Cake Decorating with Cake Boss!

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Cake Boss. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for participating.”

Surely you've seen or heard of the show on TLC called Cake Boss. Its quite a fascinating show, watching all of the impossible creations that are turned from sketches to masterpieces. I am always floored by what they are able to do with cake! I worked in a cake shop for two summers as a cake decorator, so I have a huge interest in cake decorating and I'm always up for a chance to review new tools and try new decorating brands and products. I was absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to try out a treasure trove of Cake Boss products and throw a fun in-home party with some friends! I had a group of enthusiastic, crafty, and talented friends in mind who I knew would have a blast with this!

I thought I'd be prepared for what kind of things might show up, as far as tools and supplies, but I was COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY when four huge boxes were dropped off at my door. What on earth?! What spoils! Pans, mixes, frosting tubs, fondant mixes, tools of all kinds, and sprinkles galore. What a party this was going to be!

To prep, I baked up a few cakes and these adorable flower cakelettes using the Cake Boss bakeware and mixes. I used the Divine White Cake Mix, which has an added cream pouch that you add to the batter, and it makes one absolutely delicious cake. The 12-cup Molded Flower Cakelette Pan has three flower-shaped layers, which were a little tricky to decorate, but very cute! Of course, these pans were easy to work with, very durable, and quite non-stick, all important features in high quality bakeware. The silicone red rolling pin on the edge of the round pans is genius. It provides a good grippy hold when you're pulling these out of the oven.

A real treat for me was being able to offer all of my guests a heaping gift bag of supplies and one big item from the Cake Boss serveware, such as a dessert bowl set, a mug set, a cake carrier, etc. I think their line of dishes is darling! We've been using the melamine prep bowls throughout the week and they are strong and unbreakable as far as I can tell, and a rubber grip on the bottom keeps them from sliding around the counter top. They're great for holding small amounts of ingredients, like sugar, salt, or cocoa, but they've also made excellent snack bowls for my kids! The icing pattern around all of these sets is sure cute!

Now, I might have been a cake decorator, but I worked primarily with buttercream, making birthday cakes, graduation cakes, and other cute things with spring flowers, balloons, and "Happy Birthday" written across. I never touched fondant, but since then, I've been dying to learn how to manipulate it and create breathtaking masterpieces with that gorgeously draped blanket of frosting. This was such a fun occasion and opportunity to really try it out for the first time, and the Cake Boss products really make it easy!

Everyone got to try out some good basics, like an 8" Icing Spatula and an 11.5" Silicone Spoonula. Both have beechwood handles that resist heat, color, and flavor absorption and are heat safe to 450 degrees. I was so glad that I didn't have to make my own buttercream frosting, because we each had plenty of Viva Vanilla frosting tubs to do that "dirty icing" that Buddy always does.

The Cake Boss Fondant we used came in a 24 oz. chunk. I thought it was really (really!) tough to kneed, but maybe I'm a weakling and using half of the block would have been a better idea. Half of the box could easily cover most of our 9" cakes because they were pretty short.

We felt very well taken care of as far as being supplied with everything we needed, except a fondant roller would have been helpful.  I ended up buying some plastic dowel rods to share, and they worked out ok, but besides that, all of the basics were provided.

Another great product we liked was the Cake Boss Decorating Turntable. It made smoothing and decorating a breeze because you could turn with one hand and hold tools with the other. It has a rubberized ring around the bottom to help keep it in place, as well as a lock switch to go from still to rotating mode.

This pink! This is called "Eye Poppin Pink" fondant, and it lives up to its name. The Fondant Smoother and Fondant Cutter worked great and were perfect for these rounds.

Being able to have my friends over, especially during the holiday season, to have a care-free but crafty afternoon was really so fun! I think we were all excited about getting away for an afternoon, getting a little creative, and taking something delicious home. I wish we could hold Cake Boss parties monthly!

One of the tools that we all thought was pretty neat, and most of us used, was the Cake Boss Fondant Ribbon Cutter. It allows you to cut several strips of fondant at once in varying or uniform widths, and in different designs. You could do straight (seen below), large or small fluted, or a ribbon design, just by assembling the wheels and spacers into the handle.

It made beautiful bows, stripes, and all sorts of clean decorations. We painted on a little water to keep them in place, and I LOVE how it looks as a bow on top of my cake!

Some fondants are pretty nasty, if you ask me, but I thought the Cake Boss fondant, especially this chocolate flavor, was pretty delicious! Very sweet.  Actually, everything was tasty as can be, and even a few days after this party, I'm still snacking on the cakes and cakelettes. The cake mix is so moist and rich that it doesn't dry out over time, and it is only making me want to hunt down the other flavors even more.

The products I probably found most appealing, and most likely to buy in the future, were these Squeezable Frosting packets with spouts that attach directly to decorating tips, which eliminates the need to make your own frosting, assemble a frosting bag, fill it, and clean it afterwards. This are already prepped and you can toss them away when you're done.

Despite the frustrated look on my face, I'm actually having a lot of fun! I must have been worried that my rose was falling down the Flower Nail (which came in the 24-Piece Advanced Tip Set). The tip set had a huge variety, and everything we could possibly use! I only wish the set came with another coupler, because the six of use had to share the only one available.

The fantastic part of all of this is that everything (supplies, tools, and mixes) can all be found at Michaels crafts. I stopped by Michaels last week just to see what kind of Cake Boss inventory they've got, and I was pleased to see a big variety of new tools and other fun products I'd love to try!

We were sent so many sprinkles! They're going to last us a LONG time. This Cake Boss Letter and Alphabet Fondant Stamp Set was also a nifty tool. You simply slide on the letters or numbers (in reverse order), and press into your cake. We thought it was not a good tool for the thick fondant, as it seemed to just press the entire layer down, but perfect for regular icing where you could go back later and trace the impressions with a decorating tip.

These two ladies whipped out this masterpiece! So professional, right?

After throwing this party and getting my hands on a huge variety of new tools and treats, I am 100% more intrigued with Cake Boss products, and I guarantee that I'll be buying more boxes of the Cake Boss Fabulous Fondant for future cakes and recipes!

THANKS, CAKE BOSS!!

Buy it: You can purchase Cake Boss products at Michaels! Visit one near you to check out the Cake Boss inventory and get started on your next cake masterpiece!