting table works great if you put the foamy kitchen cabinet liner on it.Cake won't go anywhere.
As for the big leveler I haven't had a problem with it.I also bake my cake the day before and then level it.I saw someone say they Hold the leveler and push their cake through.If you use the leveler in a sawing motion,you know back and forth,it works great.
As for my most useless tool I would have to say it is the bake even strips.I mean after all how would you get cake balls...
Sorry for the rambling.BECCA

This is going to be a laugh but I don't use my hand mixer anymore.
Since I got the Kitchen aid stand mixer that hand mixer just sits in a drawer, hasn't seen the light of cake since.
Those plastic cutters that came in that kit when we did the fondant class.
I'VE GRADUATED TO THE BETTER STURDIER ONES,
haven't used the plastic since.
I've got to find more creative uses for those character pans.
It's amazing the item I think every one on this site uses is that 40% off coupon at Michael's.

I accidentally came across this thread, read the whole thing and am now giving it a BUMP because the information is so great!

Everyone, please read it all and post to keep it going...or rather, to get it going again!

I also bought the Icing Sculptor thing when it was first available. Big waste of $$$! Never took it out of the box. Also, I was looking at the tilting turntable but decided against it when I read in another thread to use a sturdy 3" or 4" ring binder and the cheap wilton turntable (which we all got for Course I) and non slip pads. The angle is perfect and if the cake slides off it will just slide onto the counter, not fall off a 6" high place.
BIG Thanks to whoever suggested the ring binder.

I love my icer tip and use it on 99% of my cakes. My Wilton instructor taught us how to ice a cake with it, and also how to do the Viva method to smooth icing, except back almost 20 years ago Viva was called Job Squad paper towels. Man I feel old sometimes when I think how long I have been doing cakes.

*BUMP*

C'mon, you know you wanna tell everyone what you wasted money on, or hated after you tried it...

I'd vote for the Wilton tilting turntable. Even with a non stick mat on it I almost lost a heavy cake and it WOBBLES!

I also haven't been able to get that icing comb thingy to work. I thought it was just me.

I love my large cake leveler or at least my DH does. He thinks it's a MANLY thing and does all my large cake levelling for me. Whatever works, right?

bump

with wilton on sale at hobby lobby thought some might want to read some of these before they purchase anything!

I don't use the decorator comb or the press lettering kit I bought. Still unopened! Oh well, I thought I would use them. I also don't use my cake leveler. I prefer my serrated knife, may be because I have the junkie wilton one and it tears up my cakes more than I can with my knife.

I think this is a great topic. Gosh, I really cant think of what I have wasted my $$ on. I tend to be quite frugal, so I read up on something before I buy it. I did buy that Wilton centerpiece thing with the flowers and ribbon but felt no need to use it so I returned it. Hmm, those icing combs SUCK. I dont care for the impression mats- the fondant stretches out too much when you place it on the cake and the image looks distorted...

You know I used to sell pampered chef and would use my stuff all the time. Now that I have quit, I forget about them. Like my food chopper.....never use it now. Or my easy accent decorator...gathering dust.
But I could not live without my Measure All cup or my kitchen aid mixer of course.

Definately the large coupler IN decorator bags cuz I'm too lazy to take them out figuring someday I'll use them! I too have the old Ateco bags and mine are at least 25 years old and still going! The Wilton teacher actually laughed when she saw mine, but when the new bags broke and the disposeable ones tore and the parchment wouldn't hold all the frosting, I won in the end. Yep, still going strong with my OLD stuff!

I agree the sculpting tool was a joke.

Neat thread!!

I'm coming in late in the game but I think I have a few things I don't use but really wanted at the time...

-large coupler (haven't used it once!!!)
-big spatula like the size of a small pizza -- i thought it would be great for placing cakes on top of each other but the cake just sticks to it!!
-silicone french rolling pin -- it hurts my hands to roll with it for too long so I go back to my standard dollar store wooden roller.

Wow, this is an old post revived! Thanks for reviving it! I haven't had much luck with the press set for lettering. When I broke all the letters apart, there was a little nub that has to be cut or shaved off. I had a heck of a time doing that. Therefore, the letters won't slide into the stamper thing because of the top and bottom nubs. The few times I've used it, I lined up all the letters on a piece of masking tape and used it that way ... it worked. But's it's not my most useful tool.

I too hated the Icing sculpter..Big waste of money!! The dam plastic pieces all kept falling out of the holder.I got mad and threw the whole thing in the garbage.Roll out mat is a pain..can never get it to flatten.

I haven't used my large coupler either! What a waste. I do, however, use my large spatula quite frequently. Personally, I find that the large spatula makes it easier to ice the top of the cake - it takes only 2 or 3 strokes.

I use both disposable and featherweight bags. I try to reserve the disposables for my RI, that way I don't have to worry about shortening from BC breaking down my RI from cross-contamination.

Oh, and I've used the floss trick for levelling cakes on several ocassions and found that the floss takes a lot of chunks out of the sides of the cake.

Almost forgot, the practice board stand (the one that comes in the Wilton Course 1 kit) is useless.

What a great topic...I had to go do some digging in my storage containers, but I did find these:
Large Coupler (never used it).
Cake Decorating Comb (never use it).
Letter Press Set (used it and hated it).
But I must say I can't live without my Large Spatula.

What a great thread!!! It's amazing to see that some people love certain items while others dislike them. Ok, time for my 2 cents.....

I love my large cake leveler (I tort all cakes into at least 2 layers sometimes 2 and I don't think I could live without it), large spatula, and my KA mixer. I prefer disposable bags over the parchment. I like the featherweight - I use the 16" for the cake icer tip - but I hate to clean so I like the disposable. I hated my cake icer tip because it put too much frosting on the cake, then someone (on CC maybe???) said that she "squeezed" the end of hers to make it a little narrower. I tried it and although it doesn't look any narrower it puts less frosting on the cake and now I love it. I too purchased the tilting cake stand, and although my cake and board didn't slide off, the cake started sliding off the cake board. I returned it the next day! I have the small leveler, but prefer the large one.

Someone mentioned used the pampered chef push-style measuring cup for measuring crisco. I use a kitchen scale and weigh out the amount I need (1 cup = 192grams). It is so much easier and cleaner than using a measuring cup. I also weigh out my confectioner sugar (and have found that the 2lb dominos bags sometimes have a little more or a little less than 2 lbs). I do love my wilton turntable (the one we all bought for course I). I use it all the time!!

I, too, didn't like the round cake dividing mat for rolling fondant so I went out and bought the 19" square mat from Wilton. I ended up rolling up the round one (from class) and storing it inside the square one and now the round one is fairly wrinkle free! I also bought the large fondant rolling pin and store that inside the rolled up mats in the box that the rolling pin came in.

I am sure there is stuff I own that I do not use......but of course I can't think of anything at the moment!! Since I have typed a book, I will let others leave their opinions!!

~Chelle

I am seeing that a LOT of people do not use their large coupler. I just bought one at Hobby Lobby . . . not to use with tips so much as to use for frosting dams. Please tell me if that won't work. I found that making a dam with a regular coupler works well when I am filling a cake so I thought that having the jumbo coupler would be great for cakes where you want a lot of filling. Is this a disaster waiting to happen? Am I going to overdo it? Please let me know!

Never used my large coupler either. Although I am wondering now if it would work to make the dams as ckkerber asked?

After reading this and bumping it ahead, thought about whats in my cupboards also.

Character pans, personally not a super great buy, do very little with them, but shaped pans are more versatile like the doll, sports ball, horseshoe, etc.. The only thing I found valuable with all the other ones is wait to see them going for big money on ebay and sell them.

Large coupler sits there also.

Flower lifting scissors thing

levelers don't like, (glad it wasn't just me who thought they cut crooked)

I know this one is weird but I have a ton of wilton small jars of color, pobably going to dry out before I use them agiain, bought KopyKakes color in the bottles and all I use, still have tons in the bottles after 4 years of doing cakes.

Man I'm I hooked on this thread!!!!

Not a lot to mention, however the character pans are probably my worst investments as the few that I have made just don't look that great & they are very time consuming. I much rather do a rectangular, square or round cake & just decorate the top with the characters, it's a lot easier & in my opinion they look way better...
Thanks for the reviews on the icing scuptor, lrg coupler & the tilting turntable... Now that I just saved myself a good $50.00 or so... I will get someting I really need a foot massage!!!

Thanks everyone!!!

I have both the large and small cake levelers. I LOVE the large one and use it on every cake. I don't like the small one at all. I haven't used it in so long that it's M.I.A. right now. I have the Wilton Tilted cake turntable and the small, flat one. I use both depending on the cake and where I'm working. I like both. Large coupler-NEVER USED. Letter press-USED ONCE and it was not worth the trouble. Kitchen scale-CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT! I don't like to measure Crisco (takes to long) and I really don't like to clean the cup. Much faster and cleaner to just toss it in my bowl that's on the scale. I also buy my sugar in bulk so that also gets weighed vs. measured. Love this forum!