We decided to write this blog because we feel something like this would have been really helpful to us whilst on our cake journey. There are some things we purchased along the road that really make a difference to our journey and we really hope this blog helps everyone who reads it.
Everything in this list may not be suitable for everyone, I think it depends on where you are in your caking journey and also where you want to end up.
1. The mixer (AKA the beast)
The number one buy has to be our mixer. If you read our first blog, you will realise that we have been on quite a journey financially and due to this I believe when it comes to spending money we spend a lot of time thinking about what we spend and how we spend it. We used to mix all mixtures by hand including mixtures for 7 tier cakes! Khalid would say he did this for so long because he makes cake with love. Not only Eggs and Sugar he adds passion and love to his mixtures (this sounds cliché but its 100% the truth) it came to a point that our workload overcame Khalid’s poor arms. We began looking into a mixer, we spent a lot of time exploring different brands and looking at reviews and videos and decided on a 20L buffalo floor stand mixer. The 1st time we used it was horrendous. The cake was not the same and Khalid was convinced it was because the love had been taken out of it, the truth was he just needed to learn how to work with the mixer to add the love to the cake! Once he mastered the mixer the cake was even better than before! It makes life so much easier, cakes are made in twice the time and large tiered cakes can be made at once. This has to be our number 1 buy! (find out about the right type of mixer for you here).
2. Edible printer
The 2nd best buy was the edible printer. We used to spend a lot of money and time going and getting things printed from a DIY cake shop. We had no control over the quality of the print but at that time we had no idea that we could do this ourselves. After looking into it we decided to buy an edible printer from thecakedecoratingco – it took a long time to set up and work out how to use it but once we got the hang of it, it made life so much easier! I actually broke this printer whilst cleaning it. This was a disaster in itself as if you have an edible printer, they always go wrong at the time you need them the most! We then decided to buy a normal printer and make it suitable for edible printing and this one has served us until this date – yes it’s the worst job changing the ink, and yes its ultra-annoying when you go to print and realise the ink needs refilling BUT it’s not as annoying as travelling 5 miles to the shop and realising the paper is awful and the image is the wrong size. We also now sell edible prints and post them out. A service that was not available to us when we started up. Whether you need one or not depends on how much you will actually use it. If the answer is ‘not much’ then you can always get your sheets from us ;)
3. Pro froster
I don’t know how we evert attained sharp edges without this item! It does take some time getting the hang of using the Pro-Froster and like anything it requires practice to make perfect. We use buttercream under our fondant and feel this tool was made for ganache, but we believe it works just as well for buttercream. Without faffing around with ganache plates and other gadgets this little beauty ensures all your cakes are level and a perfect 90-degree angle. it also helps you achieve a sharp edge on your cakes. As with everything, you can get cheap versions of these now, but we have never tried them and would stick to the original personally. It will be one of the best £30s you spend (after getting the hang of it.) (Find out more here)
4. iPad pro
This was another item we deliberated over for about 2 months. The iPad has been so beneficial for us as a business. We do th majority of all invoicing, receipts and diary through our iPad. Its portable and we back it all up on the Mac.
Instagram and Facebook are managed on the Tab and its full of every cake we have ever made (yes even the shocking ones). We use it for all consultations to show our clients the gallery of cakes and also make notes of the consultation. Its purely used for business purposes and To this day we still use it for our Zoom consultations. Its basically our electronic admin assistant.
5. The Self-Healing Mat
So the final Best Buy has to be our self-healing mat! Yes, I know “it just looks like a mat” well this piece of equipment has been with us since almost day one and it’s never needed replacing. We literally use it EVERY day. It was under £5 from the works and we would Recommend to every baker. It’s not for rolling fondant to cover a cake but we use it to cut text out, cut around edible imaging with a scalpel and to dry any fondant pieces we make in preparation. It’s described as a self-healing mat, so it hasn’t damaged at all. Even with the amount of cutting we do on it!
Summary
So that sums up our 5 best buys. We wanted to add a bonus buy to the list. It’s a recent purchase, so very new to our collection and we felt that it’s not been with us long enough to include in the 5 best buys.
The bonus is our circuit machine.
We brought this after looking at the amount of money we spent on cake toppers in one month! It was ridiculous. After doing a bit of research. (as we do) We decided on the air 2 in a beautiful mint green. It has literally made our lives so much easier. Those last-minute cake bookings that require a cake topper; sorted! No rushing around for cake toppers, no waiting around for the postman, then he turns up a day late (yes, we have all been there). If you don’t use toppers regularly then I don’t think this is a buy for you as it’s quite expensive, bulky and not really worth the money for a topper here and there. For us so far, we are absolutely loving it.