Used properly, cake stencils can be a cake decorator’s secret weapon – find out why and learn more about the different types that are available.
Some of the most intricate cake decorations you’ll see aren’t painted freehand or professionally piped – they’re created using specialist culinary and cake stencils, made from food-grade plastic. Though fairly new to the market, cake stencils are proving to be popular with cake designers because they’re time-saving, durable and give great results. Thanks to this, more stencil designs are becoming available all the time. Once you’ve mastered how to use them, it’s a matter of using your imagination and your stencils in a creative way to achieve new and exciting designs. Find out about the different types that are available overleaf.
Types of Cake Stencils
Cake stencils can be divided into four different groups. They tend to be quite expensive, so if you’re planning to invest in some, here’s what to look out for when choosing your stencils.
Large Cake Top Stencils
These large stencils are designed to cover a whole cake top. They’re usually round, but some companies offer large square stencils, too. They come in a variety of intricate designs, often suited to celebration cakes. It is possible to use sections of larger stencils over smaller cakes and cookies to create interesting repeat patterns. You can also use them to decorate cake boards.
Cupcake Stencils
Smaller stencils usually come in sets of two to four and can be used for decorating cupcakes and cookies. You can also use them in repeat to decorate larger cakes. Designs vary from simple shapes to complex designs. Cupcake stencils often come in themed sets, enabling you to create fun designs for special occasions, like Christmas, Halloween and St Valentine’s Day.
Cake Side Stencils
These are designed to wrap around the sides of your cakes. The advantage of side stencils is that they work on both round and square cakes. Many companies offer matching cake top and side stencils or sell them in sets together. They also sell sets of three to seven side stencils with matching designs that can be used on multi-tier wedding cakes. Like cake top stencils, you can use parts of side stencils to decorate smaller cakes.
Lettering Stencils
Lettering stencils often feature popular messages, like ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘Congratulations’, but also come as individual letters and whole alphabets. They’re an easy way to personalise a cake without having to pipe lettering; however, the font styles are quite limited and tend to be more traditional. Also, individual letter stencils can be very expensive. They’re worth the investment if you know you’ll use them again.
