Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
Cake Decorating Mats
I’m fairly inexperienced at icing cakes. Would purchasing something like a silicone cake decorating mat help towards ensuring smooth icing and easy transference to the cake or am I better off just buying a non-stick cake board? I am worried about lifting sufficient icing for a 12 inch cake from the board to the cake without it splitting.
Hi HeatherP
I find the mat huge help. It comes in different sizes to account for different skills. See the mat and product information here: https://www.thecakedecoratingcompany.co.uk/tools-equipment/the-mat
…. and an extra long non stick rolling pin (20″). Just google to see suppliers and prices.
It’s not always necessary, although useful, to have a non stick board. I have a large green board, the same as used by Paul. A set of smoothers will help you smooth and sharpen your decorated cake. Paul has a great tutorial on useful tools to own when starting out. Please have a peek in the free section here:
Hope this helps.
Hi Madeitwithlove
Thanks you for your reply. I’v heard of this 2-mat system but read some reviews that say that it makes it much harder to roll out the icing and you can’t use spacers to figure out how thick your icing is. Some have said they therefore only use the bottom mat. I assume the mat could be used on top of the green board? I’d be grateful to hear your experience.
I have a couple of smoothers and just ordered some of the tools Paul recommends. I’ve watched his icing tutorial a number of times….but getting smooth icing is still giving me nightmares even though its just for my parents anniversary.
Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
I can’t do without my mat. I use the bottom one only to roll the icing out on and then lift the whole thing to the cake. Once the mat is in position on the cake, I smooth the top and edges to adhere the icing. This helps prevent the weight on the icing pulling down and tearing. Using both top and bottom does make it hard to roll out and that’s why a lot of people don’t like the mat. There is a particular way of rolling with both parts, it’s not the same as rolling out in the normal way.
Take a look at the following youtube video and see the rolling technique the demonstrator uses with both parts. More importantly how she lifts and places the icing on the cake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTLbQwYNSv4
Keep watching Paul’s tutorials and keep practising, it doesn’t take long to master covering and smoothing. Take your time and it will all fall into place. Your local sugarcraft guild will also be able to help you. Look online for them or at your local library. Phone them up and introduce yourself. My local guild meets once a month so there’s no pressure of going every week. It’s a lovely way of getting to know experts and beginners plus have regular support in your own area. Let me know how you get on and shout out if you need more information.
