Powdered Sugar Can Go A Long Way When Decorating Cake

While baking any cake requires a lot of effort, decorating the finished piece can seem equally — if not more — stressful, admits Baking Kneads. Waiting for the cake to cool before frosting the cake, making sure the frosting is the perfect texture, choosing the colors and design of the topping, and trying to use tips and piping bags to decorate the cake to make it attractive enough to serve can be a lot, even for professional bakers.

For hectic days that have you searching for easier alternatives, rest assured you have plenty of other decorating options. Fruit, chocolate, sprinkles, flowers, nuts, and candy can all make a cake beautiful without requiring you to fuss about frosting and icing, encourages Flower Aura. And for the moments you can't manage to summon any creative bone in your body, we have another fix that will help you easily beautify baked goods: powdered sugar.

Light coatings of confectioner's sugar can be sifted over a cake for an easy, yet elegant presentation, instructs Baking Kneads. Consider cutting out shapes in pieces of paper and using the cutouts as outlines to sprinkle interesting shapes onto the cake's surface. After you lift the paper from the top of your cake, the powdered sugar will rest in the shape of the cutout you designed. 

America's Test Kitchen reminds home bakers that the cake should be cooled before decorating, as powdered sugar will melt onto any warm surface (for the powdered effect to stand out, the sugar needs to settle lightly on top). For a striped appearance, use strips of paper to create lines on top of a flourless chocolate torte, or gently place lids of jars on top of your cake to make circle patterns. You can layer cocoa powder or blends made out of various spices, but be sure the toppings you choose complement and do not overpower the taste of the cake itself.