Easy Cake Decorating: 4 Ideas for a Pretty Party Dessert

Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella is the author of the essay collection Good Apple and a contributing editor at Southern Living. A former editor at Real Simple and Vogue, she has spent more than 20 years writing about food, travel, home design, and parenting in outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Parents, Martha Stewart Weddings, Coastal Living, Airbnb, and The Kitchn. Elizabeth grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and now lives with her husband and three children in New York City.
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updated May 12, 2022
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Consider this cake decorating for dummies—foolproof ways to make a layer cake look super impressive without a lot of fancy tools. Two even use store-bought candy.

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One of these designs requires a piping bag of sorts, although we’re sure a Ziploc would work. And number 3? Malted milk balls! How mod and futuristic does that look? And you could be as sloppy as you wanted with the frosting underneath.

These are giving us all kinds of ideas about things we could stick into frosting to create a pattern—marshmallows, gumballs, an ombre pattern with similar-shade jelly beans…

• 1. Candy Polka Dot Cake, from Ladies’ Home Journal.
• 2. White Polka Dot Cake, from Country Living.
• 3. Chocolate Cake with Malted Milk Balls, from Urbane Fruits.
• 4. Striped Glitter Dust Cake, from Martha Stewart Weddings.

Related:

Cake Decorating: 3 Tips for Writing Messages with Icing

(Images: Ladies’ Home Journal; Charles Schiller/Country Living; Urbane Fruits; MarthaStewart.com)

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birthdays
Cake
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Dessert
Recipe Roundup
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