What Should I Buy? Help A Newbie!

Decorating By tmdoxie Updated 6 Nov 2006 , 11:20am by tmdoxie

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tmdoxie Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 6:38am
post #1 of 15

Hey Everyone!!

My name is Terrance and I'm a 22 year old new to the cake decorating world. Currently, I'm taking wilton course 3 at my local HL and I'll be going back to take course 2 starting November 7th.

I've been reading around CC for the last week or so and I'm still sort of confused, trying to soak it all in. One thing I have figured out is that everyone here loves Americolor. So, my question is what are some other things that you all would recommend (pans, tips, etc)? I think my love affair with wilton is about over . . . I'm tired of the toothpicks, pink instead of red, and gray instead of black icing.

14 replies
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cakesbykitty Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 6:42am
post #2 of 15

too funny! yes, americolor is the way to go. get yourself a good set of pans, cake release, parchment, couple good spats and a tip or two from each family and that is a very good place to start

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tmdoxie Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 6:52am
post #3 of 15

Are the Magic Line pans better than the wilton performance pans?

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Tim-n-SEMO Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 1:20pm
post #4 of 15

IMHO, YES.

I just received a Wilton 10" square performance pan, and was surprised at how much lighter weight it was than my Magic Line pans.

HTH

Tim

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awolf24 Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 1:31pm
post #5 of 15

Alaskanmom has the list just right. I would just also suggest a tutntable for icing your cakes if you don't have one already. And I'm a fellow Americolor convert. You'll never go back to Wilton.

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cakesbykitty Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 8:20pm
post #6 of 15

yes, a turntable is a life saver. also, when you get into it get yourself a spackle knife at the hardware store (i like the 6 inch) for dipping into hot (boiling) water, drying it off then using with the turntable to smooth your icing.

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tmdoxie Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 9:55pm
post #7 of 15

I was planning on getting the wilton tilting turntable.

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flameon58 Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 10:00pm
post #8 of 15

You may want to search the forums first before you buy the turntable. There are some members here at CC that have had mishaps happen to their cake.

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andrealynmoore Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 10:03pm
post #9 of 15

Americolor is that much better than Wilton? Is it that you use less of the colouring, or what?

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noreen816 Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 10:07pm
post #10 of 15

I love disposable decorating bags. You need to see if you like working with parchement, feather weight or the disposables and then stock up!! Don't forget to register online at michaels or ac moore, they'll send you weekly coupons and it really helps it you need meringue powder, pans, bags, tips, books, whatever.

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cakesbykitty Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 10:21pm
post #11 of 15

well, americolor i tend to use less and the colors are certainly more intense. super black and super red work great!

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SweetDreams Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 1:37am
post #12 of 15

I could not due without my airbrush and edible image printer. I have been decorating for about a year and a half and am not that good at drawing freehand, so these two tools have really allowed me to expand my decorating creativity. The sky is the limit now, i think. I have really enjoyed working with making white chocolate and fondant accents as well. Cookie cutters are great for cutting out many different accents as well.
As for turntables, i have loved my cheapy $8 wilton plastic turntable. I usually set it on top of a large Crisco can with a damp washrag underneath to keep the can from sliding and off i go.

Good luck with decorating!

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good36 Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 2:41am
post #13 of 15

Welcome Terrance! These are what I could not bake cakes without; KA mixer, wire cooling racks, cake tester, wilton turntable, large icing tip and bag, metal spatula, several plastic spatula's, good pans and lots couplers and tips. Oh yeah and bags too! Best of luck!
Judy

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cakesbykitty Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 2:43am
post #14 of 15

oooh! Kitchen aid mixer! good one! definitely don't try to mix more than one batch of buttercream icing at a time without one!

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tmdoxie Posted 6 Nov 2006 , 11:20am
post #15 of 15

I'll be taking course II starting Tuesday and then I'll be finished with wilton. I've really enjoyed taking these classes, it gives me something to do other than work and come home.

My collection is stuff is growing ever so slowly. I think that the thing I want the most is a Kitchen Aid mixer. Right now, I have a Kenmore stand mixer and its okay, but a KA would be much better. After trying to make 2 batches of icing the other day, I pretty much figured out that this mixer isnt going to last very long at all. Next on my wish list would be an airbrush. I think that would be a blast to learn.

I also want some more pans. I decided that I would buy all of the round pans first then go on to the square pans. I have two of the 6, 9, and 10 inch and I'm going to get the 8 and 12 with my next paycheck. I'm also going to get the petal set because I'm going to do my little cousin a barbie themed castle cake with the petal set. I got the idea from one from one of the old Wilton Yearbooks I bought off of ebay. Of course I'm going to tweak it so it becomes sort of a signature cake for me.

I think there are still other things that I want, but I think the big ones are the KA, airbrush, and a good quality turntable. I really want to try the AmeriColor, but I think I'm going to wait and just order a lot at the same time since I still have a pretty good amount of wilton on hand. Amd I learned the other day that I need one of the big offset spats to pick up my cakes when I'm stacking.

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