Have you ever wondered…”How do they do that?” Well, you are not the only one! When I saw some cakes in Martha Stewart’s Wedding Magazine a while back I couldn’t believe the amazing design on them and so I did my research and found out how they did it. They used CAKE STENCILS!!! You can get these amazing cake stencils online from Designer Stencils. Definitely check out their site and see all the different designs you can buy. All you need it some royal icing, a small offset spatula or bench scraper (something with a flat edge), and gel based food coloring if you want the design to have color. So here is my little “how to” blog for you…hope you enjoy it!
First you need to either cover your cake in fondant or a crusting buttercream. Let either of them set up a little bit before you use the stencils. Place the stencil on the spot you want the design at and either hold it carefully or tape it to the cake if you are using fondant…sorry about the bad lighting!
Next take your royal icing and carefully cover all of the exposed cake/stencil with the icing.
Then take your small offset spatula, bench scraper, or hemming ruler and scrape off the excess icing.
Then pull off your stencil and look at your masterpiece!
Then I added a sugar rose to the top corner and called it a day!
Tags: cake decorating ideas, cake stencils, designer stencils for cakes, easy cake decorating ideas
Why do you use royal icing rather than buttercream? Doesn’t it set up too fast? Beautiful cake!
So cute! I love it!
this is so beautiful thanks for sharing the technique, how did it not bleed? i im amazed how crisp and clean the design came out !!! fab work
wow wow wow i really think i m gonna order these now. I really like the design and colours of the cake . maybe i ll make my wedding cake like this. Thanks alot for your fantastic tips I really appreciate you share them with other bloggers.
That’s beautiful. I love that the black has definition to it being slightly raised. Very eye catching! You make it sound easy;)
I have been eying those things for awhile. I might as well go ahead and get them. I love your cake
Wow! That’s such an awesome technique! And wayyy easier for those of us who aren’t very skilled with cake decorating. Thanks for sharing!
I love that you de-mystified this! The cake is gorgeous. I am a fairly experienced baker, but have never worked with fondant. How about a fondant tutorial?
The things they come up with………
Thanks so much for sharing!
~ingrid
I’m speechless…. Absolutely Amazing! thanks for sharing
So simple and so impressive! Have to get myself some stencils! Great tip Mel, thanks!
Thanks Mel! What will they think of next! This is definitely a cake for 2009!
I am bookmarking this post, thankyou for the info.
I’ll definitely be looking at the site for these! They look SO easy. Beautiful cake!
That is absolutely beautiful! I had wondered how they did that!
Love this post!! I knew about stencils for the top of the cake but I forgot you can do the sides too. You have given me TONS of inspiration:-)
awesome! i will be using this idea for sure
Love it Melody!
It looks amazing, and you are so talented, especially your cookies 
PS Glad you love Biggest Loser too and you will be shocked by this week!
I always wondered how they looked so perfect! Thanks for the information!
I love this idea! The cake is beautiful…elegant, yet simple!
Just ordered a bunch! You make it look so easy! Now I just have to get my fondant covering to look smooth
Great technique! It is beautiful.
That is so neat! Thanks for sharing it.
It’s just amazing how you can decorate a cake isn’t it! Thanks for this how to post!
Those look just fantastic! (Nobody else has said that, by the way.) My last cake was kind of something of a disaster… I should have tried a stencil!
so chic and fresh!
I have never used cake stencils before, but they look so cool! I’ll have to keep this on my to-try list!
Thanks for your tips and tutorial. Is the process the same for cookies? I love the contrast of the black/white/red rose, very elegant!
Awesome! I’ve been wondering where you got your stencils!
Thanks for the awesome tutorial.. This just might come in handy sometime
You make it look so easy! I know they have cupcake stencils as well. I’ll have to give them a try.
Marvelous!!
Great design, and I love that one rose in the corner!
great tutorial! You made it looks so easy that I want to try it!!! Beautiful cake.
I was wondering how this was done. Excellent tutorial! I can’t wait to try this. Thank you so much for sharing this!
This is fabulous! What a great blog post. I will have to try it out!
Aww wow that is a beautiful cake. The rose just adds an extra special elegant touch!
Rachel – You can use buttercream also, but sometimes it is trickier because it has more of a tendency of having air bubbles. Also it never fully hardens like royal icing does, so you can mess it up more. Both do work though!
Maryam_icingdreams – Since the stencil is right up against the cake it magically doesn’t bleed at all…its a miracle! They are quite easy to use.
Dana – I do have a lot of information on fondant on my website…just type in fondant in the search key. I am trying to get a video tutorial up though about different techniques, so hopefully one will be up soon.
Kim – Yes, the technique is the same for cookies…just make sure the royal base has set first.
This is amazing!
what is crusting buttercream and where do I get the recipe!?!?! Your cake looks stunning and I am inspired to go out and try it!! Vida
You’ve inspired me to try a new technique. Thank you
May I ask where you got that demask stencil? I’ve been searching for that, cant find much. Thank you
LOVE YOUR WORK!!!!!!!!
Thanks! I appreciate your sharing! I’ve got a massive wedding cake to make this season and I was just getting into how I was going to do this! I had found the ‘Designer Stencil’ site and noticed they had a tutorial, but now I don’t need it! Thanks again – such a helpful site!! Deb
Where can I get that exact stencil? I have a cake I have to do in that pattern Thanks, Nicki
I have to do a similar cake in black like yours- how do you get your royal icing to be that black? Thanks, Nicki
easiest way to get buttercream black is to use chocolate buttercream–it takes less black coloring
I love this! I am going to try to re-create this myself this weekend. What size cake is this? Also, according to the Designer Stencil website, it says the stencil is 3.1″ high. Is this just the damask print cutout, or the entire stencil?
Wow, thank you so much for this helpful tutorial! I will make a cake for a wedding and the bride love your design!
Hola
Que hermoso pastel!!!. Me podías indicar donde compraste el stencil. Yo vivo en México y aqui no venden esas herramientas.
Muchas gracias y Felicidades.!!!
I have been asked to do this same damask stencil on a wedding cake. How do you go all the way around the cakes with the stencil without messing up the first stencil? Black icing is so messy & this is the color she wants. I always use buttercream icing that everyone thinks that it is fondant. Also my cakes are usually 3 &1/4 inches high iced. Will this stencil work for this size cake? Thanks for your help, Vickie