Tips for Cake Decorating with Your Kids

• Flat is best. Decorating a cake that’s uneven on top – bulging, sagging, sloping, or bumpy cake tops are a challenge for any cake decorator. Making sure your cake comes out flat starts as you bake. After you fill the pan, rap the pan on your counter a few times. This helps get the air bubbles out so your cake can bake evenly.
• Let them experiment with different cake decorating tips and icing colors. They’ll be amazed to see how a different tip makes the icing come out in a different shape. They might enjoy even just piping icing onto a plate, and it’s good practice, too.
• Use plain white icing and add some colorful candies to make the cake look beautiful. Gummy candy, M&Ms, licorice, jelly beans, and Star Bursts are perfect for decorating, and couldn’t be easier.
• Try edible flowers. Your kids might say, “Ew!” at first, but they’ll also be amazed to learn there are flowers that can be eaten. Don’t try this with little kids, though – they’ll have a hard time differentiating edible from poisonous flowers!
  
• Remember it’s just for fun. You’re probably not going to let your kids work on a cake you’re doing for a customer, if you’ve got a business. But if it’s for a family member or friend, there’s really no pressure for perfection. Don’t worry about it coming out as your finest masterpiece – the time you spend together is far more important than the end result.