Ina Garten's Mess-Free Cake Decorating Trick Is A Game Changer

A cake's decor is the first thing you see, and it sets the standard of whether the cake appears scrumptious before it's even been sliced. HuffPost explains that this impulse to eat is an example of a stimulus of the eyes or any of your other five senses. After all, haven't you heard the saying, "we eat with our eyes first?" This is a perfect example of that. You want your cake to look beautiful, delicious, and perfect, but decorating can be burdensome.

Many people find decorating a cake a challenging feat, especially when there's icing involved. When you have the perfect cake planned, the last thing you want is to ruin it with messes, smears, and spills. Lucky for us, Ina Garten's cake decorating hack brings out the patisserie in anyone. So, gather your ingredients and throw on an apron, we're about to lead you to the Barefoot Contessa's tip that will change how you decorate cakes forever.

In a YouTube video posted by Store-Bought is Fine, Garten reveals the hassle-free and mess-free trick for cake decorating. The famous chef recommends cutting a large piece of parchment or wax paper into squares. Next, cut triangles out of those squares by trimming each square diagonally. Then, tuck the pieces of paper between the cake and the cake stand, overlapping them as you work your way around the cake's perimeter. 

Next, leave the ends of the paper sticking out, so that you can easily remove them when you are finished decorating. Now these paper triangles will catch any icing drips or drizzles that fall onto the plate. Decorate the cake as you desire, and when you're finished, simply remove the paper pieces and toss them into the trash. Garten recommends placing a paring knife between the parchment paper and the cake for the cleanest removal. 

Voila! You have a beautifully decorated cake and no messy cake stand!