Duff Goldman's Simple Trick To Take Your Cake Decorating To The Next Level - Exclusive

Cake decorating is an often underappreciated art form. There's something to be said for the way colorful frosting, playful piping, smatterings of sprinkles, and more can take what's already a sweet, celebratory treat and turn it into a whimsical delight. But you don't necessarily have to dole out to the fanciest bakery you can find the next time you're craving a little confectionery magic. Cake decorating may seem daunting and difficult, but it doesn't have to be. All you need is a little imagination and some practice getting your hands dirty.

If anyone knows this, it's the master of magnificent cakes, Duff Goldman. That's why the celebrity pastry chef has made it his mission to spread the joy of baking to as many people as possible with the growth of his DIY cake decorating studio, Duff's Cakemix. Here, people of all ages can get to work bringing their dessert dreams to life, learning and trying out all kinds of sugary creations and pastry techniques on their very own cakes.

For those who can't make it into a Duff's Cakemix just yet, you can still let your inner pastry chef loose and try out some tricks straight from the Ace of Cakes himself. In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, Goldman revealed an easy — and fun — way to make your homemade cakes look bakery-worthy while honing your pastry skills for all your future frosted treats.

If you've tried your hand at fancy frosting and ended up with a mess, there's another way to impress with your cake decorating skills. Duff Goldman says to start simple with a skill we've all been practicing since childhood: "Start drawing on a cake."

Goldman explained that gum paste is the perfect canvas. This thick, sugar-based paste can be found at craft stores or grocery stores and can also be made at home. "Roll it out with a rolling pin; make it nice and smooth," he said. "Cut it out into a circle, let it dry, and then get edible markers." Use the markers to draw to your heart's content, and use frosting to attach the paste to your cake. As Goldman puts it, this is a trick that anyone can master, no matter what kind of baking experience you have: "Piping is a skill. Learning how to write with frosting is something that [has] a short learning curve. But everybody knows how to draw with a marker."

From there, Goldman says you can continue to use fondant to enhance your cake decorating skills, including molding it. "Go on YouTube and watch somebody make a teddy bear out of fondant. There's a video of me making a teddy bear [online]," he said, adding that all you need to do is practice until you get the hang of it. "If you know how to make a bear, you could probably figure out how to make a koala or a dog or a cat. Once you get your hands in it, you're like, 'Oh, this is not nearly as hard as I thought it was.'"

Check out Duff's Cakemix before it heads to a location near you, and click here to learn more about franchising opportunities.